Predators are caught… even behind the scenes

by nicole ~ June 26, 2008

Today the New York Times reported on a family’s settlement with NBC after Louis W. Conradt Jr.’s suicide in 2006. According to the Times:

“The lawsuit spotlighted the techniques used by the hidden-camera program (To Catch a Predator) to attract men online by having someone pose as an under-age girl in a chat room, then luring them to a house where they were confronted by a camera crew and host. While “To Catch a Predator” drew high ratings for NBC, ethical questions were raised over the program’s all-access arrangements with the local police and an online watchdog group.”

Check out the full article here.

The methods used by NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” do raise a unique question, as posed by this lawsuit. According to the Times article:

“In February a judge dismissed some of the lawsuit’s claims, but declared that a jury “could find that NBC crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement.” The two parties reached a settlement before a trial could begin.”

Ironically, I had a discussion about this with my father last night, as he told me a former fire chief from my small hometown was just sentenced to a year in prison after being caught by police in a similar style sting. While I admit to finding NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” entertaining, I’ve started to think about the expense this comes with. While something does need to be done to keep children safe, the police in my home town have done their job, even without NBC cameras present. It seems difficult to argue whether or not Louis W. Conradt Jr.’s fate would have been any different had the police showed up to his home alone, but it leaves many wondering…has the media gone too far with this? Has NBC just found a way to repackage the COPS show format to present as journalism? In this case it seems to me like NBC has crossed a line between reporting the news and making the news. What do you think?

Nicole Amato is an Account Executive at Mediashop PR and a graduate of Northeastern University with a BA in Journalism.