Chris Hansen

Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959)[2] is an American television journalist and YouTube personality. He is known for his work on Dateline NBC, in particular the former segment To Catch a Predator, which revolved around catching potential Internet sex predators using a sting operation. He also hosts Killer Instinct on Investigation Discovery, which documents homicide investigations.[3] In September 2016, he became the new host of the syndicated show Crime Watch Daily.[4]

This article is about the TV journalist. For other people named Chris Hansen, see Chris Hansen (disambiguation).

Chris Hansen
Hansen in 2019
Born (1959-09-13) September 13, 1959
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materMichigan State University
OccupationTelevision personality
News reporter
YouTube personality
Years active1981–present
Known forTo Catch a Predator
Dateline NBC
Killer Instinct
Crime Watch Daily
Spouse(s)Mary Joan Hansen
Children2
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2019–present
Genre
Subscribers329 thousand
(July 1, 2020)
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers 2020[1]

Early life and education

Hansen was born on September 13, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois.[2] Hansen grew up in West Bloomfield Township and Birmingham, Michigan. Hansen attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[5] In an interview with City Pulse, Hansen has said that watching the FBI and police investigate the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa when he was fourteen inspired him to want to become a journalist.[6] He graduated from the Michigan State University College of Communication Arts and Sciences in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in Telecommunication.[7][6]

Career with NBC (1981–2013)

He became a reporter for Lansing NBC affiliate WILX in 1981 during his senior year at Michigan State University.[7][6] He then reported for WFLA in Tampa, various radio stations and newspapers in Michigan, WXYZ in Detroit, and WDIV-TV as an investigative reporter and anchor from 1988.[7] In May 1993, Hansen joined NBC News as a correspondent for the short-lived news magazine Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric.[7]

Dateline NBC

Hansen's notable work for Dateline includes coverage of the Columbine High School massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber and the TWA Flight 800 disaster, and investigative reports on Indian child slave labor and counterfeit prescription drug sales in China. Hansen was responsible for most of Dateline's coverage of the September 11 attacks, as well as stories on terrorist groups and the operations of Al-Qaeda. He also exposed how a group linked to Osama Bin Laden had tried to buy missiles and nuclear weapons components, and he also worked on an exclusive report on the Air France Flight 8969 hijacking. His series on the lack of security at airports resulted in the Federal Aviation Administration opening an investigation and ultimately revising its policies.[7]

To Catch a Predator
Main article: To Catch a Predator

In conjunction with the website Perverted-Justice, Hansen hosted a series of Dateline NBC reports under the title To Catch a Predator. Volunteers from Perverted-Justice impersonated underage people (usually 13–15) in chat rooms online and agreed to meet with adults for sex.[8][9] The meeting places were "sting houses", where camera crews from NBC, and in later episodes local police, awaited the potential sexual predator.[10]

Capitalizing on the success of Hansen and his Predator investigations, Dateline NBC created three Tuesday night spin-offs of its original concept; Hansen hosted To Catch a Con Man and To Catch an I.D. Thief.[7] In March 2007, Hansen's book, To Catch a Predator: Protecting Your Kids from Online Enemies Already in Your Home, was released in the American market.[11]

Killer Instinct

In February 2015, Hansen announced that he would be the host of a new show on Investigation Discovery to be titled Killer Instinct that chronicled homicide cases. The show's initial 10-episode season premiered on August 17, 2015.[12]

Appearances

Hansen has appeared on such television programs as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Adam Carolla Show, Today, Scarborough Country, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rise Guys Morning Show, The Don and Mike Show, The Opie and Anthony Radio Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Glenn Beck Program, and Diggnation.

On January 9, 2007, Hansen appeared on the BET news series American Gangster. The special, which was hosted by actor Ving Rhames, focused on Detroit drug lords, the Chambers Brothers gang. Hansen gave insight into the lives of the brothers based on the reporting he had done on them in the 1980s and 1990s as a reporter for ABC affiliate WXYZ (Channel 7) and NBC affiliate WDIV (Channel 4).

