I got a very long e-mail message which I feel is worth sharing. I will edit, but I don't want to remove too much...
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Memo from Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Radio Ink Magazine
The situation in New Orleans is not only a disaster; thousands of lives are at risk if proper action is not taken immediately, TODAY. Radio broadcasters across America can have an immediate impact on saving these lives TODAY if you take action. Please read through my plan and forward it to every broadcaster, every radio owner, every group head, every television broadcaster, and every national and local talk host immediately.
Dear Fellow Radio Broadcasters:
...WE CANNOT LET PEOPLE DIE IN THE STREETS, AND RADIO CAN DO SOMETHING NOW. The situation in New Orleans will result in thousands more deaths, which can be prevented. As I observe the news reports it is clear that the government is not taking enough action quickly enough and our fellow citizens are receiving a death sentence because of the lack of action.
It is clear that the government cannot do enough fast enough. Radio must initiate a citizen-driven action to save lives and simultaneously create pressure to get more action from the government.
Radio across America needs to mobilize with the following actions:
1. Assistance: All radio stations in each market should call a meeting of all radio managers locally. This is a time to put down promotional efforts and competitive issues and work together to save citizens. In the meeting a coordinated effort should be created to do the following.
a) Call all civic groups together in a meeting. Get Kiwanis, Rotary, churches, and synagogues together and ask them to find housing. If families would be willing to invite one person, one family into their home ANYWHERE in the U.S., we will be able to get people to living conditions better than refugee camps. These groups can coordinate busses to refugee camps to gather people and bring them to your community.
b) Help refugees get established. Radio stations should call on the community to create jobs. These people should be introduced into these jobs thru local businesses via the radio stations.
c) Housing. Radio can coordinate the local groups to help these people find housing. FEMA will pay for apartments and living expenses for a year to get them re-established. The communities surrounding the Gulf cannot accommodate this many refugees and jobs but if we spread it across all cities in the US with a few thousand to each city, we can solve this problem.
d) Send busses to get refugees. Radio has the clout to do this in local markets and ask for volunteers with busses, airplanes.
e) Have groups coordinated to meet these refugees, be their local friend. Be there for them, help get them introduced to the community, housing, etc.
2. Pressure: Radio needs to put pressure via their press activities for swifter action in the impacted communities. Put pressure thru your airwaves on local politicians, congress, etc. to get more action TODAY in New Orleans to find survivors in attics and to pick them up and get them out of New Orleans quickly. Put pressure on the President to get to New Orleans, get stronger swifter action taken. We cannot put these thousands of people thru this for even one more day.
Expose Fraud:
Expose companies price gouging, and expose politicians who are posturing. This is not a time for political differences we must see full cooperation on both sides of the isle. This is not a time to have politicians making this about one party or another failing to respond, we just need to get everyone to respond. If they are posturing, make people aware you are on to them and that it is unacceptable behavior.
Apply Corporate Pressure:
Every city has companies. This is the time for all of us, small and large businesses to step up. Creating one job or more will help. Also some corporations can make sacrifices on their balance sheets to offer help. Hotel chains, cruise ships, can house refugees, Food companies, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target can send hundreds of trucks and donate food, water and other items. Put pressure on companies on the air. If you know CEOs, phone them. Your call could make them take action. I could not sleep last night because I felt even I could offer something. Realizing my company had contact with Radio and Radio could influence America and help locally, I felt the need to take this action to our readers.
Oil:
We're in an oil crisis due to reduced refinery capacity. Encourage people to reduce oil use. Ask them to take it seriously.
In Summary:
I want to see leadership. Radio needs to take this leadership. Local radio managers need to show local leadership. Radio groups need to exhibit leadership by getting all stations behind this...Mobilize your listeners, mobilize action in the community to create homes, jobs, and assistance and mobilize people locally to be willing to risk their own lives to save other lives. FEMA has backed out. New Orleans police are worrying about looting instead of lives.
I beg my brothers in broadcasting to not ignore this plea. One person in control of a radio station can make a giant difference today to save lives and offer these people a chance of survival. We would not want to be in refugee camps, we ourselves would be ready to loot for water or food if without for three days. These people are dying on the streets of New Orleans as we speak. RADIO MUST MOBILIZE. Please take ANY action you personally can take and please if you have any way to contact New Orleans radio people get this document in their hands.
Please forward this to every radio and TV broadcaster you know.
