US: LA Times launched People Finder, service to community

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on October 29, 2007 at 10:21 AM

In times of disaster, newspapers are given the best opportunity to demonstrate their informative usefulness to their local community. The Los Angeles Times launched a “People Finder” site that lets users know of others’ whereabouts.

The LA Times launched the site jointly with other newspapers, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, The Voice of San Diego and The Daily Transcript of San Diego.

"We are all in this thing together, so it made sense to get involved," said Chris Jennewein, vice president/Internet operations for the Union-Tribune. "The L.A. Times created it and it is a brilliant idea."

About 1,500 people had registered for the site within a day of its launch. This project exemplifies some of ideas and practical solutions newspapers can provide in challenging times. The LA Times also chose to adopt a bloggish approach to some coverage of the wildfires.

Source: Editor & Publisher