Dateline Features "Perverted Justice" Tonight

Dateline NBC teams up with the "online watchdog group" Perverted Justice tonight, Lost Remote notes. Chris Hansen "confronts more than a dozen men who arrive at a house expecting to meet a young teen for a potential sexual encounter they have arranged on-line," according to the P.R. "It will be interesting to watch how Dateline conducts the sting, given all the lawsuits and controversy after local TV stations pulled the same stunt," Cory says...

John Gibson Tried To Trick The Media

Mark forwards an anecdote: "John Gibson (subbing for Mr Bill on The Radio Factor) told a funny but true story today. In his youth, back in the Watergate days, Gibson attempted to perpetrate a hoax on the news media. He got a couple of actor friends and made up a fake "missing 17 minutes" of Nixon tapes. He even had 1,000 records pressed (the label said "Oval Office Records"!). Nobody bit. A few minutes later, Bob Beckel was on the phone as an interview guest, and Beckel told him he had a copy of Gibson's record."

Headline News Prepares "Blue Sky"

To premiere in January 2005; "Handful" of job cuts expected for NY-based projects

Only on TVNewser: "Once again, big changes at Headline News coming," an insider tells TVNewser. A conference call was held at 9:15am to update staffers on the developments.

Ronaldo Santos, exec VP and GM of Headline News, told staffers that "Blue Sky" will premiere in the middle to last part of January 2005. It consists of one or two primetime shows that are designed to create appointment viewing for the network. The program(s) will be produced primarily out of New York, with some work from Atlanta and a bit from Los Angeles.

Santos said two concepts are on the table, and that one or both may be approved soon. He informed staff members that job postings for the show(s) will come out soon, and that a "handful" of current positions will be eliminated as a result of the changes.

He compared the move to Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programming and Nickolodeon's "Nick at Nite" franchise. He hopes to develop a marketable franchise, calling it "Headline Prime" at one point...

CBS Evening News Ratings Fall This Week

"Three days may not yet be a trend, but Dan Rather's overnight Nielsen Media Research ratings have slipped each day since Sept. 20," B&C reports. The newscast "averaged a 5.1 rating/10 share in weighted metered market averages on Monday, even with its previous week's average, when CBS was still standing behind the story. Tuesday, the average dropped to a 4.7/9, then slipped to a 4.6/9 on Wednesday, a 10% drop over the three days."
> His New York City #'s have plummeted, the NY Post says.

Former ABC Anchor John Miller Detained

Former 20-20 co-anchor -- and current L.A. deputy police chief -- John Miller was detained Thursday "after trying to board a flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport with a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage," the AP reports. He was traveling to the big apple to tape a farewell message for Barbara Walters. Former colleagues are asking: "Who exactly was he planning to shoot?"