NBC

“NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams made one of his regular pilgrimages to the Ed Sullivan Theater to appear on CBS’ “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

Williams is a regular on the late night comedy circuit, appearing with frequency on Letterman, “The Daily Show” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”

This time, Letterman asked Williams to talk about his competitors, “CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley, and “ABC World News” anchor Diane Sawyer.

WATCH:

After the jump, Williams steals cookies.

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“Dateline,” formerly known as “Dateline NBC”, will mark 20 years on the air with a primetime special next week.

The show’s host, Lester Holt will present highlights of the last 20 years, including new interviews from some of the most memorable stories: Jane Pauley‘s 2003 chat with Michael J. Fox about his Parkinson’s and Tom Brokaw‘s 2005 profile of Aron Ralston, the hiker featured in the film 127 Hours.

From big interviews to murder mysteries, to hidden-camera investigations and documentaries, the show has seen many adjustments over the years.

“‘Dateline’ has gone through many changes,” says Senior EP David Corvo, “but one thing that hasn’t changed is the loyalty and enthusiasm of its audience. We are grateful for that.”

“Dateline NBC” made its debut in 1992 and suffered a serious black eye a few months in. In November 1992, Dateline aired a report titled “Waiting to Explode” about GM pickups allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to the poor design of fuel tanks. “Dateline” set up a low speed accident showing the the fuel tank explode. But, unbeknownst to viewers, NBC producers rigged the truck with an incendiary device. GM filed an anti-defamation/libel lawsuit against NBC which was settled. Dateline’s EP and two other producers were dismissed and NBC News president Michael Gartner resigned under pressure.

Dateline’s 20th Anniversary Special airs Tuesday at 10pmET/PT, 9pmCT Tuesday night.

“Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory is getting some flack for speaking to a gathering of the National Federation of Independent Business. The group, while bi-partisan, lobbies on behalf of Republican causes. ThinkProgress reports, the NFIB “spent over $1 million on outside ads in the 2010 campaign — all of it backing Republican House and Senate candidates.”

Gregory is delivering today’s keynote, and is joined by other conference speakers including former GW Bush adviser Karl Rove and political consultants Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg.

An NBC News spokeswoman tells TVNewser, “David finds it constructive to speak to and take questions from a variety of audiences. He was not compensated.”

After announcing its fall lineup yesterday, NBC built a web page showing where each new and existing show would land. One problem. Whoever built the page used an old image of “Dateline” with Ann Curry as anchor. Curry hasn’t anchored since being bumped up to co-anchor of “Today” last year. Weekend “Nightly News” and “Today” host Lester Holt was named anchor of “Dateline” last September. Kate Snow is also in the promo image. But Snow now reports for “Rock Center.”

> Update: It’s fixed, except here.

Great news for fans of NBC’s primetime newsmagazine “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” the program is on the network’s Fall schedule which was just announced this afternoon, and will be formally unveiled at tomorrow’s upfront.

Come September, “Rock Center” will be airing Thursday nights at 10 PM, following NBC’s two-hour comedy block of “30 Rock,” “Up All Night,” “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.”

On Friday, we noted that “Rock Center” had been pulled from the network for the remainder of May sweeps, and that we were hearing that it might not be on the Fall schedule. The second part of that story was described to us as a rumor going through the NBC newsroom, and was not verified by a source. That is something I should have made clear when I wrote it, and I apologize for that.

NBC’s Fall schedule is heavy on the comedies, and will also feature reality competition series “The Voice.” The good news for comedy fans: “Community,” “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock” are all coming back, and contrary to some rumors online, none of them are necessarily in the last seasons just yet.

The full NBC Fall lineup is below.

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“America’s Got Talent” premieres tomorrow night on NBC, and Howard Stern stopped by the “Today” show to promote the show this week. Among other things, Stern talked to Matt Lauer about the criticism leveled at “America’s Got Talent” after Stern was announced as the newest judge.

“What a crazy idea to put me on a family show. Somebody at NBC should be fired for that, right?” Stern joked. “I watched the show, I’m a fan of the show. I’m not going on the show to disrupt the beauty of ‘America’s Got Talent.’ Because I love the show.”

At the end of the interview, Stern brought up the ratings battle between “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” prompting Lauer to jokingly say they were out of time. And that’s when things got a little strange:

NBC’s Natalie Morales has signed on to moderate an election-year town hall addressing issues specific to U.S. Latinos.

The special, tentatively titled “We Decide: 2012,” will air in August on nuvoTV, the first English-language cable network geared toward U.S. Latinos. Topics include unemployment, healthcare, education and immigration.

“Mainstream media has not adequately addressed the issues facing America’s Latino community in the context of this presidential election,” says nuvoTV CEO Michael Schwimmer. Schwimmer says the town hall, “will provide a unique venue for Latinos to amplify their voice across the country in English, so that the widest possible audience can appreciate Latinos perspectives on the issues.”

ESPN “SportsNation” co-anchor Michelle Beadle is reportedly leaving the Worldwide Leader in Sports for greener pastures at NBCUniversal.

Jim Miller, who wrote ESPN bio Those Guys Have All The Fun, has some details on the deal:

Bye bye Bristol: The @MichelleDBeadle deal is to be by cohost of access Hollywood (w billy bush), major sports events and new show tba.

— James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 11, 2012

Look for Beadle to appear during NBC’s Olympics broadcasts this Summer. In addition, don’t be surprised if she turns up with some regularity on “Today.”

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NBC “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory is interviewed by AdWeek, and he reveals his media diet. Gregory is clearly a team player, saying he watches MSNBC (at least during the day) as well as “NBC Nightly News.”

What’s the first information you consume in the morning?
I have Meet the Press and [NBC News] Political Unit colleagues who are sending out notes. I always look at Politico’s Morning Score and Playbook. I’m also trying to make sure I spend time with some of the bigger takes, whether it’s The Weekly Standard or The New Republic.

Are you a TV junkie, or on an airtime-restricted diet?

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Ah, May Sweeps, when the network morning shows go all out with field segments and special guests. On NBC’s “Today” this morning, it was announced that the show would be bringing back Ted Williams, AKA the “homeless man with the golden voice” for an exclusive interview next week. Williams was flooded with job offers (including a voiceover gig with MSNBC) but has since fallen off the radar, and reportedly into rehab.

Meanwhile, on “Good Morning America,” it was revealed that ABC will have a Summer stunt special in June, which will see daredevil Nik Wallenda attempt to walk a tightrope over Niagara Falls. ABC will televise the walk live on Friday, June 15, as part of a three-hour primetime special on dangerous stunts.

Speaking of dangerous stunts, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy learned about the ridiculous sport called “Highlining,” and learned how to do it himself.

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