Most people find it reassuring to know that the media watchdogs are out there reporting on injustice, government corruption and the no-goodniks creeping around our communities.
And those "gotcha" moments make for great TV.
WCAU-TV Channel 10, the NBC affiliate over in Philadelphia, came up with a little sweeps-week scam of its own Wednesday night. The station teamed with an Internet vigilante group to trap men who were looking to have sex with teenage girls.
According to Associated Press reporter Jason Straziuso, the station started out in online chat rooms. The undercover operators, pretending to be young girls, then lured three men to a beige Cape Cod house that the station had rented in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Newton Square, Pa., about a half-mile from an elementary school.
The men showed up at the house and -- Gotcha! An EXCLUSIVE Channel 10 investigation! Live, tonight at 11!
The trouble was that the station hadn't bothered to tell the local police, community leaders, residents or school officials about their sting operation. And those folks weren't too pleased with the idea of potential pedophiles being brought into an "uncontrolled" situation in their nice neighborhood.
"These pedophiles were given an address in our township, and they were coming to the front door in a neighborhood that was just loaded with children," Newtown Township Police Chief Lee Hunter said yesterday. "We haven't had that danger until they brought them into our community."
Reaction was swift, and it didn't include patronization of the sponsors. The nearby school told parents not to let their children walk home. Police put six more patrol cars on the streets. And more than 300 residents turned out for a meeting to express their outrage.
The station, like any good news media outlet, is standing by its "Perverted Justice" story, saying it is "proud" of its report.
And in follow-up stories on the air and at their Web site, WCAU officials are holding up quotes from people praising and thanking them for their report.
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, of which every parent should be acutely aware," their statement said. They also quote a doctor who essentially says it is very unlikely that any of these pedophiles would just choose a kid "off the street." They were looking for kids they'd already made contact with.
The Web site doesn't say what this doctor's field of expertise is, but he sure isn't watching the same news reports that the rest of us are seeing.
Anyway, the AP reports that the Delaware County district attorney's office called the TV station's actions "irresponsible and dangerous" and is investigating whether any laws were violated.
That might sting the station.
Speaking of reporting of which we're proud ...
Bill Schackner, the Post-Gazette's higher education reporter, has won first place in education reporting in the 2004 National Headliner Awards.
Schackner, who began covering higher education for the PG in 1994, won for a collection of articles written throughout 2003.
The Headliner Awards, founded in 1934, are among the nation's oldest and most distinguished national journalism prizes.
The Toledo Blade won second place in investigative reporting for its series "Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths," which also appeared in the Post-Gazette.
Also this week, Schackner was awarded third place in the features category of the 2004 Education Writers Association annual competition for his Dec. 21 article, "May the Course be With You." The New York Times won both first and second place in the nationwide competition.