DATELINE NBC

'''Dateline NBC''', or '''Dateline''', is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABC's ''20/20'' or CBS's ''60 Minutes''.

Contents

History

Comparison with other news magazines

Controversy

General Motors

Trapping story targets

St. Louis Helicopter Hijack Attempt

To Catch a Predator

DEFCON

Dateline NBC Staff

International broadcasts

External links

References

History

The show, which has aired since 1992, is currently hosted by Ann Curry. Curry first co-hosted on June 24, 2005. Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley previously co-hosted. Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, and Brian Williams are among the ''NBC News'' correspondents who occasionally file stories for the program. Contributing Anchors were Maria Shriver who left the job soon after her husband became governor of California in 2004. Katie Couric was also a contributing anchor until 2006, when she left NBC News. The program first originated from NBC Studio 3K, using the same set the ''NBC Nightly News'' was using at the time. When ''The Today Show'' moved to its current sidewalk studio, ''Dateline'' took over Studio 3B with a brand-new set.

Comparison with other news magazines

Much like other newsmagazines, ''Dateline'' programming includes investigative journalism, true crime, and human interest stories. Common segments feature ''Dateline: Survivor'', where a person talks about their near death experience and rescue; ''Dateline Timeline'', where a popular product, person, and music single are played and viewers are invited to guess what year it appeared in; ''State of the Art'', explaining how something was technically accomplished in a movie; ''Consumer Alert'', where common consumer complaints or issues, such as food safety, are investigated, and ''Newsmakers'', light interviews of major figures in politics, entertainment, and business, as well as regular people in the news. The Saturday night edition of Dateline features special emphasis on true crime stories programming, which has been named Dateline Saturday Night and includes the "To Catch a Predator" series. ''NBC News'' specials also air under the ''Dateline'' banner.

Controversy

General Motors

''Dateline NBC'' aired an investigative report about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to poor design of fuel tanks. Although there were fuel tank design problems with GM cars before, Dateline's film showed a sample of a low speed accident with the fuel tank exploding. In reality, ''Dateline NBC'' producers had rigged the truck with remotely detonated explosives. The program did not disclose the fact that the accident was staged. GM investigators studied the film, and discovered that smoke actually came out of the fuel tank a split-second ''before'' impact. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC after conducting an extensive investigation. On February 18, 1993 GM conducted a highly publicized (view broadcast in 1993 section of GM 1990s history) point-by-point rebuttal that lasted nearly two hours after announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit was quickly settled by NBC, and Jane Pauley read an apology on the program.
The following ''Dateline NBC'' producers were dismissed: Jeff Diamond, executive producer; David Rummel, senior producer; and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the reporter involved in the segment, was transferred to Miami station WTVJ. Michael G. Gartner, president of the news division, resigned under pressure.

Trapping story targets

''Dateline NBC'' was perceived as quickly returning to business-as-usual in a May 4, 1993 piece titled "Cataract Cowboys" in which Brian Ross claimed that doctors unnecessarily performed surgery on elderly patients. The controversy brought into question techniques used such as disregarding evidence that contradicts a story's claim and using planted accomplices to entrap targets of the story. NBC claimed vindication when Southeastern Eye Center dropped their lawsuit over the story.

St. Louis Helicopter Hijack Attempt

On August 11,2004, two ''Dateline NBC'' employees posing as middle-eastern terrorists entered St. Louis Downtown Airport and attempted to gain access to a helicopter and pilot. They attempted to pay in cash and presented out-of-state driver licenses. The airport personnel suspected foul play and contacted the FBI and local authorities, who made a full response and arrested the NBC crew. Searches of the NBC crew's rental car revealed a large assortment of hijacking tools in their luggage, including box-cutters of the type used in the September 11, 2001 attacks. They also obtained audio tapes of conversations of the airport employees. After they were detained, the NBC crew revealed their true identities and contacted NBC lawyers. They were subsequently released with no charges filed against them and no compensation was paid to either the airport personnel involved or the authorities who responded to the scene. The reporters revealed that they were planning a national story highlighting failures in general aviation airport security and the threat posed by small aircraft as a vector for terrorist attack focusing on an artificially negative point of view. NBC subsequently squelched any mention of their failed attempt in the news media. Since the story did not go the way they wanted it to, rather than make any statement that would contradict their intended POV, they buried the story. It is very difficult to find any information on this incident outside of aviation news media.
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[2]

To Catch a Predator

The "To Catch a Predator" Dateline series hosted by Chris Hansen has been accused of making news rather than reporting news, blurring the line between news organization and agency of law enforcement. "To Catch a Predator" has sought to affect the arrest of men who have conversations on the internet with law enforcement officials posing as teenagers under the age of consent, as the men attempt to meet the would-be "children" in person. In February 2007, a man who was featured on "To Catch a Predator" committed suicide when TV crews surrounded his home as police arrived to arrest him. [1]

DEFCON

During the 15th DEFCON hacker conference, Dateline producer Michelle Madigan failed to register as a reporter and used a hidden camera to covertly film attendees, apparently intending to catch hackers admitting to crimes^[3]. On four occasions, DEFCON staff asked her if she wanted to obtain press credentials, but she declined. On August 3, 2007, DEFCON founder Jeff Moss publicly outed Madigan during the "Spot the Reporter" contest, and Madigan ran from the room with several attendees trailing her, taking pictures and video ^[4].

Dateline NBC Staff

'ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENTS'

★ Ann Curry

★ Victoria Corderi

★ Chris Hansen

★ Sara James

★ Hoda Kotb

★ John Larson

★ Josh Mankiewicz

★ Keith Morrison

★ Dennis Murphy
'EXECUTIVE PRODUCER'

★ David Corvo
'UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATORS/REPORTERS'

★ Michelle Madigan

International broadcasts

NBC affiliates are widely available in Canada, and MSNBC and NBC News programming is shown for several hours a day on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. This includes ''Dateline NBC'' and several other shows. It has also been screened on the Seven Network in Australia.

External links

★ ''Dateline NBC'' official web site

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References

1. Aero-News Network article.
2. Aero-News Network follow-up.
3. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/media-mole-at-d.html
4. Yotube footage