Be A Witness
Be A Witness
The word media was once mockingly defined as the plural of mediocrity. When it comes to coverage of Darfur, describing the media as mediocre would be overly generous.
Since 2003, almost two million people have been displaced by a campaign of genocide undertaken by the Sudanese government against the people of Darfur. Estimates of those killed range up to 400,000 people.
In June, CNN, FOXNews, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, and CBS devoted over 8, 000 segments of coverage of trivial matters like the “runaway bride,” the Michael Jackson trial, and actor Tom Cruise. Meanwhile, the same stations aired only 126 segments on Sudan.
The vast majority of Americans continue to rely on broadcast and cable television as their primary source of information. Whether it is coverage of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s, or recent coverage of the tsunami, television news can help stop grave injustices and end human suffering. Increased television coverage of the genocide in Darfur has the power to spur the action required to stop a devastating crime against humanity. In short, increased television coverage of the genocide in Darfur has the power to help save thousands of lives.
Today, American Progress launches its “Be a Witness” campaign so you can ask news organizations why they won’t cover the genocide in Sudan. Call on them to be a witness to genocide by giving the Darfur genocide the coverage it so clearly deserves.
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this is a good idea, but I don’t think it will work. networks are out to make money and there is more money covering MJ than darfur.
July 11th, 2005 at 5:21 pmThank you for doing this. As purveyors of information we should keep reminding Americans that there’s a bigger picture out there, a world that suffers. Our indifference and/or ignorance makes it worse. I hope, at the very least, the progressive blogs will pick up on this theme. I am going to do so on my blog.
Let’s not forget that today it’s the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Please include a few articles on your site.
July 11th, 2005 at 5:52 pmI have to sadly agree with post # 1. I am unsure why, but it seems to me that a majority of Americans have little concern with what happens outside of this countr
July 11th, 2005 at 7:35 pmThanks for bringing this to our attention.
Which reminds me: Earlier today, I did a database search for the string “World Tribunal on Iraq”. Never heard of it? You need to read this:
http://www.worldtribunal.org
The bad news is that this major tribunal, complete with a journal and legal proceedings convened worldwide, has — in the last six months — convened a grand total of 26 mentions in the world’s media, according to Lexis-Nexis.
Of those 26, it appears none come from sources from the United States. Zero.
If people are angry at the media, they should act to change it:
(1) Get involved in groups and campaigns. Be A Witness is one. Others that are excellent include Free Press, FAIR, MediaChannel, or start your own initiative (I’m involved with one called Chicago Media Action).
(2) Support alternative and independent media. As part of that, be sure to diversify your media diet. And don’t just consume the media. Produce it yourself, and donate to independent media initiatives. The right has made funding media a serious component of its political initiatives; leftists and liberals should do the same.
(3) Spread the word. Campaigns like this tend to die too frequently because they don’t get wider coverage. So spread the word. Tell your friends, your colleagues, your enemies. Start your own email announcements list, or phone tree.
July 11th, 2005 at 7:39 pmRight on Mitchell!
May I add to your list: the much maligned and beleagured Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). A number of the programs especially the “news” types, have question links where they encourage “viewers like you” to participate. You can also send topic suggestions along with any tips or information you’d like to see covered or investigated.
See what’s on your local station(s), tune in and watch and send appropriate emails. Even if your specific topic isn’t covered, I’ve detected lines of questioning that I’ve already read on the website. So they do pay attention.
Besides — there’s no comercials!
July 11th, 2005 at 9:12 pmJoin this movement and take back America and the media.
PERMITS OBTAINED FOR SEPTEMBER 24!
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF IMPEACHMENT SUPPORTERS TO SURROUND WHITE HOUSE
Legal permits have now been obtained on both sides of the White House
for the mass demonstration on September 24. This will allow tens of
thousands of supporters of the impeachment of George W. Bush to join with
the antiwar movement and create a sea of protestors to surround the
White House.
September 24 will be a day to bring your family, your parents,
grandparents and children, and as many neighbors and friends as possible
together with thousands of others in the the ImpeachBush movement’s most
powerful display yet. It will be an opportunity to exercise your First
Amendment right to demand that Bush, Cheney and other high officials be
held accountable for their criminal conduct.
As we reported last week, recent polls show a dramatic spike in support
for impeachment. According to most recent Zogby Poll, 42% of voters –
25% of whom consider themselves Republicans – would support impeachment
if Bush lied about Iraq. The tide is clearly turning, but we need to
work with ever-greater vigor.
ImpeachBush.org/VoteToImpeach is launching a massive advertising and
publicity campaign to promote the September 24 Impeachment contingent at
the White House demonstration. We will take out newspaper ads, radio
spots, targeted media outreach, and print hundreds of thousands of
leaflets, stickers, posters, lawn signs and other outreach materials.
