Target Market News

KATRINA: THE AFTERMATH
SURVIVING THE NATION'S MOST DEVASTATING NATURAL DISASTER
____________________________________________

Tom Joyner launches fund to assist HBCU students from New Orleans

(Sept. 12, 2005) Tom Joyner, the top ranked nationally syndicated radio and television personality and entrepreneur, has launched The Tom Joyner Foundation HBCU Scholarship Relief Fund to assist students at three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) whose campuses have been shut down due to Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

"We know this is a difficult time for everybody," said Joyner, whose syndicated radio show is aired in 115 markets reaching nearly 8 million listeners. "This fund is designed to try to make sure all those students that transferred out of schools in New Orleans -- and there are some 9,000 of them -- can stay in school because that's what were focused on here at the Foundation."

Joyner has set aside up to $1 million to help students who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The fund will assist students from Dilliard, Xavier and Southern University...

Kanye West criticizes media coverage, Bush on Katrina aftermath during live NBC telethon

By Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post
(September 3, 2005) Why We Love Live Television, Reason No. 137:

NBC's levee broke and Kanye West flooded through with a tear about the federal response in New Orleans during the network's live concert fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina last night.

The rapper was among the celebs and singers participating in the one-hour special, produced by NBC News and run on the NBC broadcast network, as well as MSNBC and CNBC, because, hey, the numbers couldn't be any worse than usual on a Friday night and hopefully they'd raise a chunk of change for a good cause, the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Among the performers, Faith Hill sang "There Will Come a Time," which included the lyrics, "The darkness will be gone, the weak shall be strong. Hold on to your faith." Aaron Neville performed Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927" with its chorus: "They're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away."

West was not scheduled to perform; he was one of the blah, blah, blahers, who would read from scripts prepared by the network about the impact of Katrina on southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

West and Mike Myers had been paired up to appear about halfway through the show. Their assignment: Take turns reading a script describing the breach in the levees around New Orleans.

Myers: The landscape of the city has changed dramatically, tragically and perhaps irreversibly. There is now over 25 feet of water where there was once city streets and thriving neighborhoods.

(Myers throws to West, who looked extremely nervous in his super-preppy designer rugby shirt and white pants, which is not like the arrogant West and which, in retrospect, should have been a tip-off.)

West: I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help -- with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!

(West throws back to Myers, who is looking like a guy who stopped on the tarmac to tie his shoe and got hit in the back with the 8:30 to La Guardia.)

Myers: And subtle, but in many ways even more profoundly devastating, is the lasting damage to the survivors' will to rebuild and remain in the area. The destruction of the spirit of the people of southern Louisiana and Mississippi may end up being the most tragic loss of all.

(And, because Myers is apparently as dumb as his Alfalfa hair, he throws it back to West.)

West: George Bush doesn't care about black people!

(Back to Myers, now looking like the 8:30 to La Guardia turned around and caught him square between the eyes.)

Myers: Please call . . .

At which point someone at NBC News finally regained control of the joystick and cut over to Chris Tucker, who started right in with more scripted blah, blah, blah.

"Tonight's telecast was a live television event wrought with emotion," parent company NBC Universal said in a statement issued to the Reporters Who Cover Television after the broadcast.

"Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks. It would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion."

West's comments would be cut from the West Coast feed, an NBC spokeswoman told The TV Column. (The Associated Press later reported that only his comment about the president was edited out.) The show was live on the East Coast with a several-second delay; someone with his finger on a button was keeping an ear peeled in case someone uttered an obscenity but did not realize that West had gone off-script, the spokeswoman said.
Click here to view Kanye West comments

New Orleans mayor vents his anger, frustration in WWL radio interview

(Sept. 2, 2005 - AP) - A day before President Bush headed to the hurricane-ravaged South, Mayor Ray Nagin (left) lashed out at federal officials, telling a local radio station "they don't have a clue what's going on down here."

Federal officials expressed sympathy but quickly defended themselves, saying they, too, were overwhelmed by the catastrophe that hit the Gulf Coast region on Monday.

Nagin's interview Thursday night on WWL radio came as President Bush planned to visit Gulf Coast communities battered by Hurricane Katrina, a visit aimed at alleviating criticism that he engineered a too-little, too-late response.

