This past Sunday, NBC’s Dateline achieved a major milestone: it became the first network newsmagazine to reach one million Facebook likes. Only a year ago, Dateline was at 316,836 likes.
To celebrate the occasion, Dateline is hosting a contest on its Facebook page. The show wants to bring one Facebook fan to New York City to represent the million. To enter, fans have until May 19 to write in the comment section of the post why they are the most loyal viewer and should be the one to represent the million fans. The winner (and a friend) will have the chance to go behind the scenes at Dateline. Fans have between now and May 19 to enter.
One of Dateline’s most popular Facebook initiatives began in December after it first posed a question: “Have you ever known someone who has gone missing?” The post received an overwhelming response, and now every Monday, Dateline posts about a missing person brought to its attention by viewers in the hope of spreading the word and bringing that person safely home. Facebooks fans have been extremely engaged, and one such post about missing 20-year-old Heather Elvis, reached nearly eight million people. Dateline updates the post as more information becomes available.
Dateline also uses its Facebook page to show its softer side. Fans occasionally have the opportunity to ask Dateline reporters questions, and the reporters answer within the comment section. On March 17, viewers had the chance to ask reporter Josh Mankiewicz questions about his life outside of Dateline and Mankiewicz answered them directly.