The impeachment campaign will use the information from the Downing
July 11th, 2005 at 10:16 pmStreet memos and other known sources that prove the Bush administration
engaged in a pattern of lies and deceit to mislead Congress and the
people.
Susan,
You need to buy a clue. I don’t think that there is even a remote chance that Bush will ever be impeached. For that to happen, democrats would have to regain control of congress. With your party’s absence of any idea on how keep this great nation safe from terrorism, revamp the economy etc., that just isn’t going to happen. You just need to move on. Thanks for listening.
July 12th, 2005 at 8:23 amWe know very well what the “grievances” of the jihadists are.
The grievance of seeing unveiled women. The grievance of the existence, not of the State of Israel, but of the Jewish people. The grievance of the heresy of democracy, which impedes the imposition of sharia law. The grievance of a work of fiction written by an Indian living in London.
The grievance of the existence of black African Muslim farmers, who won’t abandon lands in Darfur.
The grievance of the existence of homosexuals. The grievance of music, and of most representational art. The grievance of the existence of Hinduism. The grievance of East Timor’s liberation from Indonesian rule. All of these have been proclaimed as a licence to kill infidels or apostates, or anyone who just gets in the way.
FOR a few moments yesterday, Londoners received a taste of what life is like for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, whose Muslim faith does not protect them from slaughter at the hands of those who think they are not Muslim enough, or are the wrong Muslim.
It is a big mistake to believe this is an assault on “our” values or “our” way of life. It is, rather, an assault on all civilisation.
We know very well what the “grievances” of the jihadists are.
The grievance of seeing unveiled women. The grievance of the existence, not of the State of Israel, but of the Jewish people. The grievance of the heresy of democracy, which impedes the imposition of sharia law. The grievance of a work of fiction written by an Indian living in London. The grievance of the existence of black African Muslim farmers, who won’t abandon lands in Darfur. The grievance of the existence of homosexuals. The grievance of music, and of most representational art. The grievance of the existence of Hinduism. The grievance of East Timor’s liberation from Indonesian rule. All of these have been proclaimed as a licence to kill infidels or apostates, or anyone who just gets in the way.
FOR a few moments yesterday, Londoners received a taste of what life is like for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, whose Muslim faith does not protect them from slaughter at the hands of those who think they are not Muslim enough, or are the wrong Muslim.
It is a big mistake to believe this is an assault on “our” values or “our” way of life. It is, rather, an assault on all civilisation.
July 12th, 2005 at 9:56 amhttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15713152%26method=full%26siteid=94762%26headline=we-cannot-surrender-name_page.html
oooops
July 12th, 2005 at 9:57 amWell let’s not pretend the UN can handle this, they never have before:
SREBRENICA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 11 – At a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the execution of about 7,000 Muslim men and boys here during the war in Bosnia, American and European leaders again promised that two Bosnian Serb leaders indicted for the killings would be brought to justice. But many of the 30,000 Bosnian Muslims who gathered here today dismissed the promises as empty.
“I don’t believe anymore that anyone loves us,� said Zada Pasalic, a 63-year-old woman whose brother was among 610 execution victims buried here today after being identified by DNA. “I lost my faith in them a long time ago. They promise so much and gave so little.�
In 1993, the United Nations declared Srebrenica the world’s first civilian “safe area,� stripped its soldiers of their heavy weapons and promised to protect the enclave. Three years later, Serb forces overwhelmed 370 lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers, seized control of the enclave and killed virtually every man and boy they captured.
At a somber ceremony under a gray sky that sprinkled rain on diplomats, mourners and graves, British and United Nations officials apologized for the failure of the international community to protect the town a decade ago. The British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, made the most direct statement, saying it was “a shame on the international community that this evil took place under our noses.�
“I particularly regret this,� said Mr. Straw. “And I deeply sorry for it.� [sic]
Mark Malloch Brown, a senior United Nations envoy sent to represent Secretary General Kofi Annan, said United Nations officials made “serious errors of judgment� in Srebrenica that stemmed from “a philosophy of nonviolence and neutrality that was unsuited for the war in Bosnia,� a brutal conflict that killed 200,000 people.
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January 8th, 2006 at 2:43 pmi like the idea. it exposes the issues in our country, and why we as Americans are not doing anything about the genocide. But on the other hand, more viewers will pay attention to Micheal Jackson than Sudan, which is sad
February 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pmyou know when you get your report card. and u got all F’s on it, you just wana take it back to the teacher and say, throw some D’s on that bitch.
February 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pmi like it
February 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pmi like the article, its very informative
February 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pmthis is so dumb, stop wasting your time with this shit
February 13th, 2007 at 4:49 pm