DescriptionMedia Ethics Datelines To Catch a Predatorto-catch-a-predator.jpegMany of you have probably seen at least one episode of NBC Datelines To Catch a Predator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtRe4KaxfeE (Links to an external site.)
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If you have not, heres my synopsis.NBC Dateline works with an online predator watchdog group called Perverted Justice (http://www.perverted-justice.com (Links to
an external site.)). Perverted Justice employees pose as young girls and boys (usually 13, 14, or 15 years old) in online chatrooms. The decoys try to get the older
men (sometime much older) to meet them in person.The men drive to the decoys house (sometimes from hundreds of miles away). All of this is caught on tape. Each man is invited in to the home by the decoy and they
meet for a brief moment. Then the decoy leaves the room and NBC reporter Chris Hansen enters. Hansen asks the man about why he is at the teenagers home and what he
expected from the rendezvous. The men often have seen the show before but still show up. Shortly after the exchange with Hansen, the man usually flees the house and is
then arrested outside by the police and charged as a sex offender in that state.Obvious ethical questions arise:1) Is this type of ambush journalism ethical?
(Definition of ambush journalism: Ambush journalism refers to aggressive tactics practiced by journalists to suddenly confront with questions people who otherwise do
not wish to speak to a journalist.)2) How does this affect the medias role as a watchdog over police, when they are cooperating so closely?3) What do shows like this do for the presumption of innocence (Links to an external site.) of the accused?4) Does this show go against the Society of Professional Journalists ethical code that states:
Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of
such methods should be explained as part of the story.
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp (Links to an external site.)5) Overall, how do you feel about this type of programming?Please answer each question separately. Do not post in essay form. The questions themselves do not count towards your word count.According to Nielsen ratings (Links to an external site.), the To Catch a Predator show performed better than any other show in its time block when it aired. (To
Catch a Predator premiered in November 2004, and as of December 2007 no new episodes have aired.)