Dateline, wasn't this a NEWS show once?
 

I used to watch Dateline NBC here and there, but lately I haven't had the time. I tuned in tonight and the whole episode is about dating culture. It seems like one long episode of Elimidate/Blind Date/Fifth Wheel/MTV. What's the point? How about bringing back the news element of the show and leaving the fluff piece for the last 10 minutes like they used to?

Was this the show that was caught staging a crash-test, and deliberately trying to make the vehicle in question look as unsafe as possible?

Not sure... that might have been "Primetime Live" that faked the vehicle test.

I gave up on Dateline a long time ago; too tabloidy/trashy. I'll still watch 60 minutes and 20/20.

They're just trying to cash in on the "reality" craze. I've been watching this since its inception, and it has been rising and falling with the trends from the beginning. It's a newsmagazine show, putting it a couple of notches above trash like E.T. and Inside Edition. Jane Pauley left recently, so Stone (has there ever been a more appropriate name?) Phillips is on his own. 20/20 and Primetime are really not much better. 48 Hours is similarly sensationalistic, but I've always liked its uniquely arresting style and format. The sober tone and professionalism of 60 Minutes puts it in another league entirely, but even it doesn't compare with the austere reporting of the estimable Frontline.