Election themes don’t get much better than this. Michael Karp composed this theme which was used for the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections. Decision 2004 was the last election anchored by Tom Brokaw who retired days later from NBC Nightly News. He anchored from a huge set built on and around Rockefeller Plaza (which was temporarily renamed Democracy Plaza).

The 2003 war in Iraq had a long and protracted build up to it. This meant that news organizations had ample time to get ready. And they certainly made use of that time. All networks built special sets, designed special graphics and commissioned special themes. But the real costs of covering war lie in sending reporters to the front lines and making sure they are protected (think of body guards and armored vehicles). This theme, by Michael Karp, was used during the initial days of the war on NBC and MSNBC.

Later Today was the second installment of the Today franchise that was created in 1999. It aired at 9 a.m. (in most markets), right after the Today Show. It was a talk show focusing on women hosted by Jodi Applegate, Asha Blake and Florence Henderson. Henderson may be best known as Carol Brady, she was actually a “Today-girl” in the late 1950′s. Later Today lasted only one season and was replaced by an extra hour of the real Today Show.

In 1994 Dateline NBC commissioned Michael Karp to do a new theme package for them. This result is one of the best themes used on a newsmagazine. For most of the time that this theme was used, Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley co-anchored the program. Pauley retired; Philips was forced out. Today Ann Curry is the primary anchor of the NBC newsmagazine.

This is the original Dateline NBC theme by Michael Karp. During its first few years Dateline shared the set with NBC Nightly News. Dateline is NBC’s first successful attempt at creating a newsmagazine, but it came very close to cancellation. 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 that were shown in the report, exploded only because they were rigged with explosives. Various people involved in the story were fired, Dateline rebounded and is still on the air today.

NBC Nightside was NBC’s second overnight newscast. The program started in 1991 and was produced in Charlotte, North Carolina by the NBC News Channel. That, by the way, is not the same as MSNBC. It is the service, comparable to a wire service, that provides customized reports and video of national news to NBC affiliates. Some of Nightside’s many anchors included Antonia Mora and Campbell Brown. While the program was financially profitable and did well in the ratings, it was discontinued in 1999 because NBC wanted to use the overnight timeslot to air repeats of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. The theme is composed by Michael Karp.