Dateline NBC Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==History== ===Early=== ''Dateline'' is historically notable for its longevity on the network, compared to the fifteen newsmagazines (often cloning the formulas of ''20/20'' and ''60 Minutes'') NBC tried from the mid-70s until its debut which each debuted and ended ignominiously, often in the same year, or even the month they premiered, and were barely promoted, much less needed, during NBC's ratings domination entertainment-wise in the 1980s. It also served to smooth relations with original anchor [[Jane Pauley]], who had been controversially pushed out from ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' and seen her own primetime make-up vehicle, the light news-focused ''[[Real Life with Jane Pauley]]'', poorly paired with a tabloid newsmagazine, ''Exposè''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-22-ca-7391-story.html|title=TELEVISION : Sweet Sixteen? : After misfiring with 15 other newsmagazines, NBC believes it has an attractive formula for its 'Dateline' show|last=Willens|first=Michele|date=22 March 1992|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> The program debuted on March 31, 1992, initially airing only on Tuesdays, with [[Stone Phillips]] and Jane Pauley serving as its co-anchors. [[Tom Brokaw]] and [[Katie Couric]] joined the program when the previously separate newsmagazine ''[[Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric]]'' was converted into ''Dateline Wednesday''. Gradually, the program expanded with the addition of a third night (on Friday) in 1994 and a fourth night (on Monday) in 1997, peaking at five nights a week with Sundays in mid-1999 and 2000. The number of nights that the program aired began to be reduced due to viewer exhaustion and the rise of equally economic and popular [[reality television]] programming. Editions first began to be removed in the spring of 2001, with the main Tuesday slot being eliminated in 2004.<ref name="eot">{{cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Television|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CFXgj7a55agC&pg=PA662|page = 661|isbn = 9781579583941|last1 = Newcomb|first1 = Horace|year = 2004| publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |access-date = March 19, 2016|archive-date = July 31, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200731125103/https://books.google.com/books?id=CFXgj7a55agC&pg=PA662|url-status = live}}</ref> ''Dateline'' was the first "multi-night" franchise that "established brand power by '[[stripping (television)|stripping]]' editions," a strategy by NBC's entertainment division to place the program in the same time slot every week. It was considered to be a singular program rather than multiple weekly programs, and included many teasers and multiple installment interviews (NBC later tried a similar strategy of "stripping" with ''[[The Jay Leno Show]]'' in 2009). In its prime, from 1995 to 1999, ''Dateline'' provided significant [[breaking news]] coverage. The program featured sensationalized news stories and drew in viewers with stories aired in multiple installments. By 1999, any one individual ''Dateline'' edition placed in [[Nielsen Holdings|Nielsen]]'s top 10 most-watched television programs among total viewers during most weeks. NBC capitalized on its relationship with [[CNBC]] and [[MSNBC]] by airing repackaged stories seen on past ''Dateline'' broadcasts on the retrospective series ''[[Headliners and Legends]]'' and ''Time and Again''.<ref name=eot /> The program first originated from NBC Studio 3K, using the same set that was used at the time for ''[[NBC Nightly News]]''. When ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' moved to its current facility, NBC Studio 1A, in 1994, ''Dateline'' took over Studio 3B and received its own brand-new dedicated set. Past contributing anchors were [[Bryant Gumbel]], who left NBC in 1997, [[Maria Shriver]], who left NBC in 2004, and [[Katie Couric]], who left NBC in 2006. On June 24, 2005, [[Ann Curry]] co-anchored "Dateline" for the first time and became permanent host shortly thereafter. ''Dateline'' began broadcasting in [[High-definition television|high definition]] for the first time on July 21, 2008, with an episode titled "Tower Dogs". ''Dateline'' previously shared the multi-level Studio 1A with ''Today''. However, in 2013, the program moved back to Studio 3K, where the early-morning news programs ''[[Early Today]]'' and [[MSNBC]]'s ''[[Morning Joe First Look]]'' are also broadcast. [[Lester Holt]] replaced Ann Curry as host of ''Dateline'' with the start of the 20th season on September 23, 2011, shortly after Curry became permanent co-host of ''Today''. ===General Motors vs. NBC=== {{further|Chevrolet C/K (third generation)#Sidesaddle fuel tank controversy}} On November 17, 1992, ''Dateline NBC'' aired an hour-long investigative report titled "Waiting to Explode," which focused on allegations that [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]]' ''Rounded-Line'' [[Chevrolet C/K (third generation)#Sidesaddle fuel tank controversy|Chevrolet C/K]]-Series [[pickup truck]]s exploded upon impact when involved in collisions due to the poor design of the vehicle model's fuel tanks. ''Dateline''{{'}}s footage showed a sample of a low-speed accident in which the fuel tank exploded; the explosion during the crash test would later be discovered to have been staged by an expert witness for hire against GM, Bruce Enz of The Institute for Safety Analysis. Enz used [[incendiary device]]s and a poorly fitted gas cap to create the impression of a dangerous vehicle.<ref>{{cite news|title=Exposing the "Experts" Behind the Sexy Exposés: How Networks Get Duped by Dubious Advocates|author=Walter Olsen|newspaper=Washington Post|date=February 28, 1993}}</ref> The program did not disclose the fact that the accident was staged.