It was widely believed that Hoffa had been the victim of a mob hit, and his disappearance became a sensational news story. It was there, in the summer of 1975, that the infamous labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa went missing. The family picked up and settled in the exclusive Bloomfield Township near Detroit. He lived in Chicago until he was eight, when Hansen’s father, who worked in sales for the Eaton Corporation, received a promotion. Hansen leapt into journalism with the same certainty. “It didn’t give us a moment of hesitation,” says Kevin Bennett, the channel’s general manager. Executives at Investigation Discovery say the decision to bring Hansen on despite rumors of his personal life and a messy split with NBC was not a difficult one. His polished voice and delivery reveal themselves today even in casual conversation. He excels in getting subjects to open up, and to do so in detail, about matters they might not otherwise be inclined to discuss. “It involve people speaking out for the first time,” Hansen says, “and my ability to sometimes get these people to talk who had never talked before.”Īs an interviewer, Hansen still ranks. The show will give Hansen a platform once again to do what he says he does best. Late last year, Hansen found himself in a Texas prison facing a killer convicted of what the journalist says was a “horrendous murder.” Hansen had spent the fall and winter bouncing around the country conducting interviews for Killer Instinct.
Now Hansen speaks out for the first time since leaving NBC. Staying relevant during the move from network to cable is no small order-ask Dan Rather or Conan O’Brien about it-but for Hansen it will be a shot at redemption. The show will begin its 10-episode run later this year (five episodes have already been shot).
Hansen met with executives at the true-crime cable channel Investigation Discovery, and by the fall an original show, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen, had been greenlit.
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It began to look like Hansen was less of a free agent than a newsman in exile. He tried his hand at a couple of pilots, but nothing got off the ground. Hansen was eventually released and has 14 days to deliver the uncut video, said prosecutor Scott Koerner.NBC, which would not comment on the circumstances surrounding Hansen’s departure, was quick to scrub most mentions of him from its website, and soon Hansen’s own Twitter feed had dried up, too.
It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that resulted in a failure to appear,” attorney Clint Perryman told AP. “He wasn’t intending to not appear or to be somebody that was trying to circumvent the process. Hansen did offer an edited video, but one of the defendants demanded the complete footage, which he argued could provide exonerating evidence, AP reported.Īccording to Hansen’s lawyer, his client neglected to appear at the court hearing because of a misunderstanding concerning a subpoena. Hansen said a video clip of the interview would see release in the near future, reported M Live Michigan.
“It goes to show that these guys come from all walks of life.” “While I think nothing will ever shock me, here again is somebody who is a lawman, who is sworn to protect, whose job it is to monitor inmates in a state prison,” Hansen said.