[IMC-US] Proposed New IMC -- IMC-US:

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hello all,

SUMMARY:

Over the past several years the idea of creating an IMC-US website has
been talked about at length.  Below is a formal proposal from the
imc-us affinity group to create such a site.

***

HISTORY OF CURRENT PROPOSAL:

In mid-June, a group of close to 50 IMC-istas met at the Allied Media
Conference in Bowling Green, Ohio.  At this gathering it was decided to
form an affinity group to look into creating an IMC-US website.  This
affinity group then met to work out some of the logistics necessary to
create such a website.  Over the summer, this affinity group has worked to
create and refine a proposal for the creation of an IMC-US website.

Discussion, earlier drafts, etc. are available in the working group's
archives:

http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/mailman/archive/imc-us/

If you would like to join this affinity group, you can do so at:

http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/cgi-bin/listinfo/imc-us

The IMC-US affinity group sent the proposal to the IMC-US-Process working
group to look over and discuss before applying to the New-IMC group to
create the IMC-US website.  After a month-long discussion period, the
proposal was sent back to the IMC-US group to send to New-IMC.

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*** US-IMC WEBSITE PROPOSAL ***
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SUMMARY: Proposal to create a US-IMC website as a national venue for
U.S.-based IMCs.

WHY A US-IMC WEBSITE?

Discussion for a US based Indymedia website has happened on and off for
many months. But recently at the NorthEast IMC regional conference and at
the Allied Media Conference in Ohio, this project received unprecendented
focus. Participants from about 20 IMCs expressed interest in seeing
Indymedia articles of national significance highlighted on a US-based news
website. They have committed to seeing this project through and have
composed this proposal for review. An outreach working group was formed to
invite local IMC's to participate. If your IMC is interested in being
involved, please contact the US-IMC affinity group: imc-us at ucimc.org.
In addition, individual US-based IMCs who wish not to partake in a
national IMC Website can opt out of the collaboration.

The Indymedia network, now approaching its fourth anniversary, started in
the United States and expanded outwards.  IMCs exist on all continents and
utilize many languages; however, while many country-specific IMCs exist,
currently no IMC website focuses on the United States as a whole.  There
are several reasons for such an IMC website to exist.

A less US-Centric Global Site:  A US-IMC website would reduce domination
of the global indymedia site by US-specific issues.  While it may not be
apparent to many IMC-istas in the US, US stories have been overrepresented
on the global Indymedia site. Having a US site would allow the global site
to have a more balanced and diverse distribution of articles -- helping to
alleviate the alienation experienced by some non-US viewers. Additionally,
a US-IMC would help encourage the creation of a multi-lingual global site
by creating a venue for many English language posts that otherwise end up
on the global site.

Although the content of the global site is disproportionately English
language and US-centric, because of space limitations, many important
articles are passed up.  A US-IMC website would be the appropriate place
for these types of articles (e.g., important stories regarding US politics
and domestic issues;  attacks on civil liberties, INS detentions,
egregious legislation, media consolidation, poverty, race and class
issues, the 2004 elections).  Furthermore, a US-IMC website would
strengthen and solidify the Indymedia network in the US.  Currently, many
US IMCs exist in relative isolation from one another -- the only common
news dissemination point being the global site.  A US-IMC website would
link these IMCs in a national network that could potentially become a
"legitimate" and sustainable rival to the mainstream corporate media.

A US-IMC website is also an effective way to collectivize our struggles
and draw national and international attention to the strong independent
media movement in this troubled country.  It will help make each of our
local IMC's stronger by drawing traffic to our local sites whenever a
story of national significance happens in an IMC's home town or state.
Plus it will create a new canvas that we can collaborate on together
outside our local sites. Who knows what new projects could rise out of
this?

The suggested format for the US site is a syndicated newswire of US-
features, much like the global site syndicates features from IMCs around
the world.  Syndication was chosen specifically as the recommended format
due to problems of open-publishing newswire abuse and following the
precendent set on the global Indymedia website (i.e., the open newswire
will be available off the main page).  The features column could include
stories published by US IMCs, articles with information compiled from
various US IMCs, and original pieces written exclusively for the US-IMC
website.  In addition, the US-IMC website could also feature work by other
alternative media sources (non-IMC specific).

***

ORGANIZATION -- three core, working groups have been discussed:

OUTREACH:  This group would be responsible for contacting and inviting all
US-IMCs to be involved in the process of creating the US-IMC website.
Additionally, the outreach group would contact other independent media
organizations (especially those in areas where there are no IMCs) to
spread the word about the US-IMC website.

EDITORIAL:  The editorial group will be responsible for newswire
maintenance (if an open newswire is part of the site) and feature
writing/compiling/editing.

TECH: The tech group will be responsible for maintaining the tech aspects
of the site and creating syndication code to draw stories from various
participating IMCs, installing a codebase, and fixing bugs, as well as
general maintenance.  People without tech expertise could be part of this
group in terms of helping to decide what features we want out of our code.
One goal is to make the site bilingual (i.e., English/Spanish), with
multilingual support.

These three working groups will be composed of interested IMC members from
across the US.

It should also be noted that specifics of the editorial group are linked
to what code we decide to use for the site.  For example, the global site
uses a code that requires email discussion and approval of features, while
sites that use dadaIMC code vote on features through the website.

Note about the term US-IMC: Some participants at the initial organizing
meeting at the Allied Media Conference expressed concerns with the fact
that having a US-IMC legitimizes or condones the US as an imperialistic
superpower that exists because its founders displaced the indigenous
peoples that lived here. Others recognized this and thought that
regardless of our opinions of the US, it exists, and we live in it, and by
calling it the US-IMC, we are taking a step towards reclaiming this
country for the people that live in it.  Others suggested alternative
names, such as peopleoftheus.indymedia.org.  After extensive discussion it
was agreed that despite its shortcommings, us.indymedia.org would be used
as the url.

***

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

What kind of resources can you contribute, in terms of
server/bandwidth/technical and organizing skills?

The proposed US Indymedia has brought together people from various parts
of the United States to create a US Indymedia Web site. We have people who
have organized multiple other local Indymedia collectives, people who have
constructed local Indymedia web sites and people who have written features
for the various local Indymedia web sites and projects.

*

What kind of outreach have you done to bring together a diverse group of
people?

The idea was brought forth at the Allied Media Conference in Bowling
Green, Ohio. This initial meeting brought together people from the states
of Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, New York, The District of Columbia, Tennessee
and others. Since then, people working with Indymedia in Seattle have
signed on to the concept. These are all diverse places and communities
within the United States of America.

*

Please write an introductory statement about why you want to participate
in the Indymedia Network.

We believe that a US Indymedia web site will have several beneficial
impacts on global Indymedia and the IMC movement. First, the global
Indymedia page will no longer be dominated by news from the United States.
Those stories will be primarily featured on the US Indymedia site. This
will give more chance for struggles from around the globe to be featured
on the global Indymedia web site.

Second, since the majority of Indymedia collectives are based in the
United States, a US Indymedia site will allow stories of struggles and
activism form around the United States to be syndicated on a central site.
This allows activists based in the United States to have better access to
news about struggles and to strengthen their resistance and present a more
united front.