Bush viewed the damage while flying over the region Wednesday en route to Washington after cutting short his Texas vacation by two days.

"They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed," Nagin said.

Nagin said he told Bush in a recent conversation that "we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice ... I have been all around this city and that I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we are outmanned in just about every respect."

In an interview Friday on NBC's "Today," Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown stood behind the massive federal relief effort that's under way.

"I understand the mayor's frustration. ... We have been having a continuous flow of commodities into the Superdome, there were five trucks arriving last night to feed well over 50,000 people.

"We're also diverting supplies to the convention center which I learned about yesterday and that area. ... This is an absolutely catastrophic disaster," he said.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who like Nagin is a Democrat, was less confrontational than the mayor.

"When the system goes down, this is pretty much what you get," she said on CBS' "The Early Show." "We don't get into the blame game. We just work with what we got."
Click here to hear Mayor Nagin's interview on WWL

BET, Urban League, Essence, Hip-Hop Summit, Warner Music partner on Gulf victims telethon

(September 1, 2005) BET is partnering with the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network Chairman Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles and the Warner Music Group, Essence Communications and numerous concerned celebrities in a telethon to raise financial aid to benefit the storm victims. The telethon is set for Friday, September 9 on BET, starting with a special benefit episode of 106 & PARK: BET’S TOP 10 LIVE at 6 p.m. ET*, followed by the telethon from 7:30 – 10 p.m. ET (tape delayed to the West Coast; pledge phone lines will be open).

Numerous celebrities from across musical and entertainment genres will be involved as performers, hosts, presenters and special guests. Viewers of the telethon can call designated toll-free phone numbers to make financial pledges to the Red Cross relief efforts.

Making the announcement were Debra Lee, President and CEO, BET; Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment, BET; Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League and former New Orleans Mayor; Ed Lewis, Chairman and Founder, Essence Communications; Russell Simmons, Chairman, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network; Rick Pogue, Interim Chief Diversity Officer, American Red Cross; Theresa A. Bischoff, CEO, American Red Cross of Greater New York; Grammy Award-Winner Jazz Artist Wynton Marsalis ; Rapper Master P; and Rapper David Banner.

BET’s parent company, Viacom, announced a $1 million donation to the American Red Cross and a worldwide matching gift program for employee donations. Other support efforts are planned by Viacom media properties including CBS and UPN, the company said.

Essence, just two months since its New Orleans Music Festival, urges support for victims

(September 1, 2005) Just sixty days ago, Essence was basking in the glow of its most successful music festival ever of the past eleven it

has hosted in the city of New Orleans. The Superdome and Convention Center were packed with a virtual who's who of entertainment, and more than a quarter of a million people had flocked to the city for three days of performances and seminars.

Those memories stand in sharp contrast to the tragedy of mostly black citizens huddled in those same arenas as they wait for relief from an unimaginable disaster.

It's just wrenching," said Essence president, Michelle Ebanks to Target Market News. "It's hard to fathom. The city and its people have embraced us for more than a decade. They are our extended family."

Essence is already marshalling its resources to deliver aid. The Essence.com Web site, which was beginning to promote next year's festival, now carries a plea for help and links to relief organizations. Ebanks said that more is being planned for generating funds on an ongoing basis, but the immediate need is for donations.

"Hardworking sisters and brothers who had homes and jobs are literally left with nothing but the clothes on their backs and nowhere to go," reads the message entitled "Each One Reach One. "Those who had little to begin with have lost everything they ever had, most importantly, hope."

"As our people struggle mightily to reclaim their lives," the message continues, "we can do no less than come to their aid in this time of critical need. New Orleans, home of the Essence Music Festival for more than a decade, has always embraced us and all of you who have traveled to be with us in that great city. Now we must give to our people in the Gulf region love in even greater measure."

Ebanks said that some contact has been made with many of the 600-member festival production staff that lives in New Orleans, including volunteers, but that the effort to reach more continues. It is too soon, she said, to know whether the festival, which has been a major economic boon to the city, will have to move elsewhere for next year.

"We hope to come back. But wherever we are, we'll be celebrating the spirit of the people of New Orleans," said Ebanks. "The festival has always been 'a party with a purpose,' and next year it will be that personified."