<ref>{{cite web |last1=PARRISH |first1=MICHAEL |last2=NAUSS |first2=DONALD W. |title=NBC Admits It Rigged Crash, Settles GM Suit |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-10/news/mn-1335_1_gm-pickup |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=4 February 2019 |date=10 February 1993 |archive-date=January 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108202725/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-10/news/mn-1335_1_gm-pickup |url-status=live }}</ref> GM hired investigators from [[Failure Analysis Associates]] (FaAA, now [[Exponent, Inc|Exponent]]) to study the footage; FaAA investigators discovered while reviewing the video that smoke had actually started to expel from the fuel tank six frames before the actual impact occurred. Acting on a tip from someone involved with the ''Dateline'' crash test, investigators with FaAA searched through 22 junkyards in [[Indiana]] before finding the charred wreckage of the GM pickups.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thriving on Failure|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1995/02/26/BUSINESS11495.dtl&ao=all|author=John Flinn|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=February 26, 1995|access-date=March 26, 2022|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326161411/https://www.sfgate.com/hdn/hrlm/p/silent.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also later revealed that the ''Dateline'' report had been dishonest about the fuel tanks rupturing and the alleged {{convert|30|mph|kph}} speed at which the collision was conducted. The actual speed was found to be higher than stated, around {{convert|40|mph|kph}}, and after [[Industrial radiography|x-ray]] examination of the fuel tanks from the C/K pickups used in the televised collision, it was found that they had not ruptured and were intact.<ref name="ReferenceJ">{{cite web |title=City's crash test spawns controversy |url=http://www.calahouston.org/crwnvic.html |publisher=www.calahouston.org |access-date=September 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820095952/http://www.calahouston.org/crwnvic.html |archive-date=August 20, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceK">{{cite web |title=Seeing Is Not Believing |url=http://www.exponent.com/NBC-DATELINE/ |publisher=www.exponent.com |access-date=September 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122072414/http://www.exponent.com/nbc-dateline/ |archive-date=January 22, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref> GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation/[[libel]] lawsuit against NBC after conducting an extensive investigation. On February 8, 1993, after announcing the lawsuit, GM conducted a highly publicized point-by-point rebuttal in the Product Exhibit Hall of the [[General Motors Building]] in [[Detroit]] that lasted nearly two hours.<ref>{{cite web |title=GM vs. NBC, a New Wave of Employee Pride |url=http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/GM_vs._NBC,_a_New_Wave_of_Employee_Pride |publisher=GMHeritageCenter |access-date=July 14, 2010 |archive-date=May 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527160655/http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/GM_vs._NBC,_a_New_Wave_of_Employee_Pride |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/gm-press-conf-1|title = GM Press Conference|date = February 8, 1993}}</ref> The General Motors lawsuit and the subsequent settlement were arguably the most devastating blows for NBC in a series of reputation damaging incidents during the 1990s and early 2000s. Within NBC, [[Michael Gartner]], who resigned under pressure shortly after the incident, was the source for much of the blame. NBC News President [[Reuven Frank]] stated Gartner was hired in 1988, despite having no background in television news, in an attempt to satisfy parent company [[General Electric]], by replacing current journalists with cheaper, less experienced reporters and producers.<ref>{{cite magazine|title='Dateline' Disaster|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305709,00.html|author=Bruce Fretts|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=February 26, 1993|access-date=January 9, 2010|archive-date=July 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701024444/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305709,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the resignation of the news division's president Gartner, three ''Dateline NBC'' producers were dismissed as a result of the incident and the findings of the resulting investigation: executive producer Jeff Diamond, senior producer David Rummel, and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the correspondent involved in the segment, was transferred to NBC's Miami [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WTVJ]], where she became an anchor of the station's evening newscasts. ===Michelle Madigan=== In August 2007, ''Dateline'' reporter Michelle Madigan attempted to secretly record hackers admitting to crimes at that year's [[DEF CON]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]. After being outed by DEF CON founder [[Jeff Moss (hacker)|Jeff Moss]] during an assembly, she was heckled and chased out of the conference by attendees for her use of covert audio and video recording equipment. DEF CON staff tried to get Madigan to obtain a [[press pass]] before the outing happened.<ref name="Cassel">{{cite web |title=Transcript: Michelle Madigan's run from Defcon |url=http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/08/04/transcript-michelle-madigans-run-from-defcon/ |author=David Cassel |work=Tech.Blorge.com |date=August 4, 2007 |access-date=August 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070908114514/http://tech.blorge.com/Structure%3A%20/2007/08/04/transcript-michelle-madigans-run-from-defcon/ |archive-date=September 8, 2007 |df=mdy }}</ref> A DEF CON source at NBC News had tipped off organizers to Madigan's plans.<ref name="Zetter">{{cite magazine|title=Dateline Mole Allegedly at DefCon with Hidden Camera -- Updated: Mole Caught on Tape|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/08/media-mole-at-d/|author=Kim Zetter|magazine=[[Wired News|Wired Blog Network]]|date=August 3, 2007|access-date=August 15, 2007|archive-date=May 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519064130/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/08/media-mole-at-d/|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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