AI Summary
5 min readThe Accidental True Crime Pioneer
Josh Mankiewicz never wanted to cover murder cases. When his now-retired executive producer David Corvo proposed that Dateline devote full hour-long episodes to single homicide investigations, Mankiewicz remembers thinking, "I don't think anybody's going to want to watch that." That was roughly twenty years ago. Today, Dateline's true crime format has become a cultural institution, and Mankiewicz has been dubbed the "mayor of CrimeCon"—a title he insists he did not give himself.
Speaking at CrimeCon 2026 in Las Vegas alongside NBC News correspondent Alison Barber (host of the Netflix podcast Allegedly), Mankiewicz traced how he went from covering the U.S. House of Representatives in the late 1970s to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in long-form crime journalism. The pivot began with a case in Reno, Nevada—the disappearance and murder of Brianna Denison—which became his first hour-long murder story. The audience response was immediate and unmistakable. "I got some satisfaction out of covering that story in a way that I had not anticipated," Mankiewicz said. "And then we were kind of off and running."
Why Crime Stories Connect Where Politics Doesn't
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:02) **Reluctant Start & The Shift to True Crime** - Josh Mankowitz explains how he was initially resistant to covering murder cases, pushed into it by executive producer David Corvo.
- 2 (04:46) **Why He Stayed: Crime as a Window into Human Emotion** - Josh explains how covering crime became more satisfying than political reporting because it reveals what truly drives people.
- 3 (06:11) **Live Events and Audience Feedback** - Josh discusses the first live Dateline event in Nashville and how it changed his understanding of the audience.
- 4 (07:43) **Advice to His Younger Self** - Josh shares what he would tell his younger self at the start of his Dateline career.
- 5 (09:02) **Why Audiences Watch: Information, Honor, and Awareness** - Josh and Alison discuss the deeper motivations for being interested in true crime, beyond simple fascination.
- 6 (10:03) **The Luxury of Long-Form Storytelling** - Josh explains how Dateline's two-hour format allows for a depth of storytelling that local news can't match.
- 7 (10:52) **The Truth About Keith Morrison** - Josh clears up the nature of his relationship with his famous colleague.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
In a special edition of Talking Dateline, NBC News’ Ellison Barber, host of the Netflix podcast, “Allegedly,” gives Josh Mankiewicz the third degree onstage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, for CrimeCon 2026. Josh tells Ellison how he got his start covering true crime and what these cases can teach us about ourselves and others. He also talks about the genesis of his award-winning podcast series, “Dateline: Missing in America,” before taking questions from the audience.
Have a question for Talking Dateline? Send us a DM @DatelineNBC or leave a voicemail at (212) 413-5252. Your question could be featured in an upcoming episode.
Listen to the “Missing in America” podcast: https://swap.fm/l/miafdlw
Listen to Josh’s first true crime hour, “The Night Brianna Vanished”: https://swap.fm/l/dl_thenightbriannavanished
Listen to the subscriber-exclusive “After the Verdict” episode on the case in which Josh catches up with Brianna’s mother: https://dateline.supportingcast.fm/listen/dateline-nbc-premium/after-the-verdict-the-night-brianna-vanished
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