Elizabeth Cole, who has been with NBC on and off for 20 years, has been named Executive Producer of “Dateline NBC.” Cole had been Executive Editor of “Dateline,” reporting to David Corvo who is Senior EP of “Dateline” and the new Brian Williams NBC News primetime newsmagazine.
Cole first joined NBC News in 1991, part of then-NBC News correspondent Maria Shriver’s production unit. She went on to AP and segment produce at “Dateline” over the next 8 years. After a brief stint at Pseudo.com which went bust during the dot com bubble in 2000, Cole returned to “Dateline” where she’s been since.
Cole will oversee all aspects of “Dateline,” working closely with Corvo and anchor Ann Curry.
“Liz’s contributions to ‘Dateline’ have been tremendous,” says NBC News president Steve Capus. “She is not only a world-class producer, she’s admired by her peers and a true leader.”
Press release after the jump…
ELIZABETH COLE NAMED EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF DATELINE NBC
July 14, 2011 – New York, NY – NBC News President Steve Capus announced today that Elizabeth Cole has been named Executive Producer of “Dateline NBC,” effective immediately. Most recently, Cole served as Executive Editor of “Dateline,” reporting into David Corvo who was named Senior Executive Producer of “Dateline” and the new NBC News primetime newsmagazine show.
In her new position, Cole will oversee the award-winning production of “Dateline,” working closely with David Corvo, its esteemed anchor Ann Curry, and its talented team of correspondents and producers.
“Liz’s contributions to ‘Dateline’ have been tremendous,” said Capus. “She is not only a world-class producer, she’s admired by her peers and a true leader. What has been accomplished under her as Executive Editor has been astounding and I know that as Executive Producer, Liz will continue to inspire ‘Dateline’s’ award-winning team to produce high quality, entertaining and engaging stories for our loyal viewers.”
Formerly Executive Editor, Cole was responsible for supervising the day-to-day editorial operations of “Dateline,” including primetime specials on the royal wedding, the Japan earthquake, the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, the Inauguration of Barack Obama, the Hudson River plane crash, and the death of Michael Jackson.
Prior to that, she was a producer at “Dateline” where she produced some of the newsmagazine’s most notable broadcasts including The Last Days of Jesus, Secrets of the da Vinci Code and Eyewitness to History, a two-hour NBC News farewell to Tom Brokaw. She also produced Tom Brokaw documentaries on the detention of asylum seekers in the U.S., the Iraq War, and intelligence failures leading up to the events of September 11th.
In addition to her work at NBC News, in 2000 Cole served as Vice President and Senior Executive Producer of programming for Pseudo.com, a pioneering streaming video website. At Pseudo, Cole oversaw ten hours a day of live, interactive programming on topics ranging from technology to pop culture to politics, including Pseudo’s acclaimed coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Cole began her career in journalism as a researcher for NBC News’ Maria Shriver unit in 1991, working on her primetime specials and documentaries. She served as an associate producer for “Dateline” from 1993 to 1997, a segment producer for the newsmagazine from 1997 to 2000 and 2001 to 2003, and broadcast producer from 2003 to 2005.
She is the recipient of two Headliner Awards (2000 and 2005), a Radio Television News Directors Association Award (2002), a Sigma Delta Chi Award (2002), two Clarion Awards (1998 and 2002), an Overseas Press Club Award (2001) and a Gracie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement (2000).
Cole graduated from Vassar College in 1990, where she co-founded the campus TV station, VCTV. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, AETN Television VP of Broadband Strategy and Development, Christian Martin, and their two children.