Activists from the American Jewish World Service organization drowned out Al Roker as we was trying to tell viewers about Hurricane Dolly this morning. According to a press release, the group is calling on NBC “to beef up its coverage of China’s complicity with the Sudanese government’s genocidal campaign in Darfur as the network approaches its Beijing Olympics broadcast.”
The AJWS did its own study that found NBC “has spent a mere 6 hours and 45 minutes on the genocide in Darfur since the conflict broke out in 2003.” But is planning “an unprecedented 1,400 broadcast hours to the Beijing Olympic Games this August.” The group also sent a letter to NBC News president Steve Capus earlier this month requesting a meeting.
But what the AJWS does not mention is the reporting done by the Today show’s Ann Curry. Curry has traveled to the region twice to report for NBC News programs. MSNBC produced an hour-long special based on her reporting, and Curry was honored for her work there. So, while the coverage of the genocide in Darfur has fallen out of the American news cycle of late, the AJWS might want to make their voices heard to all the news networks, and not NBC alone.