The series' success gives Hansen - who has investigated child labor in India and the child sex trade in Cambodia - freedom and the juice within NBC News to pursue many different stories. He's not sure how many more "To Catch a Predator" stings will happen. "But to say it's our fault, I just don't think that's true." "If it had happened to my brother, I'd be sad that he had decided to commit suicide," Hansen said. NBC hasn't shied away from the case, showing the cavalcade of police cars heading toward Conradt's house and the sad aftermath in a program that aired during the February ratings "sweeps." Its inclusion was even promoted in advance. There's no evidence the prosecutor knew that "Dateline NBC" was involved, Hansen said. "When these people came after him for a news show, it ended his life," she said. Conradt's sister, Patricia, told the Murphy, Texas, City Council that she didn't consider her brother's death a suicide. The Conradt case was the most serious issue NBC has faced. Yes, the subject matter can get dicey, but he said he's never been uncomfortable watching the programs with his 15-year-old son. Maybe some secretly want to be, he said.īecause the decoys wait for a potential predator to make the first move, Hansen said he doesn't consider this entrapment. Men are so driven by delusion they figure they won't be caught. The most heartbreaking case involved a Florida man who arrived with his 5-year-old son. Hansen has seen the comically inept - two men walked into a room naked - and the vaguely dangerous, when a rabbi lunged to grab obscene pictures of himself he had sent online. Others make a futile dash, unaware the house is surrounded by police. Some men offer pathetic, mumbling excuses about their intentions. Then Hansen appears, holding transcripts of the online conversations. The men arrive, often invited inside by a young actress. When they engage in conversation and suggest a meeting, the decoys set one up at a home NBC has rented and rigged with cameras. With typers who will pose as innocent youths, Perverted Justice lies in wait for predators who visit chat rooms. So the formula was created that persists today. The reality of television is that if Hansen pitched a story about online sex predators and all he had were a few interviews and pictures of fingers typing on a keyboard, his producers would probably pass, he said. I get asked these questions all the time and I feel comfortable answering them." "Everyone's entitled to their point of view. "We debate all of this internally - how much is too much, what is our role, how do we balance compelling television with journalism," he said. He's proud of the way it has brought attention to a little-known crime. Hansen, a 14-year NBC News veteran, came up with the idea for "To Catch a Predator" after hearing about Perverted Justice. "I fear that 'Dateline's' motivation is driven by the quest for eyeballs, for ratings, rather than a legitimate journalistic purpose when they perpetually run what in essence is the same story over and over," he said. Among several ethical concerns is that NBC has become actively involved in the story instead of covering it, said Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute in Florida.
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