In the 1998-99 TV season, 'Dateline NBC' could be seen five nights a week. Some 320 staff were working on the program at the time to produce up to 800 stories a year for the network, including stories in some stage of production. A story on 'Dateline NBC' was usually about "a good character in conflict over something. That's the essence of what we do."
As reported, "Newsmagazines, especially those that are not yet well established, do not go into repeats, which means they have to produce twice as many 'episodes' as dramas do." In its review, 'The New York Times' remarked, "Under Neal Shapiro's guiding hand - and not always to the delight of media critics - 'Dateline NBC' has rewritten the rules of the newsmagazine show. 'Dateline NBC' is also remaking the landscape of prime time. As its success has grown, 'Dateline NBC' has also reshaped how entertainment executives view newsmagazine."
'The Christian Science Monitor' noted, "On most Tuesday evenings in 1997, for example, 'Dateline NBC' drew 16 million viewers, handily beating ABC's 'NYPD Blue' in the ratings." Using a newspaper term, Neal Shapiro told 'The New York Times' 'Dateline NBC' was popular because "it seeks out sidebars, millions and millions of sidebars" to stories in the news. "We do stories on the things people are talking about. The stories that are in the public consciousness. People say I'm cynical and I'm just trying to get the audience in. Is there an element of that? Yeah. But along the way I give them a good story and they come away saying, 'I didn't know that.'"
Speaking to the 'Chicago Tribune' in 1996, Neal Shapiro described the format of 'Dateline NBC' as "exactly like 'Time' and 'US News' and 'Newsweek'. You may get some little stories, or you may get one big takeout on an important story. And there'll be some things at the end of the magazine that make you laugh or chuckle or something.
"It's nice to acknowledge that our lives are more than just big important stories about corruption in Washington. Sometimes it's just about what's the hot book, what's the dopey trend in movies, what's the cool special effect that everybody's talking about. And I think we've done that better than anybody. To me, there are some things that are perfectly legitimate and appropriate to do, and I'm kind of puzzled why some things are O.K. in the printed world, but not on television.
"What I like about 'Dateline' is we're always trying to redefine the genre. '60 Minutes', because of its tradition, for so long defined the newsmagazine as three pieces and Andy Rooney. What's lost is when Don Hewitt started, he was the pioneer. He was this aggressive young guy, and the traditionalists who did documentaries said: 'What is he doing? Documentaries need to be an hour. You can't do three in an hour. What are these ambush interviews that he's doing? It's outrageous.' Don has been an incredible pioneer, but that doesn't mean it should stop there."
In 1996, 'Chicago Tribune' reported, "A team from software giant Microsoft is poking around the back of the curious, wood-and-computer-innards set of 'Dateline NBC', to get ideas for a World Wide Web site that will highlight the partnership between NBC News and Microsoft, a pairing that is expected to have a 24-hour cable news channel up and running by mid-July 1996. The Microsoft-NBC venture signifies the network's expansionist attitude toward the universe of news delivery, 'Dateline NBC' has come to symbolize such an attitude toward the prime-time world (at the time 'Dateline' was known as a multiple-night magazine)."
Andrew Lack believed 'Dateline NBC' was "as well-produced a program as we will ever see on American television." 'Chicago Tribune' acknowledged, "With its relentless focus on the topical, what 'Dateline NBC' does isn't so much shape the market as reflect it." The show had a "flexible, Baby Boomer-friendly, consumer-oriented format."
In the 1994 world of prime-time television newsmagazines, the 'Orlando Sentinel' observed, "The majority of the daily broadcast equivalents of supermarket tabloids." Don Hewitt added, "Right now, there is a feeding frenzy and with it there seems to be an effort in some quarters to load up America's TV sets with the same garbage that weighs down America's supermarket counters."
