Thursday, September 08, 2005

B2B journalism and Katrina

Three times yesterday people asked me what the B2B publishing industry was doing to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
And I had to admit that I had little idea.
That may be because I haven't been paying attention. Or it may be a question of public relations -- some publishers may be taking action, but failing to issue a press release for fear that a public-relations statement would seem ... tacky.
For example, one company that I work with is taking steps to "adopt" a family left homeless by the storm. But the plan is being implemented quietly.
On the other hand, some B2B publishers with clear links to the recovery effort have been very open in their actions. Cygnus' Firehouse.com and Pennwell's Fire Engineering both serve the search and rescue community. Both sites are awash in Katrina coverage and links to charities.
I notice that the Magazine Publishers of America have published a page of ways to help. And ASBPE has a link to the Council of National Journalism Organizations, which is organizing help for journalists who were displaced by the storm.
And I've seen some individual efforts by some of the publications and bloggers that I follow on a regular basis. MeetingsNet, for example, has done interesting work related to New Orleans' convention industry.
If you're interested in helping, start by looking at Prescott Shibles' blog. He has links to finding banner ads for the Red Cross for your site and some discussion of what publications at the former Primedia Business are doing to help the storm's victims.

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4 comments:

  1. Let's also give a shout out to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, which has set up a fund to help the staff of New Orleans' Gambit Weekly and is trying to help those displaced people find new homes and jobs.

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  2. Thanks Phil.
    If anyone else knows of someone who is doing work worth praising, let us know.

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  3. DC Velocity magazine, which covers transportation and distribution logistics, is posting relief requests related to that

    industry, including a call for vans to transport relief supplies and a request for information on commercial and industrial sites that can be made available to people and companies affected by Katrina: www.dcvelocity.com/katrina.cfm.

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  4. Hi Martha,
    Thanks for the info. If anyone is in a position to help, visit the dcvelocity link in Martha's comment.

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