Brian Williams’s new primetime newsmagazine continues to staff up.
On Monday, the network announced it had hired Harry Smith of CBS News to be a correspondent for the show. And today we learn Kate Snow will be moving from “Dateline” to join the team of correspondents for the new hour.
Smith and Snow will join “the talented correspondents and anchors of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC,” NBC says.
As the Williams show takes shape, NBC’s venerable newsmagazine “Dateline” — now in its 19th year — is also taking on a new vibe.
Episodes are now devoting the entire program to one criminal case, much like CBS’ “48 Hours.” This allows for the Williams hour to take on a more traditional newsmagazine format — two to three stories per episode with a more news-of-the-week focus: trends, interviews, features — much like CBS’ “60 Minutes,” but it will be produced live.
Both David Corvo, the Senior Executive Producer of NBC News magazines and Rome Hartman, who will helm the Brian Williams hour are CBS alum. Corvo has been with NBC since 1995. But during his time at CBS, as VP of public affairs programs, he had oversight of the network’s primetime newsmagazines, including “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours.” Hartman, who joined NBC last month, was a prolific producer on “60 Minutes” and later held the title of senior producer of “60 Minutes II.”
“Dateline” continues to be anchored by “Today” show co-anchor Ann Curry, but that too may soon change as her “Today” duties take up more of her time.