Chris Hansen is using Kickstarter to revive To Catch a Predator

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by WaldoKitty

LOL. NBC canceled the show because of it. Is that good enough for you?

There were lots of reasons why the predator series was cancelled. It exposed NBC to all kinds of legal trouble, as there was a lot of entrapment involved, some of it sketchy, and while the viewers never learned of it, a lot of the perverts were real eased due to bad procedure as soon as they faced a judge.

The cops were also becoming increasingly greater trouble for the network as well. They were a little piece of fame too, and were too often going overboard in their captures. The cops who appeared on the show pissed off other cops who wanted the same opportunity, and there was a lot of friction that developed in formerly cohesive police departments.

Those police departments also got the pants sued off them, too, further damaging Dateline's reputation. By the end, Hansen could's find a police department that was willing to participate.

The guy who committed suicide on air cost NBC millions in damages from a lawsuit brought by his survivors. And since it was essentially exactly the same thing, over and over, the public soon grew tired of it. Dateline's ratings nose dived.

It was the same gimmick as the old 60 Minutes ambushes in the 70s; 60 Minutes would dig up something suspicious, then pull surprised interview with the person, who often ran away. Mike Wallace was the biggest ambush specialist, and it made him a star.
But in the end, the ambushes also cost 60 Minutes a big ratings drop and CBS some very serious lawsuit penalties.

Wallace also took a big personal hit from the ambushes; polls found he was becoming hated for them, and he was put on the back burner at 60 Minutes for over a year. He might have gotten fired if not for Morley Safer, whose warmth kept the show's ratings from falling through the floor like Dateline's ratings did. Safer gradually brought Wallace back, and there were no more ambushes ever afterward, even though 60 Minutes continued a lot of hidden camera reportage.

The ambush always works for a while to pull in eyeballs, but people get sick of it when it happens too often and goes on for too long. These things always run their course and then disappear for good.

And these days, the internet has done a much better job of public shaming than a TV show can do. Shaming is viral now on the net, and consequences are following, just like they did earlier with Dateline and 60 Minutes. Hansen won't get a new show aired; the best he can do is pull a Palin and try to get internet subscription for his proposed show.

[Vector1]

I had not read this thread since I posted early on.

I am really surprised at the posters who seem to revile Chris Hansen over his show because I applaud him for it.
Far too many child predators are roaming around out there abuse/corrupting children on a daily basis. Law enforcement can only deal with a small number of them, and typically only after the damage has been done.

Hansen's show not only took predictors off the street, but also helped to expose them for friends/neighbors/employers to see. It was a pro-active and preemptive way to fight back against the most vile scum roaming our streets.
I'd like to buy the guy a beer and shake his hand for what he did. I hope he gets another show because despite not liking it from a viewership standpoint (gets me too angry), it served a great public function.

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[Juram]

Originally Posted by banjomike

There were lots of reasons why the predator series was cancelled. It exposed NBC to all kinds of legal trouble, as there was a lot of entrapment involved, some of it sketchy, and while the viewers never learned of it, a lot of the perverts were real eased due to bad procedure as soon as they faced a judge.

In most investigations that I researched, over 90% were convicted on various charges, so no, it wasn't "a lot" being released. In most states the charges were pretty much a slam dunk with the volume of information that was collected about the suspects and especially their logged chat sessions.


The main reason why the show was cancelled is because advertisers didn't want to be associated with it, the ratings themselves were never an issue, but because of the material that was being presented, advertisers were wary. Mike's Hard Lemonade took offense at one of the would be predators bringing in their products into a house for example. Who wants to be known as the alcoholic beverage of choice for pedophiles I guess. TCAP had the fewest advertisers of any primetime NBC program during its airing run.


Throw in the suicide of the assistant DA out in Texas and that was enough for NBC to pull the plug.

And these days, the internet has done a much better job of public shaming than a TV show can do. Shaming is viral now on the net, and consequences are following, just like they did earlier with Dateline and 60 Minutes. Hansen won't get a new show aired; the best he can do is pull a Palin and try to get internet subscription for his proposed show.

He's already stated that it would be an online series which would allow him full creative control over every aspect of the program.