However in head-to-head competition, Joe Peyronnin of CBS News pointed out, "If '48 Hours' is up against two dramas, you can expect it to be a hit. If you schedule another magazine against it, you end up dividing the share points." Neal Shapiro insisted, "In the long term, people will still want a mix of news, entertainment and drama, and the news audience is sizeable."
Every newsmagazine tried to develop its own style. Connie Chung told 'The Washington Post', "Since there are so many (newsmagazines) on the air, it's important for us to distinguish ourselves." 'Now' featured more "tales of crime and violence, leavened by pieces involving celebrities, sex and television itself. It is a formula made successful by such syndicated shows as 'Hard Copy', but since this is network television, even the seamiest stories must be given a high-minded gloss."
'20/20' featured a "mix of investigative pieces, consumer-advocacy and profiles." '60 Minutes' would blend "at least one fresh story a week into its traditional mix of more timeless pieces." 'PrimeTime Live' found "a niche of undercover, 'hidden-camera' journalism." Tom Brokaw made the comment, "The more the news division can get on the air and deal with nonfiction programming, the better off we are. It's healthy for our survival."
Connie Chung said before the June 1993 premiere of 'Eye To Eye', "I've been out, shooting stories like a maniac in the last several weeks. When we go on the air, I will not be able to travel as far or as long, so I've been virtually on the road. The farthest place I've gone is Poland." Between July 1992 and October 1993, Lech Walesa appointed Hanna Suchocka the government caretaker, thus making Hanna Suchocka Poland's first female Prime Minister and the first woman to lead Poland since Queen Jadwiga in the 14th century.
'The New York Times' informed, "A social and fiscal conservative, Hanna Suchocka came from a small village, worked her way up the communist-approved democratic opposition and allied herself with Solidarity. An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, she prefers 'Ms.' to 'Madame' and says: 'I am not linked with any feminist movement. But there exists some kind of women's solidarity.'"
Connie Chung was in Poland, partly to interview director Steven Spielberg who was working on the film based on Thomas Keneally's book 'Schindler's List'. The book was about the late German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to save the lives of 1,300 Jews during the Holocaust. "Ours (report) really is quite moving. We interview the Holocaust survivors and the actors who are playing them."
As reported, "Newsmagazines, especially those that are not yet well established, do not go into repeats, which means they have to produce twice as many 'episodes' as dramas do." In its review, 'The New York Times' remarked, "Under Neal Shapiro's guiding hand - and not always to the delight of media critics - 'Dateline NBC' has rewritten the rules of the newsmagazine show. 'Dateline NBC' is also remaking the landscape of prime time. As its success has grown, 'Dateline NBC' has also reshaped how entertainment executives view newsmagazine."
'The Christian Science Monitor' noted, "On most Tuesday evenings in 1997, for example, 'Dateline NBC' drew 16 million viewers, handily beating ABC's 'NYPD Blue' in the ratings." Using a newspaper term, Neal Shapiro told 'The New York Times' 'Dateline NBC' was popular because "it seeks out sidebars, millions and millions of sidebars" to stories in the news. "We do stories on the things people are talking about. The stories that are in the public consciousness. People say I'm cynical and I'm just trying to get the audience in. Is there an element of that? Yeah. But along the way I give them a good story and they come away saying, 'I didn't know that.'"
Speaking to the 'Chicago Tribune' in 1996, Neal Shapiro described the format of 'Dateline NBC' as "exactly like 'Time' and 'US News' and 'Newsweek'. You may get some little stories, or you may get one big takeout on an important story. And there'll be some things at the end of the magazine that make you laugh or chuckle or something.
"It's nice to acknowledge that our lives are more than just big important stories about corruption in Washington. Sometimes it's just about what's the hot book, what's the dopey trend in movies, what's the cool special effect that everybody's talking about. And I think we've done that better than anybody. To me, there are some things that are perfectly legitimate and appropriate to do, and I'm kind of puzzled why some things are O.K. in the printed world, but not on television.
