CBN aims to minister with global reporting on COVID-19, social issues
You’re probably watching the four major networks cover the relentless march of the COVID-19 virus which, according to the World Health Organization, has taken upward of 500,000 lives in the U.S. and abroad.
But what about the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network? Do you know what “The 700 Club” is doing to keep track of the deadly pandemic in this year of turmoil?
The “700 Club,” the fairly new CBN News Channel and other CBN properties such as “The 700 Club Interactive,” CBN news app and Operation Blessing have also been reporting on the accelerating pandemic since it arrived on our shores earlier this year.
The virus recently surged in 11 states, and has been up and down in Virginia. It is currently trending downward.
The network’s CBN Films did splendid work in producing “Outbreak,” a report on the events leading to the COVID-19 pandemic’s acceleration. The producers say, “It has contributed to hundreds of deaths and inflicted severe economic pain globally.” This virus is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu.
CBN brings you the news of the day from a faith perspective.
“We are competing with other organizations by covering events and bringing the ministry to viewers hand-in-hand with the news,” said Rob Allman, who has been vice president of CBN News for more than a decade. “We cover issues that do not get a great deal of attention in the civilian press. We want the viewers to come to us.”
Allman has been known to ask, “What is God doing in the world today?” You’ll find discussion about it on “The 700 Club” carried on Cox cable weekdays on Freeform channel 19 starting at 9:30 a.m. and Fox channel 14 at 9 a.m.
An example of news from a faith perspective came shortly after George Floyd died at the hands of the Minneapolis police in May.
Andrea Morris reported the story for CBN, covering how Christians and non-Christians assembled at the site of Floyd’s memorial to ask the holy spirit to heal their bodies and hearts and to worship in the streets, as well as take part in baptisms. Bet you never saw that on CNN.
CBN and “The 700 Club” had modest beginnings, starting out as what broadcasters call a “niche” network.
Pat Robertson launched “The 700 Club” in 1966. He still co-hosts the hour with his old pal Terry Meeuwsen, a former Miss America (1973).
Today CBN is a major player in cable. A global multimedia organization focusing on evangelism and humanitarian aid, Robertson says. You get all of that and newsy reports discussing chokeholds, abusive police and protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter.”
CBN staffers are also keeping their fingers on the pulse of world events, like the staggering unemployment rate, the lingering economic recession and the collapse of Civil War memorials.
There are 40 full-time employees at the CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach and a bureau in Washington, D.C. The network’s reporters also report from abroad.
In the field you’ll find Efrem Graham, Dale Hurd, White House corespondent Ben Kennedy, Jenna Browder and Wendy Griffith, to name a few. Chris Mitchell reports from Jerusalem. Graham tells us the White House is preparing for a second wave of the COVID-19 virus. From Griffith we learned about a boat church at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.
The 24-hour Christian Broadcasting Network is seen here on digital cable (10.4) and also in Los Angeles; Detroit; Atlanta; St. Louis; Nashville; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Milwaukee; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Memphis, Tennessee; Wichita, Kansas; Springfield, Missouri; and Lubbock, Texas.