Post-NBC projects

Hansen vs. Predator

In 2015, Hansen announced plans to release a new independent television show called Hansen vs. Predator, a spin-off of his original show To Catch a Predator. The program was intended to premiere online, crowdfunded via Kickstarter.[13] However, Hansen was unable to reach his $400,000 goal, only raising $89,000 by September 2016.[14] Hansen offered promotional memorabilia as part of the campaign that donors claimed to have never received, and he was arrested in January 2019 for paying for $13,000 worth of promotional items with a bad check.[15] After Hansen was unable to reach his Kickstarter goal broadcast rights were sold, with Hansen vs. Predator becoming a recurring segment on Crime Watch Daily.[16]

Crime Watch Daily

On August 22, 2016, it was announced that Hansen would become the new host of the syndicated news program Crime Watch Daily beginning with its second-season premiere on September 12.[17] Hansen anchors the program from New York City, but it will maintain its Los Angeles-based newsroom. The second season also saw the premiere of Hansen vs. Predator, a revival of his previous To Catch a Predator series. Hansen's entry brought further ratings gains to the program, with household ratings increasing by 20% to 1.0, and a 23% gain among women 18–34. On January 4, 2017, Crime Watch Daily was renewed for a third season.[18][17] The show ended its run in June 2018.[19]Chris Hansen debuted the first episode of Hansen vs Predator on Monday, September 12, 2016, on Crime Watch Daily.[4]

Have a Seat with Chris Hansen

On October 9, 2019, Hansen started a YouTube channel under the name Have a Seat with Chris Hansen, featuring weekly podcasts tackling different topics and interviews with special guests.[20] In 2019, this channel investigated claims of pedophilia and grooming against YouTube creator James Jackson, commonly known as Onision.[21] In January 2020, Hansen visited Jackson's home in an attempt to interview him. Jackson called the police on Hansen, though the police did not take action against him.[22] Jackson also filed a lawsuit against Hansen, which took place on January 24, 2020.[23][24] Jackson later requested to dismiss the charges, claiming that he was advised to consider an "alternative, more effective legal action".[25] This dismissal request was granted.[26][27]

Personal life

He is married to his wife Mary Joan and has two sons. It was reported that in June 2018, Mary Joan filed for divorce after nearly 30 years of marriage.[28] The family resides in Connecticut. He also maintains an apartment in New York City. However, it was reported that he was evicted in January for failing to pay rent, with it being shown the last time Hansen paid rent was in August 2018.[7] His mother, Patricia Hansen, died on March 1, 2020.[29]

In January 2019, Hansen was charged with larceny after a check bounced with a vendor who delivered promotional items.[30] Hansen turned himself in to police in Connecticut on January 14, 2019, for allegedly bouncing checks for nearly $13,000 worth of promotional materials, according to Stamford Police.[31] The charges were later dropped.[32]

On February 28, 2020, Hansen was charged with harassment by a "civilian". He has not yet entered a plea and had a court date for March 24, 2020.[33]

Awards

Hansen has received eight Emmy Awards, four Edward R. Murrow Awards, three Clarion awards, the Overseas Press Club award, an IRE, the National Press Club award, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Award; as well as awards for excellence from the Associated Press and United Press International.[34]

