Chester 24, Dateline 1*

I don't think the translation is flawed. There's absolutely no reason to mention Patrick Dorismond's name in this thread if you're OK with the concept of a sting. The Dorismond case has nothing whatsoever to do with TCAP. (It's more of a FB "two-fer"...he's thrown it in to so many "I hate Giuliani" discussions, he figures he can shoehorn it in here too.)

If this really is all about "journalism," I invite FB to go back and answer my previous question about whether or not it would be OK to have NBC's entertainment division take over TCAP. Something tells me he'd still hate it. That's *my* beef. Just be up front and admit you don't like stings rather than hiding behind a "journalism" argument.

 

If you typed that with a straight face I'm impressed.

 

Patrick Dorismond died because a sting went sour and a cowboy cop shot him. I used it as an argument against your simplistic notion that I hate stings per se for the purposes of saying we shouldn't do them at all, and that the cops should be careful when they do.
And pc, your defense of the whorehouse that is local TV news impresses me even more. Do you have your own theme music? A cool logo? Video of you pursuing some water commissioner down his driveway to show what's happening with OUR MONEY?

 

You're not half as clever as you think. Feel free to continue typing WHOREHOUSE! RATINGS! if it makes you feel good, though.

 

That's true.
I'm more than half as clever as I think I am.
Next -- are child predators stalking YOUR CHILD? Eyewitless News pretends to give a sincere shit after these messages.

 

If you had interest in this thread, you're going to want to get to the new Esquire magazine and flip to Page 233 and read about the death of this assistant prosecutor and the way the NBC Dateline folks and local cops approached the matter.

I don't think I'm going to watch this show anymore.

Edit: LINK: http://www.esquire.com/features/predator0907

 

Rolling Stone had a story on this show as well:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15723886/to_catch_a_predator_is_nbcs_primetime_dragnet_the_new_american_witch_hunt

 

DIdnt the change the name and tone of the strip at one point to Chester the Protector?

 

I might have to subscribe to Esquire. That story was fantastic, although the end of it made me absolutely sick to my stomach. I'd recommend reading it, thogh it is long.

 

Update:
After the Esquire article, 20/20 is investigating Dateline's tatics.


NEW YORK -- "Dateline NBC" denied Wednesday an Esquire article's claim that its "To Catch a Predator" producers tried to manipulate Texas police officers into arresting a D.A. who killed himself when confronted by police at his home last year.
Meanwhile, NBC is facing a $105 million federal lawsuit filed by the man's sister as well as a lawsuit by a former producer who said she was fired because she questioned the "Predator" lawsuit on ethical grounds. ABC News also confirmed Wednesday that its newsmagazine "20/20" was conducting an investigation into the death of Kaufman County prosecutor Bill Conradt and the role of "Dateline" in it.
It was "Dateline" and Perverted Justice, the consultant to the series that has used TV to entrap would-be child sex predators, that led police in Murphy, Texas, to set up a sting that would collar suspects and provide compelling TV all at the same time. The "Dateline" series has led to several convictions from the more than 200 people who have been snared, all with the cooperation of "Dateline" and law enforcement.
The Esquire article details the circumstances around the sting in Murphy, where an actor had been hired to pose as a 13-year-old boy who had been chatting online with a man who was later identified as Conradt. Esquire said "Dateline" producers tried to lure Conradt to the house where police were waiting, only to find that Conradt wasn't coming. They and members of Perverted Justice decided, Esquire said, to take police and a "Dateline" crew to Conradt's home in the small town of Terrell.
Esquire said the "Dateline" crew wanted Murphy police to get search and arrest warrants for Conradt's house, which the police did. The next day a SWAT team -- with "Dateline" cameras staked out nearby -- entered Conradt's home to arrest him. After a few words, Conradt held a Browning .380-caliber pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. He died on the way to the hospital in Dallas.
Conradt's sister Patricia Conradt sued NBC Universal last month claiming that NBC News had invaded his privacy and "steamrolled" their way with the help of police to arrest him. None of the men who had been arrested in the Murphy operation have been charged, and the D.A.'s Office has criticized the way the arrests and investigation were handled.
NBC News declined to put executive producer David Corvo on the phone for an interview about the Esquire piece or the lawsuit. An NBC spokeswoman disputed Esquire's account of the incident; so did correspondent Chris Hansen in an interview with Esquire. .
"The notion that ('Dateline' correspondent) Chris Hansen or anyone at 'Dateline' could or would 'control' or 'manipulate' the actions of law enforcement personnel is preposterous," the spokeswoman said. "Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Conradt was aware of 'Dateline's' investigation."
The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that Murphy police chief Billy Myrick, who approved the "Dateline" investigation setting up shop in Murphy and conducted the operations, had been interviewed by a crew from "20/20." An ABC News spokeswoman confirmed that "20/20" was working on a piece about the case and "Predator." She said it hadn't been scheduled for air and declined to talk about any other specifics.
NBC News declined comment on the "20/20" investigation.
But journalism ethics experts continue to be concerned about the "Predator" series. Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at St. Petersburg, Fla., journalism think tank the Poynter Institute, believes there's no journalistic reason for "Predator" and that NBC has compromised its journalistic independence.
"What I find disturbing about 'To Catch a Predator' is that it's designed to compromise journalistic independence and the system they've set up for doing these sting operations involves the cooperation of everybody," she said. "It's not like it actually just happens. Journalists designed it that way."
While she acknowledged that Internet predators are a legitimate concern, she said that more child-sex predators live in the same home as the children and that if NBC wanted to do a public service that they should so stories on those situations and ways that communities can keep children safe.
NBC News said Wednesday that it was "in discussions about future investigations" but declined to comment further about whether it would pull the plug on "To Catch a Predator."