Tom Joyner, BlackAmericaWeb.com launch relief fund for those helping hurricane's victims

(September 1, 2005) Tom Joyner, the top ranked nationally syndicated

radio personality and entrepreneur, announced today the creation of the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund. The organization, formed in association with his online community BlackAmericaWeb.com, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and parent company REACH Media, will assist people who are helping those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

“Hurricane Katrina hit the heart and soul of Black America,” says Joyner, whose four-hour, drive-time radio show is aired on 115 markets reaching 8 million listeners. “This is our Tsunami and we want to take care of those people who now may have family or friends who are going to be in their homes for an extended period of time. We know it’s hard and we want to make it a little easier on everybody.”

The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund will accept donations to provide relief in the form of gift cards to support families who are housing those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The Fund will support individual families who have opened their homes to displaced families and loved ones to supplement their households as relief efforts continue. Relief assistance will be given directly to the families who need assistance.

Taking a grassroots approach, the relief fund will partner with local churches throughout affected regions. The churches will serve as effective conduits in both identifying and assisting households in need. In addition to localized efforts, the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show has suspended the popular “TJMS Cash Call” contest and will donate the contest money directly to relief efforts. This action alone donates more than $75,000 to the fund.

Motivational speaker and personality, Tavis Smiley, Tom Joyner Morning Show personalities Sybil Wilkes and J Anthony Brown have each pledged $1,000 this morning.

More information about how the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund will provide relief to families helping families, you can go to BlackAmericaWeb.com and register for more information. Additional information will be released today via email to BlackAmericaWeb.com members and at www.blackamericaweb.com/relief.

The Relief Fund will accept donations at www.blackamericaweb.com and by mail at: BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund, PO Box 803209, Dallas, TX 75240

For those in need of assistance, BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund assistance request form can be downloaded at the Web site. All relief requests must be submitted by the church or partner organization administrator. Companies, sponsors and potential partners interested in providing matching funds or resources are encouraged to contact Katrina Witherspoon, President & CEO of the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund at 972.371.5850.

'Black Collegian' publisher's vacation plans spare him agony of hurricane's outcome

(September 1, 2005) Preston Edwards, publisher of Black Collegian magazine and IMDiversity.com was one of the lucky ones. He and his wife had already planned a vacation in Martha's Vineyard at the same time that Hurricane was due to hit New Orleans.

"We got out just in time," Edwards told Target Market News. "They cancelled all the flights that were scheduled to leave after ours." The Nawlins native has yet see or hear about the condition of his three-story office building, except for the brief glimpse he got when TV news cameras showed pictures of the nearby corner and his business' front door.

"I'm confident that the business if okay," he said. "Before the last hurricane, we moved everything that was critical up to the second and third floors."

Most of his staff of 14 evacuated the city and he hasn't been able to reach many of them yet. "This [level of damage] is something we never, never expected," he said. "But there's nothing we could have done anyway."

Black Collegian is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and Edwards is due to publish issues in December, February and April. He's also planning on moving forward with elaborate plans to mark the anniversary, including festivities connected with the Bayou Classic. "Thank goodness everything we need to produce the issue is in digital form. I may have to replace a computer or two, but that's all."

Edwards says he's going to set up temporary offices in Birmingham. After that he's most anxious to do two things. "I can't wait to check on my house, and start selling some advertising."

