[Imc-radio] Radio news stipend

[Mike Lehman]

Molly,
The reason no one is being paid is that this has never been proposed or 
consensed to, AFAIK, as you noted. I have no problem with a proposal 
being made about this for the future, although I might also have some 
specific concerns about it that I'll note at the end of this.

But I have a serious problem with retroactive financial claims being 
made for volunteer work at the IMC. I think most people assume, for good 
reason, that any work done for or at the IMC is volunteer unless it is 
clear that they've been engaged with a specific understanding that they 
will be reimbursed for their services.

Basically, if we as an organization in which 99%+ of all our work is 
volunteer were to set a precedent that a volunteer could turn around and 
ask that work done previously should now be considered as paid labor, we 
effectively cease to exist as a finacially viable entity -- we simply 
can't afford to pay for even a small percentage of the potential claims 
possible under such a scenario. Heck, I could probably come up with 
several hundred billable hours myself from last summer alone. I could 
probably even quit grad school... I hate to have to be a bit pointed 
here, but the real question would be where does it end?

Additionally, we do have a process in place for contracting for labor at 
the IMC. Since this was never invoked, it is clear that there really is 
no evidence that it was ever the intention of the IMC or Radio to pay 
for Dave (or anyone else) to produce the news. I wish he would cite 
exactly when he first assumed that this was the case and why, as it 
clearly seems to be a misunderstanding on his part.

I think I explained the background fairly well on what exactly it is was 
previously agreed to do with income from WEFT (it was intended to go 
towards equipment and production expenses) and what appears to be Dave's 
confusion of the agreement on a division of potential income from 
syndication to FSRN, etc with this on-going WEFT income, which was never 
intended to be used to pay producers or reporters, as far as I know.

Now I'll admit I have not been at a Radio meeting in a long time, but 
I've been on the email list since the beginning, as well as in Steering 
(which should have been informed IF anyone was actually contracted with 
to do this work.) I do not remember any other decision being made to 
modify this original consensus on the WEFT income. I would be happy to 
stand corrected if I am wrong about this, but let's have a citation from 
Radio meeting notes or something to support it if someone's memory on 
this point is different than mine.

I do know that the original decision -- made by consensus -- on what to 
do with income from WEFT was made by a Radio group that was 
substantially larger than the group that exists now -- and the Radio 
group now is one that clearly has never (in the absence of something I 
might have missed) reached a consensus decision to pay 
producers/reporters for producing the show for WEFT or otherwise change 
the existing policy.

Ultimately, I am OK with hiring people for a certain spectrum of 
specific tasks at the IMC. Generally, my own feeling is that this is OK 
where:
1) It is an essential task necessary for the proper functioning of the 
organization in cases where no is available as a volunteer and
2) The task falls _outside_ the core volunteer mission of the IMC and
3) When such a decision is made openly following the processes we have 
in place for making such decisions.

Generally, if we don't have people enough interested to put out the 
Public i, operate the website, put on shows or produce radio news, then 
we probably just shouldn't do it. Making non-commercial media by 
providing the resources to do so to volunteer reporters is our core 
mission. If there is a particular aspect of our current program that 
doesn't have enough interest, then we need to go in directions that do 
have it -- we simply can't afford to pay for what would be good, but 
doesn't have volunteer support.

And how would all those doing volunteer reporting for the IMC feel if 
suddenly a certain few were to start getting paid for the same thing 
they're doing?

Additionally, an IMC directly paying an IMC reporter (rather than an IMC 
reporter deriving income from syndication outside of Indymedia for 
something produced as an IMC project) raises profound questions that 
seems to have answers directly at odds with Indymedia principles. No one 
has even mentioned this yet, but I think it bears thinking about. I 
won't even open that can of worms beyond that, but when I think about it 
even a little in those terms, it is very problematic.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I am fairly certain that such a 
proposal would also raise concerns with other members. Even so, I am 
willing to consider such a proposal -- in the future -- if my concerns 
about these things were addressed somehow.
Mike Lehman

Molly Stentz wrote:
> 3. What are reasons for an IMC reporter/producer not getting paid for 
> producing IMC radio news?
> 
> (One reason I have heard is that it was never discussed or agreed upon 
> by the radio news collective. This seems legitimate. What are other 
> reasons, if any? Since it could be discussed and/or agreed upon by radio 
> news members now, that issue could be addressed and resolved, if there 
> was a desire.)
> 
> I hate to see this strife. I am also wondering out loud about the 
> collective resistance for paying for work. I think I understand some, 
> but clearly not all of the rationale. There are both several job 
> functions that are paid at the IMC and also many, many people who do 
> valuable work who do not get paid -willingly! These do not seem to be at 
> odds and are both valuable.
> 
> I wonder if the IMC Radio News would be more functional and stable if it 
> was able to structure itself in a way that supported and enabled its 
> reporters and producers to sustain their involvement. This is just a 
> question. Producing for FSRN is one option, are there others?
> 
> -Molly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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