[Imc] News meeting notes April 1, 2001

[Peter Miller]

IMC News Meeting
April 1, 2001

Attending: Pauline B., Brent M., Jason C., Peter M., Molly S., Sascha M.

1. Review
2. Upcoming stories
3. WEFT/WILL proposals
4. Announcements


1. Last week:
a) Pauline and Sehvilla are finishing up the Wal-Mart reporting.  Planning 
on writing something for the Octopus.  Pauline misplaced the photos; if 
anyone finds them, please get them to Pauline.  Pauline is considering 
talking to Ralph L, chair of the land use committe.

2. Upcoming Stories.

a) Elections are coming up on the 3rd.  We might want to write a 
retrospective.  We should follow the Greens.

b) FTAA Teach-in: Friday, April 6.  Who will audio tape?

c) Champaign police chief's resignation.

d) April 12: Nader, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. at IMC.  Paul K wants to do 
audio.  Sascha will do audio.  Brent will do photography, video, and 
captions for pictures.  We'll recommend that the Greens allow 3 people in 
on press passes.

e) Follow-up on Mayoral campaign.

f) Jerry Landay is speaking at the IMC at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 6 on 
strategies for how independent media can push into the 
media-archy.  Danielle will emcee and ensure that it gets taped, but she 
won't be taping it.

g) Tonight's Ward 5 debate (7:30 - 9 p.m.) will be recorded by Molly.

3. IMC News Group Proposed Goals

Danielle presented a proposal for IMC Local News on WEFT.  Seven 
priorities: 5 minute news drop-in, fill WEFT's Friday Forum slot, more 
producers for the Illinois Labor Hour, produce spots for Sidetrack, produce 
"Ecoflash", write a weekly column for the Octopus, contribute to Black Thought.

How?  1) Go into journalism classes and find people who want to produce 
real stuff.  2) Go to organizations and find people within to publish at 
imc.  3) Get IMC a "guest-in-residence" spot at Allen Hall (now is the time 
to apply).  4) Make a UIUC IMC arm that gets SORF funding.  5) Visit 
writing groups that currently exist, and ask them to provide content.  6) 
Add a carrot for other organizations to publish at IMC:  If they're posted 
at IMC, they'll be re-published elsehwere--Octopus, WEFT, etc.

Priorities?
How do we handle outreach?  (Add it on to our other tasks?)
Pauline: Outreach-> do #2.  Try to find people to do the priorities, and 
report back.  Priority-> Friday Forum, 5-minute drop-in.  ("Ecoflash" = 
"Life in the Bike Lane" and is already being produced.)

Brent:  Priorities-> Courier/Friday 
Forum.  Sidetrack.  Ecoflash.  Outreach-> Ensure people have business cards 
and are distributing them.  Post a letter to the website inviting people to 
post.  Campus group.

Jason: You're not producing things with the things you record. Put out 
little "wrap"s--2 paragraph summaries, just to get some news out 
there.  Priorities-> WEFT (that's your audience).  Pound into the public's 
head that we're here.  We hit a lot of people with radio.

Sascha: Priorities-> Outreach-> .  No priorities.  Thinks we have the 
resources to accomplish everything, if we just inspire people.  William 
Gillespie has talked about an alternative press.

Molly: Outreach-> WEFT-equivalent of airshifter training.  Priorities-> 
Octopus column.

Peter: Outreach-> Contacting other groups.  Use trainings as a carrot for 
media un-savvy groups.  Production-> Sidetrack.

Sehvilla: Production-> Courier/Friday Forum.  Octopus column.  Outreach-> 
glad we're talking about it.

Scott: Loves it all.

Danielle: Production-> Courier/Friday Forum.  Thinks it will be an engine 
for this group.  (The little wraps are so easy to do...)  Others, 
too.  Outreach-> Thinks we can get organizations to do wraps on their 
events.  Wants to find a structure that works well for plugging the IMC 
into the Courier.

The meeting continued...