Dateline Nbc Television Program

It was a General Motors pickup that exploded in flames. But it's the reputation of NBC News that's up in smoke. In a statement read by "Dateline NBC" co-anchors Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips Tuesday night, the network ate humble peacock, acknowledging that its unscientific crash testing of two GM pickups in a Nov. 16 segment of the weekly news program was "inappropriate and does not support the position that GMC trucks are defective."

Amid all the applause, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III did take a little flak when he backed out of a promise to first appear on NBC's "Today" in favor of CBS' "60 Minutes." The official reason was a request by the pilots association to hold off until the investigation into the water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 progressed, but insiders believed that Sullenberger's publicists had decided that "60 Minutes" was a bigger, better platform. (A book deal is already in the works.

In an extraordinary public apology, NBC said Tuesday night that it erred in staging a fiery test crash of a General Motors pickup truck for its "Dateline NBC" news program and agreed to settle a defamation suit filed by the auto maker. "We deeply regret we included the inappropriate demonstration in our 'Dateline' report," said a statement read by NBC News co-anchors Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips Tuesday night. "We apologize to our viewers and to General Motors.

In the three years after she left her post at "Dateline NBC," Maria Shriver collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the network as part of an exit deal, even as she pondered whether she could continue her journalism career while her husband was governor of California.

More than one raver or beat-hippie idly surfing network TV on the evening of Jan. 30 knew a brute shock of the all-too-familiar. NBC's "Dateline," in another installment of its sordid and successful "To Catch a Predator" series, rolled tape on the latest batch of vermin lured to an obscure Long Beach residence with online promises of sex with (fictitious) young teens. Caught in "Dateline's" on-camera haul was musician Matty Nash, the percussionist-founder of L.A.

The sister of a man who was suspected of being a sexual predator and who killed himself as the cameras of "Dateline NBC" closed in on him sued NBC Universal Inc. for $105 million Monday. Patricia Conradt's brother, Bill Conradt Jr., shot himself in November in a Dallas suburb as police knocked at his door and a camera crew for the newsmagazine waited in the street.

When Neal Shapiro left a producing job on "PrimeTime Live" to become executive producer of "Dateline NBC," some of his colleagues at ABC News reacted as if he were trading a coach seat on the Concorde for a first-class ticket on the Titanic. "People at ABC News said I was crazy, that nobody could make a success of themselves at NBC News," Shapiro recalls.

Signaling that O.J. Simpson's efforts to sell an appearance to pay-per-view television have failed, NBC said Monday that it has scheduled an interview with its former football analyst Wednesday night--his first extensive media questioning since a jury exonerated him of murder charges last week. NBC executives said no payment or other consideration would be given to Simpson or his representatives, and there would be no prohibitions on the questions.

Networks have long been ushering reality show castoffs onto morning shows and otherwise deploying news divisions to promote in-house product, but on Wednesday night, in the heat of the May sweeps, some kind of dam seemed to burst. ABC, in a twist on the typical embrace, used its news division to go after the hottest property in Fox's entertainment division, airing a so-puffed-up-it-was-hilarious expose of the alleged affair between "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul and ex-contestant Corey Clark.

"Dateline NBC" airs an hour tonight titled "Screams in the Night." But first have come charges and countercharges in the night. Just as the screams were Karen Pomer's--those of a woman terrified by her savage attacker in Santa Monica on Oct. 4, 1995--so, now, are the charges. The segment is a powerful statement about rape. But to rape victim Pomer, 41, whose own case is the hub of the program, it barks a more shrill, uglier language.

The sister of a man who was suspected of being a sexual predator and who killed himself as the cameras of "Dateline NBC" closed in on him sued NBC Universal Inc. for $105 million Monday. Patricia Conradt's brother, Bill Conradt Jr., shot himself in November in a Dallas suburb as police knocked at his door and a camera crew for the newsmagazine waited in the street.

"Dateline's" Stone Phillips will be leaving NBC at the end of June after the network declined to renew his contract as part of a corporate belt-tightening effort. The departure of Phillips, a 15-year veteran of' NBC, comes after the news division trimmed staff in the fall and dropped "Nightly News" weekend anchor John Seigenthaler when his contract expired earlier this spring. In all, the network's 6,000-person news operation is expected to shrink by about 400 positions over two years.

More than one raver or beat-hippie idly surfing network TV on the evening of Jan. 30 knew a brute shock of the all-too-familiar. NBC's "Dateline," in another installment of its sordid and successful "To Catch a Predator" series, rolled tape on the latest batch of vermin lured to an obscure Long Beach residence with online promises of sex with (fictitious) young teens. Caught in "Dateline's" on-camera haul was musician Matty Nash, the percussionist-founder of L.A.

By Saturday, this quiet residential neighborhood had, on the surface, returned to normal. The sun warmed the morning chill. A dog barked in the distance, and children played in their backyards. But inside an otherwise empty stone-and-brick rental house were reminders of an undercover police operation that caused an uproar in this neighborhood last week: Electronic equipment was stacked on a kitchen counter. A stuffed toy hung from a chandelier like a Christmas ornament.

NBC often struggles in the ratings on Thursday night, but not with Britney Spears. Spear's interview with Matt Lauer on "Dateline" drew an average 8.9 million viewers and built strongly throughout the hour, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. It also won the 9 p.m. slot among the adult group most coveted by advertisers, those ages 18 to 49, with a 3.8 rating/12 share. The 24-year-old pop star told Lauer that media criticism about her parenting skills had crossed the line.

A controversial "Dateline" series about sexual predators returns to the airwaves tonight, bringing with it a renewed discussion about the appropriate relationship between the press and law enforcement. In the last 18 months, the NBC newsmagazine set up three hidden-camera stings to confront suspected pedophiles seeking out young teenagers in Internet chat rooms, leading to the arrests of more than 50 men.

Television: The investigative report of the faked, fiery GM truck crash on 'Dateline' serves as a red flag for TV audiences about the forces that influence what they see. It reads like a guidebook for viewers increasingly suspicious of TV news in the era of tabloid and reality shows. The 71-page investigative report of the faked, fiery General Motors truck crash on "Dateline NBC"--released this week--also serves as a red flag for TV audiences about the myriad forces that influence what they see.

Ten days after NBC's extraordinary on-air apology for the staging of a car-truck crash on "Dateline NBC," many questions remain unanswered about who knew what in the news division's chain of command and about what action may be taken against those found to be responsible.

ABC won't be the only network getting a lift when "Desperate Housewives" makes its season premiere Sept. 25. NBC's "Dateline" scored an interview with Eva Longoria that it plans to air at 7 that night. In the segment, Stone Phillips visits Longoria at her home for homemade enchiladas and to discuss her love life and the pressures of fame. "We always feel great when one of TV's biggest 'gets' chooses to come to us," said NBC spokeswoman Jenny Tartikoff.

Dueling celebrity scandals filled the May sweep airwaves Wednesday night, and when the dust settled it was clear that viewers were far more curious about the alleged indiscretions of Paula Abdul than the admitted transgressions of Pat O'Brien. ABC generated impressive numbers with a special edition of the newsmagazine "Primetime Live: Fallen Idol," which featured Corey Clark, a former "American Idol" contestant who claimed he had an affair with Abdul, one of the show's three judges.