While HBO is renowned for its ability to entertain, with its documentaries, it spends a lot more time informing.
A long-standing successful portion of the channel, HBO documentaries are often award-winning, frequently devastating, and no matter what, manage to be fascinating for all types of audience.
Whether it's the tragic yet camp story of a man who dances with cats, "Cat Dancers," or the incredible look at what it means to be an embedded reporter in the recent "Reporter," HBO knows how to pick and choose the absolute best for airing on television.
Part of the reason that HBO is able to bring so many fantastic documentaries to satellite tv is its involvement in film festivals all around the world.
Because HBO sends scouts to festivals small and big, it often gets the exclusive rights to show, for the first time, some of the most promising young documentarians in the world.
Whether it's a short film showing how people are living halfway around the world or something with a far grander scale, HBO is known for airing it all.
One of the most stunning documentaries to recently air on HBO is "Reporter," which is a look at the extremely heavy life of Nicholas Kristof, a "New York Times" columnist and reporter who finds himself embedded, journeying to the east Congo, where war is tearing the entire region apart and doing a serious number on the lives of thousands who previously, were enjoying a peaceful existence.
While choosing something as difficult to cover as a confusing war in a faraway country for a documentary might be a risky decision for others, HBO knows that its viewers are interested in something with substance on satellite tv, not just a boring rehashing of the usual old causes.
And instead of focusing on sad things, "Reporter" definitely is interested in showing how the news and involved youth can make a very noticeable difference.
Kristof, one of the most acclaimed and personable writers to ever make a living covering unspeakable tragedies, brings with him two young college students, and seeing their desire to tell the stories of countless individuals in the Congo while still risking their lives just to see some for themselves what is happening is a true testament to their courage and a redefinition of the notion of bravery right in front of one's very eyes.
While so much of television viewing experiences seem centered on sitting down in front of one's flatscreen tv set with the desire to tune out and relax, there is an importance to realize that new media is often finding ways to tell stories to audiences who might not be expecting to hear them.
So if you can find the time to take a break from taking a break and tune into some of the truly informative and staggeringly difficult documentaries airing on HBO, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
After all, it would truly be an insult to ignore the hard work of these filmmakers and this reporter, who only want to bring exposure to those who actually deserve to have their stories told.