Dateline's predators: NBC's catch and release program.

• Author: Balko, Radley
• Position: Citings - National Broadcasting Company's 'To Catch a Predator' - Brief article

DATELINE NBC'S hit spin-off To Catch a Predator may be the first TV show to become a hit by setting up real-life stings. Members of the vigilante group Perverted Justice pose as minors in Internet chat rooms and attempt to lure men into meeting them for sex. The result--part Candid Camera, part Cops--has made host Chris Hansen a pop culture celebrity, inspiring Saturday Night Live and the producers of countess YouTube videos to spoof his on-camera confrontations with suspected perverts.

In May 2007, former producer Marsha Bartel filed a lawsuit against NBC alleging that she was fired for insisting that the show correct its violations of "numerous journalistic ethical standards." Bartel says Dateline relied too much on Perverted Justice; she claims, for example, that the group would show the program's producers only selected excerpts from chat logs. Bartel also says Perverted Justice volunteers would plead with suspects to meet them in person, even after the suspects initially declined.

According to Collin County, Texas, District Attorney John Roach, the involvement of Perverted Justice activists...