U.N.-Supported Oct. 15 Talkathon to Feature World’s Most Popular Bloggers

DENVER, Colo., Oct. 13, 2008 – The cry for poverty relief will be heard on a global scale during Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty as BlogTalkRadio, the world’s largest online radio network, partners with BlogActionDay.org to webcast a live, 12-hour talkathon.

"Talkathon for Poverty Relief," airing from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. EDT (i.e., noon to midnight) on Wednesday, October 15, will be anchored from Denver, Colo., by Easton Ellsworth, U.S. director of BlogActionDay.org, with BlogTalkRadio hosts – including Eric Olsen and Shaun Daily of "Blog Talk Radio Today," Dawn Olsen of "Glosslip Radio," Tom D’Antoni of "D’Antoni and Levine," Reuben Torres of "Let’s Get Real" and Charles Mattocks of "The Poor Chef" – sharing co-hosting duties from throughout the U.S.

Leading bloggers around the world – including Paul Chaney, president of the International Blogger and New Media Association, Liz Strauss, founder of SOBCon (Biz School for Blogging), Chris Garrett, author of “ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income,” and social-media guru Beth Kanter – are scheduled to appear as guests on the United Nations Millennium Campaign-supported program, along with notables from the political, entertainment and literary arenas.

Nearly 8,000 websites have already signed on to participate in this year’s Blog Action Day by blogging and/or podcasting about poverty and aiding poverty-relief efforts. Among the blogs currently involved are TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, LifeHacker, Mashable and ProBlogger.

Bloggers who also wish to make financial contributions to and/or help raise funds for poverty-relief efforts are encouraged to do so through Blog Action Day 2008 partners Change.org or Kiva.org.

During the talkathon, the Blog Action Day editorial team will select the best participating blogs from around the globe to be cited live on the air. Those bloggers whose work is read will have one hour to call into the talkathon to claim prizes donated by event sponsors.

BlogActionDay.org estimates that some 9.9 million people worldwide will read about the event on October 15 – many of whom are also expected to tune into and/or call into the talkathon. Bloggers who wish to participate in Blog Action Day 2008 can register for free at http://blogactionday.org.

“We are thrilled that so many thousands of bloggers are combining forces to make this an impactful event,” said Easton Ellsworth, U.S. director for Blog Action Day 2008. “Our partnership with BlogTalkRadio will enable even more participants to join the conversation – live on-air – about poverty relief.”

“Not since the Great Depression has America, to say nothing of the world, faced such bleak economic conditions as it now faces in the wake of Wall Street’s implosion,” said BlogTalkRadio CEO Alan Levy.

Blog Action Day was launched last year when two bloggers – Collis Ta’eed of Sydney, Australia, and Leo Babauta of Guam – asked, “What would happen if all the bloggers of the world united for a single cause?” What did happen during the U.N.-backed “Blog Action Day 2007: The Environment” was more than 20,000 bloggers offering ways solve help solve hundreds of environmental crises.

About BlogTalkRadio

Launched in August 2006, BlogTalkRadio is a free, web-based talk-show platform that allows anyone with Internet access and a microphone to host a live, interactive radio show – no downloads or extra equipment needed. Each show can accommodate unlimited live listeners.  Upon completion of the live broadcast, it is automatically archived as a podcast.  Since the company’s launch, thousands of hosts have broadcast more than 130,000 shows. Notable guests such as Brad Pitt, Oliver Stone, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Salman Rushdie, Kirk Douglas and more appear on the Best of BlogTalkRadio page.

About Blog Action Day
Launched in 2007, Blog Action Day is an annual non-profit event that asks bloggers to simultaneously discuss a single issue each year on October 15. The aim of the event is to trigger widespread discussion around a global issue through niche-focused articles that appeal to their respective audiences.

Media Contacts

Marisol Smith

Middleberg Communications

212-812-5665 ext. 111

msmith@middlebergcommunications.com

Robert Zimmerman

Middleberg Communications

212-812-5665 x 112

rzimmerman@middlebergcommunications.com