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Homeland Protection Professional's editor is making the leap from a very vertical beat, as the long-time editor of Fire Chief, to a very horizontal beat, covering fire, law
enforcement, EMS, emergency management, emergency rooms, public health departments, public works and NGOs for the new pub (launched this June). With an audience that diverse,
Scott Baltic is on the lookout for any story that will cut across multiple groups within his readership of 20,000. Most readers are close to, if not on, the front line of
emergency response, i.e. fire and police chiefs.
The pub's mission is to help that readership to prepare for its response to acts of terror. Homeland Protection Professional is still getting off the ground and will publish
bi-monthly throughout 2002 with plans to eventually become a monthly publication. As such, the publication is less a vehicle for homeland security news than an analysis of the
developments in the space.
Content/Contacts
The content includes everything from stories about friction between the fire and police officials on the scene of a disaster like the World Trade Center attacks to public
health stories. For example, Baltic wrote a piece on how public health officials and EMS workers must now "think zebras, not horses." (Medical workers are told that when they hear
hooves, they should think horses vs. zebras - the common diagnosis vs. the exotic. With the advent of a variety of biological weapons, medical workers on the frontlines should be
prepared to think about more exotic possibilities.)
Baltic works out of his home office as the primary editor and prefers an email to a phone call. Contact him at [email protected].
Messages go directly to Baltic, the sole editor.
Pitch Tips
Baltic is open to product announcements and is also interested in seeing the latest books and training videos relating to homeland security. Book reviews are included in a
front-of-book section dubbed Situation Report, which also provides brief analysis of homeland security news.
Although he will likely shy away from using vendors as sources, feel free to send Baltic names of experts in the arena.
Baltic also piles up product announcements as he nears the close of an issue. He's closing the September/October issue in the next week and will likely close the
November/December issue in early November. Specific deadlines have yet to be ironed out as the new pub works out its printing schedule.
Comments
Remember that topics that cut across a variety of Baltic's audience are most valuable to him. For example, a story on dispatch centers cuts across fire, police and EMS.
The magazine will also delve into issues like how legislation like the Patriot Act affects the men and women on the front lines of emergency response. For example, the act has
caused some friction between federal and local law enforcement, Baltic says.
In The Pipeline
The magazine is starting what will be either a two- or three-part series on community emergency response teams (CERTs), neighborhood-based disaster teams that originated in
Japan. The series will be carried at least into the November/December issue.
Communications interoperability for fire and police teams will play a role in future pieces, as will coverage of government groups like the Interagency Board for Equipment
Standardization and Interoperability.