CBS Questions Intent of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ Stories

Is the “Survivor” lawsuit a legitimate news story, or is “Dateline NBC” reporting on it just to undermine a rival network’s top-rated program--a charge CBS directed at NBC News last week?

Twice in recent weeks, NBC’s “Dateline” newsmagazine has carried reports on “Survivor” contestant Stacey Stillman’s lawsuit against “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett and CBS, alleging that the contest was rigged, making it impossible for her to win. The first lengthy report, on May 14, which featured an interview with Stillman, was followed by a shorter update last week, when another contestant’s sealed deposition in the case was made public.

The second report, which was also widely carried in other media outlets, was too much for CBS Entertainment, which, when asked by NBC for comment, issued a statement for “Dateline” to read on the air, accusing NBC of using the newsmagazine to damage a competitor. “This is the second time in a month that NBC News has decided to focus on criticism of a competing show, one that has changed the network landscape in a way that could affect NBC’s economic performance on a night it previously dominated until this show came along,” CBS’ statement read.

NBC paraphrased that to say CBS was critical of “Dateline” “for covering the controversy about ‘Survivor,’ which is, of course, a successful show on a competing network.’ ” The second part of CBS’ statement to “Dateline” said “For the record, ‘Survivor’ is real. The challenges are real. The outcome was real. Any suggestion to the contrary is an insult to the contestants who have endured life on the island and in the Outback with courage and distinction.”

“Dateline” says it just thinks the “Survivor” lawsuit is a good story that its viewers would find compelling. “Dateline” executive producer David Corvo said through a spokeswoman: “If ‘Survivor’ is the biggest show of the year, then this is a legitimate news story and all of ‘Dateline’s’ reporting about it has been fair.”

‘Our Viewers Wouldn’t Relate’

Moreover, Corvo said, CBS’ charges that “Dateline” was trying to damage a rival are “inside baseball, and if we reported that, our viewers wouldn’t relate to it. We took the substance of their comments, plus some of their remarks verbatim and represented their side of the story.”

ABC thinks it’s a good story, too, although not for its prime-time newsmagazines, so far. “Good Morning America” had the first on-air interview with Stillman after she filed her Feb. 5 lawsuit, one of four reports in recent weeks.

Still, CBS sees underhandedness at NBC. For one, it’s not the first time “Dateline” has reported negatively about the hit CBS show, which has posed the first real challenge in more than a decade to NBC’s Thursday night dominance. Last year, “Dateline” also aired two reports about child-abuse charges against Richard Hatch, the winner of the first round of “Survivor.” The charges were later dropped.

But NBC has also aired plenty of positive reports about the “Survivor” contestants on its morning “Today” show. “When the show is hot we tell people how hot it is and when there’s controversy, it’s just as much a human interest story,” says a “Dateline” spokeswoman.

Indeed, CBS’ own news programs, particularly “The Early Show,” have been widely criticized for going too far the other way, becoming little more than promotional vehicles for “Survivor.” The third-place morning show, which has seen its ratings rise as a result, interviewed the booted contestants each week and co-anchor Bryant Gumbel interviewed several contestants in a prime-time wrap-up on the program’s last night. “Early Show” news reader Julie Chen is a host of CBS’ other reality show, “Big Brother,” which returns to the air in July. “The Early Show” has largely ignored the Stillman lawsuit, according to a spokeswoman who said that the story is really rival “Good Morning America’s” “brand.”

CBS News, asked about the controversy, issued a statement saying that “Whatever the reality, the perception is that ‘Dateline’ is basing its editorial decisions on the financial interests of NBC Entertainment. We’d like to think that CBS News would never be used to attack a competitor.”