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It is not often the networks assign a reporter to Windhoek. Scott Cohn of CNBC landed the trip to Namibia and filed an In Depth feature for NBC on Kobi Alexander, the fugitive millionaire and inventor, credited with developing voice-mail technology. Back home in the United States Alexander is a wanted man, accused of fraud, bribery, witness tampering and moneylaundering. In Windhoek he is an investor and philanthropist, building housing for the poor and offering scholarship programs. Cohn explained that "the extradition process could take years--time enough for Alexander to make lots of new Namibian friends." A billboard proclaims his dedication to the nation's development. Mused Cohn: "Is Kobi Alexander trying to buy off Namibia?"
ABC named a pair of Darfur philanthropists as its Persons of the Week, not millionaires but high school students. Charles Gibson introduced us to Ana Slavin and Nik Anderson. The teenagers founded Dollars for Darfur, a program that devotes half its funds to anti-genocide advocacy and activism, half to direct humanitarian aid in Sudan for ethnically-cleansed refugees. What made their effort newsworthy was that it was conducted entirely online through the facebook and myspace social networking sites. Their network reached 2,500 high schools and netted $300,000.
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