Go to Target Market News homepage


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Click here for free delivery of the Target Market News Bulletin You'll receive news of breaking stories, exclusives, updates and headlines on the latest developments in African American marketing and media Black Stats Frequently requested data on African American consumers Black Buying Power: $656 Billion (2003) Black U.S. Population: 38.3 million Top Five Black Cities - New York - Chicago - Detroit - Philadelphia - Houston Top Five Black Metros: - New York-New Jersey - Washington-Baltimore - Chicago-Gary - Los Angeles - Philadelphia Top Five Expenditures: - Housing 145.2 bil. - Food 56.5 bil. - Cars/Trucks 32.6 bil. - Clothing 23.0 bil. - Health Care 18.0 bil. Click here for more stats from "The Buying Power of Black America." ______________________ Get quick access to key U.S. Census Bureau Data Click here to go to African-American Census Bureau data _____________________ Copyright `© 2005 by Target Market News Inc.` All rights reserved Business address: 228 S. Wabash Ave. Suite 210 Chicago, IL 60604 t. 312-408-1881 f. 312-408-1867 info@targetmarketnews.com	KATRINA: THE AFTERMATH SURVIVING THE NATION'S MOST DEVASTATING NATURAL DISASTER ____________________________________________ Tom Joyner launches fund to assist HBCU students from New Orleans (Sept. 12, 2005) Tom Joyner, the top ranked nationally syndicated radio and television personality and entrepreneur, has launched The Tom Joyner Foundation HBCU Scholarship Relief Fund to assist students at three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) whose campuses have been shut down due to Hurricane Katrina's devastation. "We know this is a difficult time for everybody," said Joyner, whose syndicated radio show is aired in 115 markets reaching nearly 8 million listeners. "This fund is designed to try to make sure all those students that transferred out of schools in New Orleans -- and there are some 9,000 of them -- can stay in school because that's what were focused on here at the Foundation." Joyner has set aside up to $1 million to help students who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The fund will assist students from Dilliard, Xavier and Southern University... Kanye West criticizes media coverage, Bush on Katrina aftermath during live NBC telethon By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post (September 3, 2005) Why We Love Live Television, Reason No. 137: NBC's levee broke and Kanye West flooded through with a tear about the federal response in New Orleans during the network's live concert fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina last night. The rapper was among the celebs and singers participating in the one-hour special, produced by NBC News and run on the NBC broadcast network, as well as MSNBC and CNBC, because, hey, the numbers couldn't be any worse than usual on a Friday night and hopefully they'd raise a chunk of change for a good cause, the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Among the performers, Faith Hill sang "There Will Come a Time," which included the lyrics, "The darkness will be gone, the weak shall be strong. Hold on to your faith." Aaron Neville performed Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927" with its chorus: "They're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away." West was not scheduled to perform; he was one of the blah, blah, blahers, who would read from scripts prepared by the network about the impact of Katrina on southern Louisiana and Mississippi. West and Mike Myers had been paired up to appear about halfway through the show. Their assignment: Take turns reading a script describing the breach in the levees around New Orleans. Myers: The landscape of the city has changed dramatically, tragically and perhaps irreversibly. There is now over 25 feet of water where there was once city streets and thriving neighborhoods. (Myers throws to West, who looked extremely nervous in his super-preppy designer rugby shirt and white pants, which is not like the arrogant West and which, in retrospect, should have been a tip-off.) West: I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help -- with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us! (West throws back to Myers, who is looking like a guy who stopped on the tarmac to tie his shoe and got hit in the back with the 8:30 to La Guardia.) Myers: And subtle, but in many ways even more profoundly devastating, is the lasting damage to the survivors' will to rebuild and remain in the area. The destruction of the spirit of the people of southern Louisiana and Mississippi may end up being the most tragic loss of all. (And, because Myers is apparently as dumb as his Alfalfa hair, he throws it back to West.) West: George Bush doesn't care about black people! (Back to Myers, now looking like the 8:30 to La Guardia turned around and caught him square between the eyes.) Myers: Please call . . . At which point someone at NBC News finally regained control of the joystick and cut over to Chris Tucker, who started right in with more scripted blah, blah, blah. "Tonight's telecast was a live television event wrought with emotion," parent company NBC Universal said in a statement issued to the Reporters Who Cover Television after the broadcast. "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks. It would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion." West's comments would be cut from the West Coast feed, an NBC spokeswoman told The TV Column. (The Associated Press later reported that only his comment about the president was edited out.) The show was live on the East Coast with a several-second delay; someone with his finger on a button was keeping an ear peeled in case someone uttered an obscenity but did not realize that West had gone off-script, the spokeswoman said. Click here to view Kanye West comments New Orleans mayor vents his anger, frustration in WWL radio interview (Sept. 2, 2005 - AP) - A day before President Bush