Last week I noticed that Anderson Cooper, on CNN, was doing a series of reports on location in the Congo. I really didn’t have time last week to pay much attention. Something going on every night. But tonight, as I surfed around during football commercials, I noticed that they were showing Cooper’s CNN reports. Something in me wasn’t interested. It was Africa, and everything is dismal in Africa. Whereas NFL games are fun. My urge was to surf on by, and eventually meander back to the NFL game.

But I stopped myself. Why wasn’t I interested in this report on Africa? We criticize news media for acting like Africa doesn’t exist. And here was CNN, pouring no doubt millions of dollars into reporting on the needs in Africa (Sonjay Gupta was also reporting from Chad for Anderson Cooper). And I wasn’t interested? I preferred football?

So I told myself, “Steve, you need to be interested.” And I stayed. And I watched the report. And I was fascinated. This was really great reporting, and I’m better for having watched it. So thanks, Anderson, for taking such an interest in something which, sadly, doesn’t interest too many of your viewer and may have even been a ratings loser for you. Thanks for taking more of an interest than I usually take in Africa. And thanks for putting yourself at risk to inform complacent viewers about the enormous human needs in the Congo and elsewhere.