This letter is written in response to CNN’s activist reporting on the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, specifically a report wherein Anderson Cooper broke coverage to rescue a child injured during rioting. To donate to recovery efforts through the American Red Cross, you can text “Haiti” to 90999. Ten dollars extra will be added to your cell phone bill.

Dr. Mr. Cooper of CNN,

That was quite a performance. There were gunshots firing, rocks flying through the air, and hundreds of terrified Haitians running and looting, and you remained steady with your cameramen. In the middle of your report, you stopped and came to the aid of a Haitian boy, stunned by a rock to the head. You picked him up, rushing him to safety behind a barricade, where unnamed refugees carry him away.

You didn’t follow them and continued to report at a hummingbird pace, describing looters tearing apart property and terrified local officials struggling to deal with the crises. This was the journalistic approach that immersed us in your world. We were no longer bearing witness, but it was as if we were you, moving through a place where no one understood your language. You moved about with precision, delivering to us what we crave most: a dashing journalist with a heart of gold, excitement disguised as information.

Several nights later you were on TV with Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and Wyclef Jean, speaking about hope and love on a national telethon. Compelling us to give, you helped in a celebrity effort to give over $58 million dollars (and counting) to a country that has not seen such an outpouring of worldwide support in its history.

But, as we watched, I had to ask, “Who was the celebrity?” It was as if the world of journalism was just another face, on the playlist between Bruce Springsteen and Leonardo DiCaprio.

One time, after refusing to comment to gossip journalists about your sexuality, you responded, “The whole thing about being a reporter is that you're supposed to be an observer and to be able to adapt with any group you’re in, and I don’t want to do anything that threatens that.” It was a noble, if not stubborn, insistence on journalistic ethics. But where was that staunch observer in Haiti? Can you truly go anywhere now undetected, reporting on stories that impact the lives of others? Or are you another recognizable color commentator in CNN’s “disaster porn?” Only a few days ago did CNN release its preeminent display of voyeurism, a google street view-style 360 video display mounted on the back of a speeding car. Don’t bother discerning any details here, or any sense of humanity. It’s all a blur.

Have you considered what the long-term story is? Why this problem is as bad as it is, or why the country’s government lacks the ability to help itself? These are the questions on people’s minds, ones that require the work of an earnest and dedicated journalist.

This is where you step in. Maybe you could tell us about how the United States invaded, to stabilize a government in the face of German moneyed interests in 1915. Maybe you could tell us about the gentrification that was enforced, keeping the mulattoes friendly to the United States in power. Maybe you could tell how American banking interests ensured that the country repaid its debts before establishing modernized health care, education and economy. Maybe you could tell us about the rebellious native population, which reacted to U.S. presence and created years of political instability. Maybe you could tell us about the inability of these governments to plan for the future, which doomed Haiti to destroy its natural habitat through deforestation, the principal cause of its poverty.

But it’s not just the past. There are thousands of American soldiers arriving in Haiti now, and they could use a watchdog. I’m sure there is an important story to be told now, one that explains why we turned our heads once our money was out of their hands. Or perhaps that is the story, the story of how we don’t care about people unless they have our moneyed interests aligned with theirs.

I honestly admire what you did, saving that boy’s life. It was a courageous act that I would be challenged to do myself. When I make these claims, I am simultaneously critiquing the journalists of years past who have ignored powder kegs of human suffering. But when I see you moving through the country as an able bodied American looking to do the right thing, I see myself, and I see a country full of people sending small donations, yearning to do something tangible for the millions of people who are now rebuilding.

But I must remind you that you must play your role as a journalist. Can you think of other places in the world where the United States might be repeating history? Where unstable governments might ensure the continued suffering and vulnerability of their people? Sure, there might not be earthquakes in Iraq or Afghanistan, but who is to say the assortment of warlords who seek power won’t have the ability to make the earth quake with weapons of their own?

We all want to be involved, we all want Haiti to live. But as an aspiring journalist, when I go online, and see these heroics trotted out with a CNN emblem on your chest, I have to question what your role is, and what questions you think you’re answering. This isn’t about some petty ethical insistence on “staying objective.” It’s about finding the real story. I know what “looters” look like. You don’t have to be my brave proxy. What Americans define as looters are really people who are scared and starving.

Do yourself a favor, Mr. Cooper and stop helping CNN make a buck off of your good nature. Go back to how you started in journalism, covering stories on your own with a forged press pass, because you were after something better than showing fear. You were looking for the truth.

The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine. Views submissions may be sent to views@reportermag.com.