[IMC-US] personal reprtback for indy folks about theNationalCOnference on Media Reform.

Tue May 17 11:35:00 CDT 2005

chris and all - 

is there room at the amc (allied media conference) to bring this person in?  since they are both in ohio, and it sounds like something peopole might be into!

josh/anyone - is this possible? 

 - b - 

BE THE MEDIA
www.stlimc.org

-------- Original Message --------
From: Chris Anderson <chanders_imc at yahoo.com>
Apparently from: imc-us-bounces at lists.ucimc.org
To: "Working Group for IMC-US." <imc-us at lists.ucimc.org>
Subject: Re: [IMC-US] personal reprtback for indy folks about theNationalCOnference on Media Reform.
Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 09:27:22 -0700 (PDT)

> Betsy wrote:
> 
> "not talking more about media justice (i've never
> really heard this specific term before, but understand
> it's concept and want to look more into it)"
> 
> I think one of the most important thigs for me to come
> out of this conference was that I finally understood,
> in a real, tangible sense, that the "media democracy
> movement" and and movement for "media justice" are two
> really different things. I'd always HEARD this talked
> about, but never really asked more and never really
> understood what it meant til this weekend. Its tough
> to articulate on email, but maybe other folks at the
> conference know what I'm talking about.
> 
> I was lucky enough to meet Gavin Leonard of the Hip
> Hop Youth Action Center in Cincinnati at the
> conference this weekend.
> (http://www.natiyouthcenter.org/)He and his group are
> doing amazing work. I think he was fairly put off by
> the whole NCMR, though I dont want to speak for him.
> At the same time, though, I started thinking about
> what it would take for Indymedia to make even more
> connections with groups doing the kind of work his is
> doing. How can we help them in their struggles? Or do
> they even need us? Why?
> 
> it was good to see everyone this weekend.
> 
> chris
> 
> > 
> > WHAT I EXPECTED (AND GOT):
> > - lots of white, well off faces
> > - REFORM REFORM REFORM conversation that i didn't
> > understand
> > - liberals 
> > - support from people that i both knew and didn't
> > know and how people were helpful
> > 
> > WHAT I DIDN'T EXPECT:
> > - so many different imc's represented
> > - people to read the confluence and go to freepress
> > to confront them about the issue.  it was media
> > action in process and really great :)
> > - so much enthusiasm from folks who WEREN'T imcistas
> > 
> > OVERALL - the sessions were kind of irritating,
> > however, they were exactly as i would have expected.
> >  hearing lots of comments about how freepress didn't
> > include imc in the past, i expected reservations
> > from them this year, however, i'm sure it didn't
> > help when i was the same person trying to get them
> > to sign the letter to the mayor that they refused to
> > do.  i was a consistant pain in their ass and i was
> > okay with that.  i felt inspired, as i usually do
> > with imc gatherings, with the energy and people and
> > ideas and refuse to get upset with the reform
> > conversations because it was a reform conference.  i
> > would like to continue the imc pressence at these
> > events, but only to promote imc's in general, bring
> > together media reform and media justice, and of
> > course challenge their means of reform and their
> > general conference happenings.    however, i don't
> > want myself to concentrate on the negative, but use
> > it for a driving force in the next couple months to
> > increase my contacts and knowledge and kick ass in
> > the future.
> > 
> > sincerely and thoughtfully - betsy :)
> > 
> >
> ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
> > 
> > BE THE MEDIA
> > www.stlimc.org
> > 
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > From: bht <bht at indymedia.org>
> > Apparently from: imc-us-bounces at lists.ucimc.org
> > To: "Working Group for IMC-US."
> > <imc-us at lists.ucimc.org>
> > Subject: [IMC-US] personal reprtback for indy folks
> > about the NationalCOnference on Media Reform.
> > Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 15:30:00 -0700
> > 
> > > So, I arrived in St. Louis about four days prior
> > to the beginning of the 
> > > conference.  I caught up with frinds that I hadnt
> > seen for months and 
> > > started to get more involved/interested with what
> > was happening in the 
> > > Lou.  I think this started right when I pulled up
> > to CAMP (Community 
> > > Arts and Media Project, stlcamp.org) and a bunch
> > of little kids from the 
> > > neighbourhood ran up to me, hugged me, and called
> > me daddy.  (Then they 
> > > dug a big hole in the backyard.)
> > > 
> > > By Thursday, I had a decent grasp of what was
> > going on in the Lou and 
> > > had met folks from here.  Josh Breitbart came into
> > town and we started 
> > > working on Wednesday.  We stuffed bags for the
> > Allied Media Conference.
> > > 
> > > By Thursday night many of the Indymedia folks had
> > arrived, and many of 
> > > the reformers arrived and we converged at City
> > Museum (citymuseum.org) 
> > > in the Lou for the conference pre-party.  And I
> > think we partied.  I 
> > > made some real good connections there and had a
> > very fun time, leaving 
> > > with only a few scrapes and a lot of sweat.  We
> > danced two out of three 
> > > floors, and we danced hard.
> > > 
> > > The next day the reforming began and it mostly
> > included sitting at a 
> > > table, poking my head into a few places having
> > conversations with many 
> > > different people about indymedia and about St
> > Louis, and basically just 
> > > working the idea into peoples heads that by coming
> > to this conference 
> > > you are affecting the local community and you have
> > to have respect for 
> > > where you are and awareness for the issues at
> > hand.  THings went over 
> > > well, many folks thought I was from the Lou,
> > although my name badge 
> > > clearly repped pdx imc.
> > > 
> > > That was the first day of the conference and it
> > was mostly low energy 
> > > networking catching up with folks feeling things
> > out.  It was a good day 
> > > and we went back to CAMP that night and made
> > friends.
> > > 
> > > The next day, day two of the conference, was the
> > big day in my book.  We 
> > > had seen that media reform was ignoring or missing
> > the independant media 
> > > network and the idea that people can be the media
> > nd do away with the 
> > > industry that they are trying to reform.  The
> > disgust was thick.  Indy 
> > > activists were moving about the conference and
> > promoting the indymedia 
> > > movement.  I was working the table most of the day
> > where we had a much 
> > > better setup with three laptops and a few people
> > engaging people walking 
> > > by and pointing them to their nearest local imc.
> > > 
> > > One person asked how much it cost to post to the
> > site.  I got to explain 
> > > to this person that indymedia is not about the
> > money it is not about 
> > > haveing a hold on the media, it is about media
> > justice and putting the 
> > > tools of media production back in the hands of the
> > people.  I think it 
> > > was tough to grasp because the conference was very
> > academic.
> > > 
> > > I got to talk to quite a few people and then the 4
> > o clock caucus' 
> > > came.  Inclusing the one that was going to have
> > two indy folks as 
> > > moderators and called independant media producers
> > and the one for folks 
> > > from the northwest.  I went to indymedia one first
> > and there was another 
> > > white guy standing in front of everyone telling
> > them how it was and that 
> > > media is a big issue and that reform is working. 
> > And i got disgusted, 
> > > partly because it wasnt a caucus but mostly
> > because the two indymedia 
> > > folks that were also supposed to moderate were
> > women...and this was just 
> > > another guy.
> > > 
> > 
> === message truncated ===
> 
> 
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