[Imc] on IMCs

[Paul Riismandel]

Hey all,

I read this interesting short essay, featured on the main IMC site, along 
with some of the comments, and thought it might be good reading for 
everyone.  It attempts to tease out the distinction between the IMCs and 
the corporate media.

http://climate.indymedia.org/article.php3?sid=20001118145640

However, the first comment to the article was most instructive to me 
because it reminded me of a crucial difference that it is easy to forget as 
we work hard on reporting and creating content.  That factor is the 
dialogic nature of the IMCs, where the content is shaped not just by the 
original reporters, but by the dialogue we hope happens amongst 
participants (readers, audience, writers, etc.).  Though it may seem 
obvious, that is the reason that the site software is set up like a 
bulletin board, and is something we should remind ourselves of.

I think it's also a point to keep in mind as we go about creating other 
media--like radio and video.  How do we integrate dialog into these 
media?  What makes an IMC radio show different from one produced by NPR or 
WDWS?  Is it just viewpoint or standpoint?  Is it just that access is a 
little more open--because none of us is a "media professional?" Or is there 
something else?

For me, it's a shallow difference if the IMC only sets itself apart by 
being progressive or left--though not an unimportant difference.  What 
excites me is the potential to create a whole new "media thing" that erodes 
the boundaries between broadcaster and listener, writer and reader, host 
and audience.  The IMC can be progressive in a more holistic sense of the 
word, by being a new way to mediate between people (rather than _to_ them), 
instead of being a new version of the same old thing.

These are just a few thoughts I had to share.  I welcome comments and 
responses on- or off-list.

--Paul