In This Edition:
Member News - Newport Communications
Event Agenda - APTA Meeting
Media Tech - Domain Renewals
On The Lighter Side
Next Issue Due Out 10/25/02 - Deadline
For Materials 10/18/02!
Member
News - Newport Wins National ASBPE Awards
Newport Communications editors recently picked up four national
2002 editorial awards from the American Society of Business Publication
Editors (ASBPE). Heavy Duty Trucking took home three of the awards
and Newport's RoadStar picked up the fourth.
Doug Condra won the
top ASBPE prize in the Best Signed Editorial category, taking
the Gold Award for Heavy Duty Trucking. The award is his 16th
national writing honor. In addition, he holds the Crain Award
from the American Business Media for Lifetime Achievement.
An ASBPE Silver Award
in the Government Coverage category also went to Heavy Duty Trucking
for the April and May 2001 issues. Receiving the award were: Deborah
Whistler, editor; Oliver Patton, Washington editor; and Senior
Editors Steve Sturgess, Patricia Smith and Deborah Lockridge.
Heavy Duty Trucking
also won the ASBPE Bronze Award for the September 2001 cover story
"Killer Chemicals," which earlier this year won the
American Business Media's Neal Award. Winners were Whistler, Sturgess,
Patton and Executive Editor Jim Winsor.
RoadStar, Newport's
owner-driver magazine, ran its tally of national editorial awards
to nine in the past three years by winning the ASBPE Bronze Award
in the News Section category. The winner was the November 2001
cover story entitled "Trucking After The Terror." RoadStar
editors honored were Sturgess, Whistler, Patton, Winsor, Lockridge,
Senior Editor Patricia Smith, Technology Editor John Bendel and
Editor At Large Bette Garber.
Security
& Emergency Management Issues Top Agenda 2002 APTA Meeting
Public transportation industry leaders will face a full plate
of critical issues when they gather in Las Vegas September 22-26
for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 2002
Annual Meeting and International Public Transportation Expo (EXPO).
Today's climate presents
an unprecedented array of challenges to the public transportation
community, including post-9/11 realities, a slow economy, funding
issues and the increasingly changing needs of a diverse ridership.
The agenda of the 2002 APTA meeting and EXPO reflects this complex
landscape, and mix of transit system operators, industry suppliers,
elected officials and policymakers, and the media will deliberate
over a wide range of issues that are critical to the future of
the industry, including:
Security and Emergency
Management - Since the tragedies of last September, the public
transportation industry has worked diligently to strengthen the
security of its services and environments, and APTA has worked
closely with the Federal Transportation Administration, the Federal
Railroad Administration and others to address security issues.
Reathorization of TEA
21 - With the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century (TEA 21) fast approaching, the stakes are
high for the industry on this critical funding legislation, and
APTA has launched a TEA 21 advocacy and coalition building effort
to support and promote the benefits of public transportation on
the national, state and local levels.
Technology - Emerging
technologies have revolutionized public transportation, and deployment
continues industry-wide. E-commerce applications are fundamentally
changing how the industry interacts with customers, suppliers,
employees and competitors through e-commerce, and intelligent
transportation systems are improving efficiency and safety.
Modernized Buses, Rail
Cars and Passenger Equipment - Competitiveness issues and changing
needs of riders and workers have prompted widespread modernization
in public transportation. New bus and rail car designs, increased
safety measures, and equipment to better serve constituencies
such as the aging population, disabled and non-English-speaking
riders are among the steps the industry is taking.
Millions of Americans
rely on public transportation, and the industry faces a wide range
of critical issues that could profoundly affect the communities
who count on it. This unique time in the industry offers a wealth
of interesting story angles that are reflected in the issues addressed
in the APTA meeting agenda. Reporters are encouraged to call Don
Shipley at 202/289-2001 or visit www.apta.com/expo2002 to arrange
interviews with industry leaders, get further information, or
arrange free EXPO registration.
Media
Tech - Domain Renewals
As more and more companies come to rely on internet communications,
keeping up to date on domain registrations is as important as
keeping the actual doors of the company open. Although the names
are fairly easy to register, the renewal process still has more
than a few bugs that need to be worked out.
Last year, I inherited
the domain renewal duties for an organization just after that
group's domain came within days of expiring. One of my publishers
lost the domain name for one of their publications when a third-party
webmaster didn't stay on top of the renewal process. Even if your
billing contact information is updated and accurate, there's no
guarantee that a renewal invoice will be mailed on a timely basis.
Many hosting deals
that include the registration of a new domain will result in the
hosting service, not you the owner, being listed as the billing
contact for your domain. As a general rule, hosting services do
not handle the renewal of these domains.
And even if you think
you've renewed the registration, you still need to keep an eye
on the "whois" listing for your domain to make sure
that the update was processed successfully. One of my colleagues
contacted the domain registrar, not once, but three times, to
process a renewal prior to expiration and the renewal still didn't
go through.
I was recently contacted
by Courtney Caldwell of American Woman Road & Travel and informed
that her domain name had been picked up by a cyber-squatter on
the day it had expired, and that her e-mail and web traffic came
to a screeching halt only two days later.
Courtney had passed
along a detailed report of her dilemma in the hope of helping
other people avoid the same sort of problem. The simple solution
in Courtney's case was to register a new domain name that was
similar to the one that had been cyber-squatted, and then pass
along the new information to thousands of her colleagues and subscribers.
The
Lighter Side - Getting Older
Our good friend Charles Henry passes this along.
For all of you who
are feeling a little older and missing those great old tunes,
there is good news. Some of your old favorites have been released
again with great new lyrics to accommodate their aging audience:
Herman's Hermits
– "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker"
Marvin Gaye –
"I Heard It Through the Grape Nuts"
Credence Clearwater
Revival – "Bad Prune Rising"
The Who – "Talkin'
'Bout My Medication"
The Troggs –
"Bald Thing"
Carly Simon –
"You're So Varicose Vein"
The Bee Gees –
"How Can You Mend a Broken Hip"
Roberta Flack –
"The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face"
Johnny Nash –
"I Can't See Clearly Now"
The Temptations –
"Papa's Got a Kidney Stone"
ABBA – "Denture
Queen"
Leo Sayer –
"You Make Me Feel Like Napping"
Commodores –
"Once, Twice, Three Trips to the Bathroom"
Procol Harem –
"A Whiter Shade of Hair"
The Beatles –
"I Get By with a Little Help From Depends"
