AMERICA'S MOST WANTED

'''America's Most Wanted''' is a long-running TV show produced by 20th Century Fox. Its purpose is to profile and assist law enforcement in the apprehension of fugitives wanted for various crimes, including murder, rape, child molestation, white collar crime, armed robbery, gang violence, many of which who are currently on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Contents

History

Local Versions of ''AMW''

AMW's hotline number facts

AMW Dirty Dozen

15 Seconds of Shame

Trivia

Cases that are international or have some international connection

External links

History

The idea for America’s Most Wanted originally came from a German show ''Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst'' (ger. ''file number XY... unsolved'') that first aired in 1967, and the British show ''Crimewatch UK'', first aired in 1984, with the US version conceived by then-Fox executive Stephen Chao and Executive Producer Michael Linder in the summer of 1987. It premiered on February 7, 1988 on seven Fox-owned stations. Within four days of the first broadcast, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive David James Roberts was captured as a direct result. He was a convicted killer who had recently escaped from prison. This demonstrated the effectiveness of the show's ''"Watch Television, Catch Criminals"'' premise to skeptical law enforcement agencies. Ten weeks later, the program premiered nationwide on the Fox network and became the fledgling network's first hit series. Since its debut, it has become the longest-running series on the Fox Network.
''America's Most Wanted'' reinvented the economics of prime time television with its low-budget reenactments of crimes. A typical hour of prime time programming in 1988 cost $1 million to produce. ''AMW's initial budget was much lower than that, but the show's reality-style format and nearly instantaneous captures (some fugitives were captured before the episode's final credits rolled) contributed to its success.
After the program’s pilot aired, a lengthy search was conducted, and John Walsh was selected as the host of the show. Walsh gained publicity after his six-year-old son, Adam Walsh, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981, and he parlayed that into the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Other potential candidates included former Marine Corps Commandant General P.X. Kelly and victims' advocate Theresa Saldana.
The show began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. As of September 9, 2007, 959 fugitives have been captured and 53 missing persons (including children) have been recovered alive as a direct result of viewer tips. Some of the most notorious captures include suspected killers Shawn Windsor and Michael Brashar, the Texas Seven, as well as Elizabeth Smart’s abductors Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.
The show was canceled for a month and a half in the fall of 1996 when Fox decided to air a Saturday night sitcom block consisting of ''Married with Children'', ''Martin'' and two new series: ''Love and Marriage'' and ''The Preston Episodes''. However, protests from the public, law enforcement, and government officials as well as low ratings for the shows replacing ''AMW'' encouraged Fox to bring the show back. Martin and Married with Children were moved back to Sundays. Producers rechristened the show ''America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back''. Since this time, the AMW/COPS combination has made Saturday evening Fox’s most stable night.
The show expanded its focus to also cover criminals in the War on Terrorism when, on October 12, 2001 an episode aired featuring 22 most wanted al-Qaeda men. The show was put together due to a request by President George W. Bush, who had presented the same list of men to the nation two days earlier. In October 2002, the show did a special episode focusing on the serial sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C. area.
In the new millennium, America’s Most Wanted has seen continued success. Currently in its 21st season, AMW is closing in on 1000 captures.

Local Versions of ''AMW''

★ On Fox 2 (KTVI), St. Louis, Missouri, they run "St. Louis's Most Wanted" every Saturday night at their 9PM newscast, after ''AMW''.

★ On Fox 2 (WJBK-TV, Detroit, Michigan), They run "Michigan's Most Wanted" every Thursday night at their 10:00 newscast.

★ On Fox 5 (WAGA-TV, Atlanta, Georgia), a "Georgia's Most Wanted" segment airs on their Saturday 10:00pm newscast.

★ On Fox 5 (WNYW-TV, New York, New York), They periodically air segment "New York's Most Wanted" during their 10:00 newscast after AMW.

★ On Fox 6 (WITI-TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a segment called "Wisconsin's Most Wanted" is occasionally aired during their 9 p.m. newscast, following the airing of America's Most Wanted. This segment is produced similarly to a single story from AMW, and normally lasts 5 to 10 minutes.

★ On Fox 8 (WGHP-TV, High Point, North Carolina), they periodically air the feature "Piedmont's Most Wanted" on their 10:00 newscast after ''AMW''.

★ On Fox 11 (KTTV-TV, Los Angeles, California), They periodically air a feature "L.A.'s Most Wanted" on their 10:00 news after ''AMW'', it is presented by Tony Valdez.

★ On Fox 13 (KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah), a "Utah's Most Wanted" feature airs periodically on the 9:00 newscast, particularly after ''AMW'' airs.

★ On Fox 14 (KCIT, Amarillo, Texas, The Amarillo Crimestoppers fugitive of the week is featured every Saturday Night on the KCIT FOX 14 News @ 9 After ''America's Most Wanted''.

★ On Fox 17 (KDSM-TV, Des Moines, Iowa) They run a short spot during the commercials of ''America's Most Wanted'' called "Metro's Most Wanted" featuring one locally wanted fugitive. The spot lasts about 25-40 seconds.

★ On Fox 17 (WXMI-TV, Grand Rapids, Michigan) They air a segment during their 10:00 newscast after ''AMW'' called "