headed to the hurricane-ravaged South, Mayor Ray Nagin (left) lashed out at federal officials, telling a local radio station "they don't have a clue what's going on down here." Federal officials expressed sympathy but quickly defended themselves, saying they, too, were overwhelmed by the catastrophe that hit the Gulf Coast region on Monday. Nagin's interview Thursday night on WWL radio came as President Bush planned to visit Gulf Coast communities battered by Hurricane Katrina, a visit aimed at alleviating criticism that he engineered a too-little, too-late response. Bush viewed the damage while flying over the region Wednesday en route to Washington after cutting short his Texas vacation by two days. "They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed," Nagin said. Nagin said he told Bush in a recent conversation that "we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice ... I have been all around this city and that I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we are outmanned in just about every respect." In an interview Friday on NBC's "Today," Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown stood behind the massive federal relief effort that's under way. "I understand the mayor's frustration. ... We have been having a continuous flow of commodities into the Superdome, there were five trucks arriving last night to feed well over 50,000 people. "We're also diverting supplies to the convention center which I learned about yesterday and that area. ... This is an absolutely catastrophic disaster," he said. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who like Nagin is a Democrat, was less confrontational than the mayor. "When the system goes down, this is pretty much what you get," she said on CBS' "The Early Show." "We don't get into the blame game. We just work with what we got." Click here to hear Mayor Nagin's interview on WWL BET, Urban League, Essence, Hip-Hop Summit, Warner Music partner on Gulf victims telethon (September 1, 2005) BET is partnering with the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network Chairman Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles and the Warner Music Group, Essence Communications and numerous concerned celebrities in a telethon to raise financial aid to benefit the storm victims. The telethon is set for Friday, September 9 on BET, starting with a special benefit episode of 106 & PARK: BET’S TOP 10 LIVE at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the telethon from 7:30 – 10 p.m. ET (tape delayed to the West Coast; pledge phone lines will be open). Numerous celebrities from across musical and entertainment genres will be involved as performers, hosts, presenters and special guests. Viewers of the telethon can call designated toll-free phone numbers to make financial pledges to the Red Cross relief efforts. Making the announcement were Debra Lee, President and CEO, BET; Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment, BET; Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League and former New Orleans Mayor; Ed Lewis, Chairman and Founder, Essence Communications; Russell Simmons, Chairman, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network; Rick Pogue, Interim Chief Diversity Officer, American Red Cross; Theresa A. Bischoff, CEO, American Red Cross of Greater New York; Grammy Award-Winner Jazz Artist Wynton Marsalis ; Rapper Master P; and Rapper David Banner. BET’s parent company, Viacom, announced a $1 million donation to the American Red Cross and a worldwide matching gift program for employee donations. Other support efforts are planned by Viacom media properties including CBS and UPN, the company said. Essence, just two months since its New Orleans Music Festival, urges support for victims* (September 1, 2005) Just sixty days ago, Essence was basking in the glow of its most successful music festival ever of the past eleven it has hosted in the city of New Orleans. The Superdome and Convention Center were packed with a virtual who's who of entertainment, and more than a quarter of a million people had flocked to the city for three days of performances and seminars. Those memories stand in sharp contrast to the tragedy of mostly black citizens huddled in those same arenas as they wait for relief from an unimaginable disaster. It's just wrenching," said Essence president, Michelle Ebanks to Target Market News. "It's hard to fathom. The city and its people have embraced us for more than a decade. They are our extended family." Essence is already marshalling its resources to deliver aid. The Essence.com Web site, which was beginning to promote next year's festival, now carries a plea for help and links to relief organizations. Ebanks said that more is being planned for generating funds on an ongoing basis, but the immediate need is for donations. "Hardworking sisters and brothers who had homes and jobs are literally left with nothing but the clothes on their backs and nowhere to go," reads the message entitled "Each One Reach One. "Those who had little to begin with have lost everything they ever had, most importantly, hope." "As our people struggle mightily to reclaim their lives," the message continues, "we can do no less than come to their aid in this time of critical need. New Orleans, home of the Essence Music Festival for more than a decade, has always embraced us and all of you who have traveled to be with us in that great city. Now we must give to our people in the Gulf region love in even greater measure." Ebanks said that some contact has been made with many of the 600-member festival production staff that lives in New Orleans, including volunteers, but that the effort to reach more continues. It is too soon, she said, to know whether the festival, which has been a major economic boon to the city, will have to move elsewhere for next year. "We hope to come back. But wherever we are, we'll be celebrating the spirit of the people of New Orleans," said Ebanks. "The festival has always been 'a party with a