FW: Re: [IMC-US] VISIONING: rambles of what i would like the site to be...

Tue Mar 29 10:01:24 CST 2005


>From: bht <bht at indymedia.org>
>To: Tribal Scribal <valeoftheoaks at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [IMC-US] VISIONING: rambles of what i would like the site to 
>be...
>Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 09:06:00 -0800
>
>hey tribal, i think this would be better served on the email list instead 
>of just a personal msg.  i agree with you to a point on your addition.  at 
>the meeting we discussed having bi-weekly or so us-imc features that are 
>compiled ont he wiki page by folks that want to be a part of it.  the only 
>example that i know is the ocunter-recruitment feature.
>
>i wouldnt want this task to be something required, but something that 
>exists and if enough folks had ideas of what to compile, that would be 
>great.  i think that the topics that exist on the navigation bar are a good 
>start.  take those topics, weed them out so there are fewer, and then try 
>to compile a feature for one of those topic pages and move on down the 
>line, one every two weeks, last week was counter-recruitement, this week is 
>biotech, next week is forest issues, something like that.
>
>something that can be easily identified and folks can participate if they 
>want on the wiki.  i think that would be a great way to work together.  
>feel free to send this message to this list.
>bht
>portland imc volunteer
>
>
>Tribal Scribal wrote:
>
>>i think you & i are mostly on the same page w/the "vision thing"  ;)
>>
>>i'd only add that i see another of our responsibilities as an editing team 
>>is to put up features of national significance we believe to be important 
>>that neither our locals nor the mainstream appear to be covering (or that 
>>the mainstream is skewing)
>>
>>d.o.
>>
>>
>>
>>***************************************
>>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as 
>>necessary in the political world as storms in the physical world."
>>
>>- Thomas Jefferson
>>***************************************
>>more rebellion here:
>>http://concertobi.blogspot.com/
>>
>>***************************************
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: bht <bht at indymedia.org>
>>>Reply-To: "Working Group for IMC-US." <imc-us at lists.ucimc.org>
>>>To: "Working Group for IMC-US." <imc-us at lists.ucimc.org>
>>>Subject: [IMC-US] VISIONING: rambles of what i would like the site to 
>>>be...
>>>Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 09:00:33 -0800
>>>
>>>I was looking at US IMC this morning and thinking about the irc meeting 
>>>the other day.  One thing that was talked about but never addressed was 
>>>what the content for US IMC should be.  Nick from Houston repeatedly 
>>>bought up how a local imc could choose which features from its site were 
>>>syndicated to US IMC.  And which syndicated features were promoted, and 
>>>what the process for that was.
>>>
>>>I responded to it a few times and what came out of it was really the 
>>>vision that I have had for US IMC that I may have never said succinctly 
>>>and perhaps I can offer this as an email of vision that I would like to 
>>>be responded to not contending anything stated, but with what other folks 
>>>consider their vision for the site is.
>>>--
>>>bht's vision for us imc :-)
>>>
>>>I have always wanted a site where we as folks in the us could find out 
>>>what is going on around the us.  I know that many folks care about issues 
>>>and report on issues outside of the us and we all have different ideas of 
>>>what constitutes being us relevant.  I was looking down the feature wire 
>>>and there is the feature:  Guatemala Responds to CAFTA.  I like this 
>>>feature and think that it is grreat.
>>>
>>>However, I think this story belongs on indymedia.org.  That is another 
>>>thing that has been eating away since the beginning, what is the 
>>>relationship of us imc to indy.org?  Anyway, I would like to see all 
>>>features from us based imc's syndicated to the wire so we as media 
>>>activists and folks looking for whats going on in this country can find 
>>>out whats going on where in this country.  Even if it is a benefit in 
>>>Rochester for a local group there.
>>>
>>>I dont look at us imc as a means to be a national media that reports of 
>>>world issues.  I like the idea of local imc's because I can get intimate 
>>>information about a place that I am not from.  If i look at the Oregonian 
>>>(major portland newspaper) or the New York Times, the both have the same 
>>>stories, regardless of them being on opposite sides of the country.  As 
>>>people, and as media activists, we should be able to note that this is a 
>>>brainwashing, that corporate media is trying to tell everyone what is 
>>>important.  and with that trying to keep people unfocused on things that 
>>>are probably more important like local issues.
>>>
>>>i think that local imc's should be local imc's.  and i think a local 
>>>imc's focus should be the locale that it is in.  i think that reporting 
>>>from areas that are not local are great as well.  for example, portland 
>>>imc gets some great original writing from a person haiti, and it is 
>>>featured every time a new story comes out.  i like to think oftentimes of 
>>>how things were before telecommunications and national news and such.  
>>>when people learned about what happened elsewhere from travellers and 
>>>friends bringing news from other places.
>>>
>>>i do not follow major media at all.  it is funny, because i have no idea 
>>>what is going on in the world even though as a 'media activist' some 
>>>assume that i would have a better grasp than most on what is happening 
>>>int he world.  but some friends came up from san francisco the other day 
>>>and we sat in my living room and one of them mentioned the schiavo case.  
>>>i knew nothing about it, only that as i passed the newspaper boxes on the 
>>>street it has been the headline for days.  she mentioned it and i asked 
>>>what that meant because, admittedly, i had no clue whatsoever.  then 
>>>after that discussion we went on to talk about other things, news from 
>>>folks int he room that had been travelling recently.  and even though it 
>>>was all 'old' news or of things past, it was great to hear about them.
>>>
>>>i dont think that we should go back to that type of media dissemination 
>>>just yet.  but i do think that we should recognize the importnat things 
>>>that occur where we live, the small battles that happen every day and 
>>>tell people about that through our websites.  instead of trying to tell 
>>>people about what happens in other parts of the world through these 
>>>websites.  (i have been told that many imc's and imcista have editorial 
>>>colletives that collectively write the center column features for their 
>>>site as news, and this part is based directly on that.)
>>>
>>>okay, wrapping it up.  i think we should be local imc's more.  and really 
>>>find out for ourselves what it means to be a local imc.  and that us imc 
>>>should conglomerate the local things happening around the country and not 
>>>try to be a national media that offers global coverage.  and this is just 
>>>how i feel about things, not necessarily representative of anyone else in 
>>>portland.
>>>
>>>--
>>>
>>>now, back to parts of emails that open comment can be on.  thanks to 
>>>emily for doing the work on the outreach page, now it would be great if 
>>>other folks went ahead and did the outreach to imc's that necessitated 
>>>it.  i would also really appreciate (if other folks have the time) some 
>>>more visioning from different people of what they would like this us imc 
>>>site to be.  okay, now i will stop as this is too long.
>>>bht
>>>portland imc volunteer
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>IMC-US mailing list
>>>IMC-US at lists.ucimc.org
>>>http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/imc-us
>>
>>
>>
>>
>