Eric Rhoads
Publisher
RADIO INK
518-327-5000
[email protected]
=====================================
Memo from Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Radio Ink Magazine
The situation in New Orleans is not only a disaster; thousands of lives are at risk if proper action is not taken immediately, TODAY. Radio broadcasters across America can have an immediate impact on saving these lives TODAY if you take action. Please read through my plan and forward it to every broadcaster, every radio owner, every group head, every television broadcaster, and every national and local talk host immediately.
Dear Fellow Radio Broadcasters:
...WE CANNOT LET PEOPLE DIE IN THE STREETS, AND RADIO CAN DO SOMETHING NOW. The situation in New Orleans will result in thousands more deaths, which can be prevented. As I observe the news reports it is clear that the government is not taking enough action quickly enough and our fellow citizens are receiving a death sentence because of the lack of action.
It is clear that the government cannot do enough fast enough. Radio must initiate a citizen-driven action to save lives and simultaneously create pressure to get more action from the government.
Radio across America needs to mobilize with the following actions:
1. Assistance: All radio stations in each market should call a meeting of all radio managers locally. This is a time to put down promotional efforts and competitive issues and work together to save citizens. In the meeting a coordinated effort should be created to do the following.
a) Call all civic groups together in a meeting. Get Kiwanis, Rotary, churches, and synagogues together and ask them to find housing. If families would be willing to invite one person, one family into their home ANYWHERE in the U.S., we will be able to get people to living conditions better than refugee camps. These groups can coordinate busses to refugee camps to gather people and bring them to your community.
b) Help refugees get established. Radio stations should call on the community to create jobs. These people should be introduced into these jobs thru local businesses via the radio stations.
c) Housing. Radio can coordinate the local groups to help these people find housing. FEMA will pay for apartments and living expenses for a year to get them re-established. The communities surrounding the Gulf cannot accommodate this many refugees and jobs but if we spread it across all cities in the US with a few thousand to each city, we can solve this problem.
d) Send busses to get refugees. Radio has the clout to do this in local markets and ask for volunteers with busses, airplanes.
e) Have groups coordinated to meet these refugees, be their local friend. Be there for them, help get them introduced to the community, housing, etc.
2. Pressure: Radio needs to put pressure via their press activities for swifter action in the impacted communities. Put pressure thru your airwaves on local politicians, congress, etc. to get more action TODAY in New Orleans to find survivors in attics and to pick them up and get them out of New Orleans quickly. Put pressure on the President to get to New Orleans, get stronger swifter action taken. We cannot put these thousands of people thru this for even one more day.
Expose Fraud:
Expose companies price gouging, and expose politicians who are posturing. This is not a time for political differences we must see full cooperation on both sides of the isle. This is not a time to have politicians making this about one party or another failing to respond, we just need to get everyone to respond. If they are posturing, make people aware you are on to them and that it is unacceptable behavior.
Apply Corporate Pressure:
Every city has companies. This is the time for all of us, small and large businesses to step up. Creating one job or more will help. Also some corporations can make sacrifices on their balance sheets to offer help. Hotel chains, cruise ships, can house refugees, Food companies, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target can send hundreds of trucks and donate food, water and other items. Put pressure on companies on the air. If you know CEOs, phone them. Your call could make them take action. I could not sleep last night because I felt even I could offer something. Realizing my company had contact with Radio and Radio could influence America and help locally, I felt the need to take this action to our readers.
Oil:
We're in an oil crisis due to reduced refinery capacity. Encourage people to reduce oil use. Ask them to take it seriously.
In Summary:
I want to see leadership. Radio needs to take this leadership. Local radio managers need to show local leadership. Radio groups need to exhibit leadership by getting all stations behind this...Mobilize your listeners, mobilize action in the community to create homes, jobs, and assistance and mobilize people locally to be willing to risk their own lives to save other lives. FEMA has backed out. New Orleans police are worrying about looting instead of lives.
I beg my brothers in broadcasting to not ignore this plea. One person in control of a radio station can make a giant difference today to save lives and offer these people a chance of survival. We would not want to be in refugee camps, we ourselves would be ready to loot for water or food if without for three days. These people are dying on the streets of New Orleans as we speak. RADIO MUST MOBILIZE. Please take ANY action you personally can take and please if you have any way to contact New Orleans radio people get this document in their hands.
Please forward this to every radio and TV broadcaster you know.
Eric Rhoads
Publisher
RADIO INK
518-327-5000
[email protected]