The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr has an interesting breakdown on just how much news coverage the Gabby Petito story has received. “It slowed us down,” Mankiewicz said, “but nothing stops ‘Dateline.’” The Gabby Petito coverageīlue ribbons in memory of Gabby Petito are scattered across her hometown of Blue Point, N.Y. Mankiewicz said most of his interviews last two or three hours. It has meant more remote interviews and doing more interviews outside, which can be challenging with noise and changing light. Many stories Mankiewicz covers can be grim, and the past year and a half have been even more difficult with COVID-19. Mankiewicz said, “I’d seen (Pitt) about 10 days previously, and I kept thinking about how his murder was probably being planned while we were chatting and laughing.” Jones killed Pitt and five others, including two paralegals and a counselor, before killing himself. Jones had been required to see Pitt as part of his bitter divorce proceedings. Pitt was murdered by Dwight Lamon Jones in a 2018 shooting spree in Scottsdale, Arizona. Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who helped police identify the Baseline Killer and worked extensively on the JonBenét Ramsey case. “I covered the murder of a friend of mine in 2018, which was wrenching,” Mankiewicz said. Mankiewicz has done scores of stories, but one in particular stands out. Having an hour or two to tell a story is such a wonderful luxury for any television journalist, and the team of people you don’t see on ‘Dateline’ episodes is the best I’ve ever worked with.” Those remain the best things about this job. “I love coming in ahead of the competition. “Reporting is reporting, and writing is writing,” he said.
A lot of people have followed us into true crime but no one’s as good at it.”Īnd it has been fulfilling for Mankiewicz. For example, when scoundrels are caught and punished, which probably doesn’t happen enough in our day-to-day lives. “I think people like seeing the system work correctly. “I think we tell stories in a way the audience appreciates, and I think we do a very good job of storytelling, which can be fun as you lead the audience around corners, while simultaneously being very careful about the story, which is always serious and awful,” Mankiewicz said. And it has become something of a pop culture phenomenon, boasting famous fans, including Taylor Swift, Kristen Bell, Demi Lovato and Bill Hader.
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The series has aired 2,853 episodes totalling 3,323 hours. Tonight, the show kicks off its 30th season on the air, making it the longest-running series in NBC prime-time history. Many say the same about “Dateline.” When it’s on, they can’t stop watching. I think Herman and Joe would have loved it.”
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Mankiewicz told me in an email, “Whenever I turn on the TV and ‘The Paper’ is on, I can’t stop watching.
#Dateline nbc host movie#
So, naturally, when I had a chance to connect with Josh this week, I had to ask: “What’s your favorite movie about journalism - not counting ‘Citizen Kane,’ of course?” Josh’s brother, Ben, is a host on Turner Classic Movies. His grandfather was screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the classic “Citizen Kane,” and his great uncle was Joseph Mankiewicz, who won back-to-back writing and directing Oscars for “A Letter to Three Wives” in 1949 and “All About Eve” in 1950. You probably also know that Mankiewicz is part of a legendary movie family. The show's first-ever docuseries The Widower premiered in 2021 and detailed the investigation into Thomas Randolph, who was accused of killing his sixth wife Sharon (the fourth to die under mysterious circumstances.You know Josh Mankiewicz as the NBC News journalist and from his exemplary work on “Dateline,” the addictive true crime show where he has worked since 1995. Dateline premiered in 1992 with hosts Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley, initially airing on Tuesdays, and by 1999 it was airing five nights a week between 1999-2000.ĭateline has launched several special series over the years including To Catch a Predator, hosted by Chris Hansen, Wild Wild Web, and To Catch a Con Man. The weekly newsmagazine show Dateline NBC focuses on true crime and human interest stories and airs each week on Friday night.