purpose,' and next year it will be that personified." Tom Joyner, BlackAmericaWeb.com launch relief fund for those helping hurricane's victims (September 1, 2005) Tom Joyner, the top ranked nationally syndicated radio personality and entrepreneur, announced today the creation of the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund. The organization, formed in association with his online community BlackAmericaWeb.com, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and parent company REACH Media, will assist people who are helping those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. “Hurricane Katrina hit the heart and soul of Black America,” says Joyner, whose four-hour, drive-time radio show is aired on 115 markets reaching 8 million listeners. “This is our Tsunami and we want to take care of those people who now may have family or friends who are going to be in their homes for an extended period of time. We know it’s hard and we want to make it a little easier on everybody.” The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund will accept donations to provide relief in the form of gift cards to support families who are housing those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The Fund will support individual families who have opened their homes to displaced families and loved ones to supplement their households as relief efforts continue. Relief assistance will be given directly to the families who need assistance. Taking a grassroots approach, the relief fund will partner with local churches throughout affected regions. The churches will serve as effective conduits in both identifying and assisting households in need. In addition to localized efforts, the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show has suspended the popular “TJMS Cash Call” contest and will donate the contest money directly to relief efforts. This action alone donates more than $75,000 to the fund. Motivational speaker and personality, Tavis Smiley, Tom Joyner Morning Show personalities Sybil Wilkes and J Anthony Brown have each pledged $1,000 this morning. More information about how the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund will provide relief to families helping families, you can go to BlackAmericaWeb.com and register for more information. Additional information will be released today via email to BlackAmericaWeb.com members and at www.blackamericaweb.com/relief. The Relief Fund will accept donations at www.blackamericaweb.com and by mail at: BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund, PO Box 803209, Dallas, TX 75240 For those in need of assistance, BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund assistance request form can be downloaded at the Web site. All relief requests must be submitted by the church or partner organization administrator. Companies, sponsors and potential partners interested in providing matching funds or resources are encouraged to contact Katrina Witherspoon, President & CEO of the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund at 972.371.5850. 'Black Collegian' publisher's vacation plans spare him agony of hurricane's outcome (September 1, 2005) Preston Edwards, publisher of Black Collegian magazine and IMDiversity.com was one of the lucky ones. He and his wife had already planned a vacation in Martha's Vineyard at the same time that Hurricane was due to hit New Orleans. "We got out just in time," Edwards told Target Market News. "They cancelled all the flights that were scheduled to leave after ours." The Nawlins native has yet see or hear about the condition of his three-story office building, except for the brief glimpse he got when TV news cameras showed pictures of the nearby corner and his business' front door. "I'm confident that the business if okay," he said. "Before the last hurricane, we moved everything that was critical up to the second and third floors." Most of his staff of 14 evacuated the city and he hasn't been able to reach many of them yet. "This [level of damage] is something we never, never expected," he said. "But there's nothing we could have done anyway." Black Collegian is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and Edwards is due to publish issues in December, February and April. He's also planning on moving forward with elaborate plans to mark the anniversary, including festivities connected with the Bayou Classic. "Thank goodness everything we need to produce the issue is in digital form. I may have to replace a computer or two, but that's all." Edwards says he's going to set up temporary offices in Birmingham. After that he's most anxious to do two things. "I can't wait to check on my house, and start selling some advertising." Go to Target Market News homepage	11th Annual Edition Available 'Buying Power' report reveals surge by black households for consumer electronics Despite tighter economic times, African-American households are significantly increasing their expenditures on consumer electronics for the home, according to the newest edition of The Buying Power of Black America report. In many categories such as video games, televisions, CD players, cable TV service and sound equipment, black households are spending more on average than their white counterparts. According to the 103-page report, black households had $656 billion in earned income in 2003, an increase of 3.9% over the $631 earned in 2002. Read more and see the latest expenditure figures for black consumers SUBSCRIBE TODAY! The trade publication for in-depth coverage of Black Consumer Marketing and Media news ORDER THE WORKBOOK NOW! The sixth annual event examining the latest trends, findings and practices in marketing to African-American consumers Presentations from: America Online Arbitron Inc. Burrell Carol H. Williams Advertising E. Morris Communications Ethnic Print Media Group GlobalHue Hunter-Miller Group Images USA Nia Online NSights Worldwide LLC On Wheels Inc. R.J. Dale Advertising & P.R. Target Market News U.S. Census Bureau ...and more!