[Imc-web] Policy on Announcements in Features

[Brian Hagy]

as i rise from the dead.....

i agree with Mike's thinking on this.  especially with the framework that
the Features section connects to the global IMC (and perhaps the US IMC).
an announcement about a local event doesn't seem to carry the same
interest for the global IMC site as a local report, for example.

i know we've struggled with announcements in the past.  we even have the
web calendar which is supposed to be a source for announcements.  i've
wondered if there could be a small area on the front page specifically for
announcements, which could then link to the calendar or articles
concerning further details.  dunno if that's the right direction either.
definitely worth brainstorming.

and howdy from the dead side of the world.  from the phantom to the street
theater festival to now the Crucible out in Tuscola, i've barely had a
moment to do anything other than theater.  sigh.  i miss all the folks
there, and it's truly wonderful to know things still are alive, so when i
return to being alive IMC wise, i'll be amongst warm company.  heh heh.

peace
brian



On Sat, 18 Oct 2003, Mike Lehman wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
> Well, I'm still up for having a web meeting at some point, as was
> discussed recently. And I have an agenda item for it.
>
> One of the things I've been wishing to talk about for some time has been
> the issue of posting announcements to the Feature section. A comment to
> this Feature today reminded me of this:
> http://www.ucimc.org/feature/display/13734/index.php
>
> I wonder if this was pulled for syndication on the global Indymedia site
> and that is where the visitor found it? I can understand his/her
> perplexity in some ways.
>
> Although we have always made an effort to cover the arts, as well as
> hard news, my concerns about the issue of putting announcements into
> Features actually transcend the particular subject matter of this
> example. A number of announcements for events, political or art-wise,
> have been given Feature status. I am not necessarily wanting to say that
> we should not ever do Features on announcements, but I would like to see
> a more restrictive policy. Here's why.
>
> Doing an announcement is something done for events that really is not
> yet news. I believe that, in general, we should limit announcements to
> the Local Newswire. Then, if those attending or participating in the
> event want do an actual news story, then that should be considered for
> Features. This would be intended to promote the coverage of local news
> and events, rather than to have Features used for promotional purposes,
> something which has been occurring with more frequency of late.
>
> I can see reasons to make exceptions to this rule, so it doesn't need to
> be hard and fast. First, IMC fundraisers would be legitimate reasons for
> a Feature announcement, like the recent IMCFest. Second, events in
> response to an ongoing news story may also qualify for a Feature
> announcement, such as the mass march at the beginning of the latest Iraq
> war. These sort of things have mass community interest and go directly
> to our mission to serve the activist community.
>
> However, I think Features have been overused for the purpose of
> promoting events. I believe that the Local Newswire does an adequate job
> of this and that having a policy such as the one I've proposed will
> encourage more news coverage of local events, including ones that may
> not even be announced in advance on IMC.
>
> Note that I don't have any issue with the coverage by Ben Grosser or the
> particular event itself. It falls within our past usage of Features. But
> with these stories now being syndicated to global (and perhaps soon, to
> a US IMC), I think we should take a look at focusing our policy a little
> better to suit the way in which the Feature section is used, often
> beyond our own IMC, while encouraging more news stories that are more
> compelling because they actually cover events, rather than simply
> serving promotional purposes.
>
> I would like to hear what others have to say about this in any case.
> Mike Lehman
>
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