TV doesn't want to be a witness

A few days ago, I pointed to Be a Witness, a program to educate the public about Darfur. Today, Think Progress announced that Washington's NBC, CBS, ABC affiliates rejected an ad criticizing their news coverage. In their own words:

NBC: WRC-TV has chosen not to accept the submitted commercial advertisement, “Genocide is News,” sponsored by BeAWitness.org.

CBS: Management did not approve the airing of the “Beawitness.org” spot.

ABC: I just got word that WJLA-TV will not be able to accept the creative for Be a Witness.org. Please let me know if there may be any alternative creative that we may run.

Write to these affiliates and ask them to remind our leaders what's going on. Peter Jennings (RIP) and ABC News have broadcast 18 minutes of Darfur coverage in 2004, as Congress declared the events there to be a genocide. CBS and NBC broadcast 3 and 5 minutes, respectively.

That's an insult to the people of Darfur and to humanity as a whole. Crimes against humanity affect us all, and it's shameful that the public has not been better informed about events in Darfur.