"What I like about 'Dateline' is we're always trying to redefine the genre. '60 Minutes', because of its tradition, for so long defined the newsmagazine as three pieces and Andy Rooney. What's lost is when Don Hewitt started, he was the pioneer. He was this aggressive young guy, and the traditionalists who did documentaries said: 'What is he doing? Documentaries need to be an hour. You can't do three in an hour. What are these ambush interviews that he's doing? It's outrageous.' Don has been an incredible pioneer, but that doesn't mean it should stop there."
In 1996, 'Chicago Tribune' reported, "A team from software giant Microsoft is poking around the back of the curious, wood-and-computer-innards set of 'Dateline NBC', to get ideas for a World Wide Web site that will highlight the partnership between NBC News and Microsoft, a pairing that is expected to have a 24-hour cable news channel up and running by mid-July 1996. The Microsoft-NBC venture signifies the network's expansionist attitude toward the universe of news delivery, 'Dateline NBC' has come to symbolize such an attitude toward the prime-time world (at the time 'Dateline' was known as a multiple-night magazine)."
Andrew Lack believed 'Dateline NBC' was "as well-produced a program as we will ever see on American television." 'Chicago Tribune' acknowledged, "With its relentless focus on the topical, what 'Dateline NBC' does isn't so much shape the market as reflect it." The show had a "flexible, Baby Boomer-friendly, consumer-oriented format."
In the 1994 world of prime-time television newsmagazines, the 'Orlando Sentinel' observed, "The majority of the daily broadcast equivalents of supermarket tabloids." Don Hewitt added, "Right now, there is a feeding frenzy and with it there seems to be an effort in some quarters to load up America's TV sets with the same garbage that weighs down America's supermarket counters."
However in head-to-head competition, Joe Peyronnin of CBS News pointed out, "If '48 Hours' is up against two dramas, you can expect it to be a hit. If you schedule another magazine against it, you end up dividing the share points." Neal Shapiro insisted, "In the long term, people will still want a mix of news, entertainment and drama, and the news audience is sizeable."
Every newsmagazine tried to develop its own style. Connie Chung told 'The Washington Post', "Since there are so many (newsmagazines) on the air, it's important for us to distinguish ourselves." 'Now' featured more "tales of crime and violence, leavened by pieces involving celebrities, sex and television itself. It is a formula made successful by such syndicated shows as 'Hard Copy', but since this is network television, even the seamiest stories must be given a high-minded gloss."
'20/20' featured a "mix of investigative pieces, consumer-advocacy and profiles." '60 Minutes' would blend "at least one fresh story a week into its traditional mix of more timeless pieces." 'PrimeTime Live' found "a niche of undercover, 'hidden-camera' journalism." Tom Brokaw made the comment, "The more the news division can get on the air and deal with nonfiction programming, the better off we are. It's healthy for our survival."
Connie Chung said before the June 1993 premiere of 'Eye To Eye', "I've been out, shooting stories like a maniac in the last several weeks. When we go on the air, I will not be able to travel as far or as long, so I've been virtually on the road. The farthest place I've gone is Poland." Between July 1992 and October 1993, Lech Walesa appointed Hanna Suchocka the government caretaker, thus making Hanna Suchocka Poland's first female Prime Minister and the first woman to lead Poland since Queen Jadwiga in the 14th century.
'The New York Times' informed, "A social and fiscal conservative, Hanna Suchocka came from a small village, worked her way up the communist-approved democratic opposition and allied herself with Solidarity. An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, she prefers 'Ms.' to 'Madame' and says: 'I am not linked with any feminist movement. But there exists some kind of women's solidarity.'"
Connie Chung was in Poland, partly to interview director Steven Spielberg who was working on the film based on Thomas Keneally's book 'Schindler's List'. The book was about the late German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to save the lives of 1,300 Jews during the Holocaust. "Ours (report) really is quite moving. We interview the Holocaust survivors and the actors who are playing them."
