Topic: Disaster Relief and Recovery
When wildfires in the southern part of the state devastated more than a thousand homes and burned hundreds of thousands of acres, KABC-AM in Los Angeles, Calif., immediately responded to the crisis, partnering with sister station KLOS-FM and KABC-TV to organize the first media relief fundraiser. The "drive-by" event was held at three separate locations on one day. On-air personalities greeted and interviewed donors at their cars during the 14-hour live broadcast. The KABC Web site linked to all area Red Cross chapters and the National American Red Cross set up a special link on the KABC Web site so listeners could donate any time of day or night. Station staff gave 288 hours to the effort, which raised $4.5 million from individual and corporate sponsors for the victims of the fire. "As the first of our media partners to recognize the immediate need to help affected families, KABC served as the catalyst to jumpstart a series of collaborative fund drives," said Paul Schulz , chief executive officer of the Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles, in a letter to the station. "In addition to collecting funds, KABC played an integral role in helping us tell the Red Cross story, communicating to victims and the public." KABC was a National Association of Broadcasters’ Crystal Award Finalist in 2008.
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