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References
  1. Chris Hansen Social Blade, retrieved July 1, 2020
  2. Hansen, Chris (May 6, 2015). "An Interview with Chris Hansen". The Anthony Cumia Show (Interview). Interviewed by Anthony Cumia.
  3. "MSU grad Chris Hansen returns with 'Killer Instinct'". Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2019-05-19.MSU grad Chris Hansen returns with 'Killer Instinct' Archived 2015-09-20 at the Wayback Machine Detroit Free Press, August 17, 2015
  4. "'Take a seat' – Chris Hansen is back!". Crime Watch Daily. September 9, 2016. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  5. Hansen, Chris (April 20, 2010). "America Now: City of Heartbreak and Hope". NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  6. McNamara, Neal (April 15, 2009). "News maker Chris Hansen". Lansing City Pulse. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  7. "Chris Hansen: Correspondent, "Dateline NBC"". NBC News. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  8. Hansen, Chris (October 26, 2006). "They're still showing up". NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  9. Hansen, Chris (October 4, 2011). "Prominent men caught in Petaluma sting". MSNBC. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  10. Salkin, Allen (December 13, 2006). "Web Site Hunts Pedophiles, and TV Goes Along". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  11. Profile Archived 2016-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, hansenvpredator.com; accessed July 27, 2015.
  12. "Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  13. Blistein, Jon (April 14, 2015). "Chris Hansen Wants You to Fund New 'To Catch a Predator'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  14. Hansen, Chris (September 9, 2016). "Hansen vs. Predator". Kickstarter. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  15. Dillon, Nancy. "'To Catch a Predator' star Chris Hansen's arrest draws out history of financial woes and complaints". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  16. "The Return of 'To Catch a Predator'". The Marshall Project. 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  17. "Chris Hansen Will Be Catching Predators On 'Crime Watch Daily'". Deadline.com. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  18. "Exclusive: 'Crime Watch Daily' Renewed for Season 3". NextTV. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  19. Albiniak, Paige (26 June 2018). "Syndication Ratings: Soccer, Golf Drives Down Shows". NextTV. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  20. "Have A Seat With Chris Hansen". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  21. EST, Steven Asarch On 11/27/19 at 10:33 AM (2019-11-27). "Onision has been banned from Patreon and has been posting strange videos". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  22. Dodgson, Lindsay. "A creator who has become YouTube's supervillain called 911 when reporter Chris Hansen knocked on his door to ask him about accusations of grooming underage fans". Insider. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  23. "Washington Courts - Search Case Records". dw.courts.wa.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  24. EST, Steven Asarch On 1/16/20 at 2:04 PM (2020-01-16). "Chris Hansen and Repzion have been sued in civil court by Onision". Newsweek. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  25. Repzion [@DDsulzbach] (January 24, 2020). He dismissed his own case against me. I guess he's going to sue me in civil court at some point is my guess for attempted "slander" and "damages"...(Tweet) Archived from the original on January 26, 2020 - via Twitter.
  26. Harris, Margot (2020-01-27). "One of YouTube's most controversial personalities dropped his lawsuit against 'To Catch a Predator' host after the wrong person was served papers". Insider. Retrieved 2020-02-03. ...Jackson ['Onision']... asked for a dismissal of his petitions for orders of protection against... Chris Hansen and YouTuber Daniel Sulzbach ['Repzion']
  27. Mike Morse Law Firm [@855mikewins] (January 25, 2020). "Here's the official response from the "wrong" Chris Hansen. Good guy who wrote an appropriate response to the court."(Tweet) Archived from the original on January 26, 2020 - via Twitter.
  28. Hohman, Maura. "To Catch a Predator's Chris Hansen's Wife Filed for Divorce — and He's Being Evicted". People. People. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  29. Chris Hansen [@chrishansen] (2020-03-01). "It is with a mixture of sadness and a lifetime of joy and love that we announce the passing of Patricia Hansen. The very definition of what a mother should be."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. Fearnow, Benjamin. "Chris Hansen Arrested: 'To Catch A Predator' Host Charged With Writing Bad Checks". Newsweek. Newsweek. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  31. "Chris Hansen, former "To Catch a Predator" TV host, arrested over bad checks, police say". Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  32. "'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen has bounced check charge dropped". 2019-01-24. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  33. Guglielmi, Jodi (March 6, 2020). "To Catch a Predator's Chris Hansen Charged with Harassment". People. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  34. "Chris Hansen: Correspondent, "Dateline NBC"". NBC News. Retrieved 2012-10-08.

Further reading
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