Chris Hansen

Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959) is an American television presenter, journalist, and YouTube personality.

Hansen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1959, and grew up in West Bloomfield Township and Birmingham, Michigan.

In an interview with City Pulse, Hansen said that he first wanted to be a journalist when he was 14 years old, watching and following the police and FBI investigation of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

He attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Hansen graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in telecommunication in 1981.

In 1981, Hansen became a reporter for NBC affiliate WILX in Lansing, Michigan during his senior year at Michigan State University.

He later reported for WFLA in Tampa, Florida, various newspapers and radio stations in Michigan and WXYZ in Detroit.

In 1988, he was hired as an investigative reporter and anchor at WDIV in Detroit.

In May 1993, Hansen joined NBC News as a correspondent for the short-lived news magazine Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric.

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 attempted 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 deficient airport security resulted in the Federal Aviation Administration investigating and ultimately revising its policies.

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 minor children (usually 13–15 year old) in chat rooms online and agreed to meet with adults for sex.

The meeting places were "sting houses", where camera crews from NBC, and in later episodes local police, awaited potential sexual predators.

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.

He rose to mainstream recognition as a correspondent for Dateline NBC and the host for its short-lived segment To Catch a Predator (2004–2007), which revolved around catching potential Internet predators using a sting operation.

Despite its cancellation, Hansen saw continued praise for his predator investigations and interviews, which led him to host similarly-formatted shows on other networks.

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.

After parting ways with NBC in 2013, he hosted Killer Instinct on Investigation Discovery in 2015, which documented homicide investigations.

In August 2013, NBC decided not to renew its contract with Hansen, ultimately ending his tenure of 20 years.

He became the host for the second and third seasons of the syndicated television program Crime Watch Daily in 2015, where he hosted the segment Hansen vs. Predator.

In 2015, Hansen hosted Killer Instinct, a show on Investigation Discovery chronicling homicide cases.

The show's initial 10-episode season premiered on August 17, 2015.

In 2015, Hansen planned 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 with Hansen hoping to raise $400,000; however the Kickstarter only raised $89,000.

On August 22, 2016, Hansen was introduced as the new host of the syndicated news program Crime Watch Daily beginning with its second-season premiere on September 12.

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.

Chris Hansen debuted the first episode of Hansen vs. Predator on September 12, 2016, on Crime Watch Daily.

On January 4, 2017, Crime Watch Daily was renewed for a third season.

The show ended its run in June 2018.

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.

Later broadcast rights were sold, with Hansen vs. Predator becoming a recurring segment on Crime Watch Daily.

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.

In 2019, this channel investigated claims of pedophilia and grooming against YouTube creator James Jackson, commonly known as Onision.

He co-founded the true crime-oriented streaming service TruBlu in 2020, where he produced and starred in the web series TakeDown with Chris Hansen.

Hansen has earned numerous awards including eight Emmy Awards, four Edward R. Murrow Awards, three Clarion awards, the National Press Club award, and awards for excellence from the Associated Press and United Press International.