In 1994 Dateline NBC commissioned Michael Karp to compose a new theme for them. This result is one of the best themes used on a news magazine. It started being used around the time that Dateline moved to a new studio. For the first few years the program was broadcast from the set of NBC Nightly News. But when Today moved to their current street side studio, Dateline took over their old studio in 30 Rock. For most of the time that this theme was used, Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley co-anchored the program. Pauley retired in 2003; Philips was forced out in 2007 to save costs. Today Ann Curry is the primary anchor of the NBC news magazine.

This is the original Dateline NBC theme by Michael Karp. Dateline is NBC’s first successful attempt at creating a news magazine after numerous attempts. But it came very close to cancellation just after its debut. In 1992 the program featured a report about GM pickup trucks carrying exploding fuel tanks. Dateline’s credibility was nearly destroyed when it was later revealed that the exploding fuel tanks shown in the report exploded only because they were rigged with explosives. Various people involved in the story were fired (including correspondent Brian Ross, who went to ABC and rebounded well career wise). Dateline survived and is still on the air today.