[Imc] new newspaper

[john karl wilson]

I want to congratulate Urbana Indymedia on all the great work you're
doing. You should really come up with a guide for other indymedias in
small cities to imitate you. Even Chicago Indymedia is trying to catch up
(it does launch its first radio show today, Mon 4/30 at 9:30am on
WLUW, www.wluw.org).

I'm the editor of the newsletter for Chicago Media Watch and commentary
editor at StreetWise Chicago, but I wanted to email your list because I'm
moving to Normal and starting a new Bloomington-Normal alternative weekly
newspaper in August. I'm a big advocate of the left starting mass media to
reach a larger audience, and I read your discussion on a print version of 
Indymedia. I think you folks should plan seriously about starting
a weekly newspaper in C-U, even if the Octopus manages to survive--and
certainly work to start an anti-corporate replacement for the Octopus.

I can give you all the details on how to start an alternative paper (I've
co-founded the University of Chicago Free Press and Chicago Ink in the
past), and ideally we could share articles and resources (I'm hoping that
Urbana Indymedia can provide some articles for the B-N paper in any
case). I would emphasize that doing an alternative newspaper profitably
without sacrificing your values is not as difficult as you might think,
and the impact is enormous: consider the opportunity to reach 10,000
people weekly with the info you think is important, and you'll realize
that it's worth the time and energy.

I'd be happy to help you with suggestions and some of the logistics (once
I get this paper up and running), and I'd certainly appreciate suggestions
about what we're doing in Bloomington-Normal, stories we should cover,
people I should contact. I can send you a more detailed memo on how to
start a newspaper, or communicate directly with the print group.

Thanks,
John K. Wilson
(former Daily Illini columnist)
author, How the Left Can Win Arguments and Influence People: A Tactical
Manual for Pragmatic Progressives (august, NYU Press)