Entrapped

High ratings for “Predator” have come at a high price for NBC. Some advertisers say they are wary of being associated with the show’s content, in which men lured to a house by the promise of a sexual encounter are instead surprised by Mr. Hansen and then arrested.

Critics have also raised ethics questions about the series because NBC coordinates the investigations with a private watchdog group and local police departments. And two lawsuits are pending against the network, one by a former producer and another by the sister of a man who committed suicide as police officers approached his house, accompanied by NBC camera crews.

Growing Problem

But the show’s success underlines a growing problem for television executives looking to push the envelope of good taste in search of hits: how to pursue high ratings without alienating advertisers or provoking negative public opinion.

The criticism and lawsuits directed at “To Catch a Predator” have led to negative news coverage of the show, online and in magazines like Esquire and Rolling Stone. ABC News recently confirmed that its prime-time newsmagazine program “20/20” is preparing a report about “To Catch a Predator.”

The most recent “Predator” episode, on July 25, included six national spot ads, significantly fewer than at other hours during NBC’s prime-time periods.

Return on Investment

“NBC’s probably thinking about what their return on investment is, and might be thinking it’s better to move on,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at the ad-buying agency Horizon Media.

Startlingly Successful

The first sting, filmed on Long Island in 2004, was startlingly successful, as 18 men came to the decoy house. NBC almost immediately began planning additional investigations, Mr. Hansen said. The third sting, in February 2006, was the first to involve a local police force. That year, “Dateline” produced a total of eight multiday stakeout shows in Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida and California.

But after the cameras stopped rolling, the men charged with felonies made their appearances in court — and those were often decidedly less dramatic.

As a result of three-day sting last September in Long Beach, Calif., for example, 38 men were arrested on camera — the most of any sting that year. Judge Bradford Andrews in Superior Court, who heard 30 of the cases, said most of the men entered a plea and were placed on probation. “Most of them had no prior criminal record whatsoever, not even traffic citations,” he said. Under California law, they are now registered as sex offenders.

Over all, 256 men have been arrested in the operations, NBC said. Slightly fewer than half have been convicted of a crime.

Death

Louis Conradt, a local prosecutor, Perverted Justice alleges, engaged in sexual conversations with minors online but did not show up to the decoy house, so the police obtained a warrant for his arrest. As officers and camera crews approached Mr. Conradt’s home in Terrell, Tex., he shot himself in the head. Last month, his sister, disputing the Perverted Justice transcripts, filed suit against NBC, seeking $105 million in damages. None of the men arrested in the investigation have been prosecuted.

Expensive to Produce

While remaining popular, the program is also expensive to produce. NBC spent tens of thousands of dollars on each sting, installing hidden cameras and microphones. It has also paid Perverted Justice a consulting fee of roughly $70,000 for each episode.

Unethical Production Practices

Questions about the network’s relationship with Perverted Justice are raised in a lawsuit filed in May by a former “Dateline” producer, Marsha Bartel, who contends that she was fired because she opposed what she called the program’s unethical production practices.

Her suit said that Perverted Justice did not keep accurate, verifiable transcripts of conversations with potential predators. Lawyers for some of the men arrested in the stings have focused on this point, claiming entrapment.

Ms. Bartel’s lead lawyer, Roger Simmons, said NBC had violated “one of the fundamental canons of journalism. “The line between what journalists do and what law enforcement officers do got fuzzy,” Mr. Simmons said. “The difference between what these reality shows do and what ‘To Catch a Predator’ does got fuzzy, too.”

Capitalizing on Success

Mr. Corvo said “Dateline” has an unofficial unit working with Mr. Hansen on other projects incorporating the “To Catch” concept. Half a dozen investigative pieces are in the pipeline, exploring adoption, insurance ploys and financial fraud. He said:

“We feel like we’ve raised awareness of this issue a lot. We want to make sure that, going forward, we complement what we’ve done in the past, not just repeat it.”

adapted from the article 'To Catch a Predator' by Brian Stelter appearing in the New York Times August 27, 2007

The Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692