As wildfires continue to impact communities across Southern California, three public media organizations serving Los Angeles have united to provide their consumers with daily updates by way of a “free, reliable, and essential local news and information to support you during this critical time.”
The first edition of a “Wildfire News Updates” e-newsletter was dispatched on Friday (1/10) by KCRW, the tastemaker eclectic music, arts and NPR news station owned by Santa Monica College — in partnership with KPCC “LAist,” the PBS SoCal operation that include KOCE-50 and KCET-28; and CalMatters.
As the four news organizations described, “This newsletter helps people who have been affected by the wildfires, from those who’ve lost homes and livelihoods, to people who want to connect with their neighbors and understand what comes next. We take our inspiration from Fred Rogers, who famously advised his young audience members to ‘look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
From queries on temporary housing to addressing the fires with children and who makes decisions about what is rebuilt and where, the newsletter is designed to guide its audience through these questions … including how to maintain good mental health.
Features include the latest news, an outlook on what’s to come, fact-checking reports, and resources and ways to help.
And, in a nod to KCRW’s role in Southern California, a “For the Feels” section concludes the newsletter with:
- Songs To Soothe: KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic put together this nearly three-hour mix of songs to help you cope, connect, and process what’s happening.
- Acknowledge Your Emotions: Advice from Sandra Stark Shields, who spent more than 30 years as a disaster mental health responder working with L.A. County and the Red Cross.
To view the newsletter as a webpage, please click here.
