[IMC-bristol] The only ones laughing are NATO

[Ecovillage Network UK]

Dear friends,


This is now being peddaled as some kind of 'self-promotion'.  Come on people.

Do you folks normally put someone's work on trial 'in absentia' And are you 
suprised that you have created this bad feeling?

As it turns out the reason cited for removing it - that I didn't have 
copyright to it (well WHAT THE HELL IF I DIDN'T that's what Indymedia is 
all about) is rubbish. No wonder no-one brought it up to my face. The other 
reason that someone who adds something to the newswire shouldn't add a 
feature in fact happens regularly.

I'd love to know what the real reason is......  Whatever it is the only 
ones laughing are NATO.  (and I bet they are) Nice one dudes!

This kind of investigative feature is exactly the kind of stuff which needs 
an outlet and is not getting one in the Chronicle, Evening Post BBC or HTV

I'm not promoting myself or being partisan - unlike the Bristolian Party 
;-) - I did commission the article and for such a feature to be deleted for 
no good reason is pure censorship.

No-one has been saying it shouldn't be on the newswire Crash (God knows 
where you got that from) but it's a quality piece - an exclusive and 
written as a feature - it is liable to be of interest nationally even 
internationally and particularly to people who live round here. We are 
likely to get interesting feedback from local residents and maybe even 
employees otherwise gagged from talking about where they work.

As far as I know we don't yet have a formal approval system on email for 
features and as such as one of the editors of the site I decided the 
feature was good enough - which it is - and with genuine leaked info about 
the new computers definately worthy of the centre column. I have not added 
a feature for at least six months now and the first time I do I'm stabbed 
in the back - that really is how it feels to have features you've put your 
guts into censored behind your back. It would be helpful if we could think 
of the role Bristol IMC is playing in filling the gap left by the 
mainstream press - and showing them up with good investigative features 
like this rather than censoring ANYTHING. Especially such a well written 
piece.

If a good writer like John added a good investigative piece into bristol 
cops (or something) like this I would expect him to put it up as a feature 
- not delete his work - luckily I had a copy of the links and what I've 
written on the UK IMC - otherwise that would have been lost for ever.

I'm bloody angry about this with those cowards who decided to remove it 
without running their doubts past me - but I'm much more disappointed now 
with the apparent petty-mindedness of whoever the still anonymous person it 
was who seems to delight in hitting the delete key. The only people losing 
out to your trigger happy finger - whoever you are - is the public we are 
supposed to be serving.

This is no way to takle on the corporates guys by wiping good investigative 
anti-imperialist stuff off the BIMC screen - it really is feeling like spite.

I can only say - how would you like it?

Anyone any ideas of where I can publish this feature if not the Bristol 
Open Publishing website I helped to create??

Tony
0117 944 6219


At 04:51 PM 11/12/03 +0000, crash wrote:

>I've just caught up with this debate - sorry for being a bit slow, but 
>that's because I'm on the digest.
>
>I brought up the issue of Tony's feature at the meeting. My concern was 
>simply the immediate promotion of one's own writing to the front page. I 
>don't know if it's been going on 'all the time' or not, but I see no 
>difference between this behaviour and writing editorial - something that I 
>understood IM was not about. We at least need to be seen to be trying to 
>avoid this. In fact, I think the story could make a good feature, but this 
>'lone ranger' approach can't work.
>
>The reason I didn't bring it up when Tony was at the meeting wasn't due to 
>backstabbing or whatever - it wasn't on the agenda and I only remembered 
>seeing it when the meeting was effectively at an end.
>
>I have no beef about the content of the story whatsoever, and my only 
>concern is if it complies with the guidelines, which I believe it does. 
>Personally I don't see any justification for removing it from the newswire.
>
>Most importantly, *the subsequent decision to hide was taken at the full 
>public meeting by consensus*. Yes, that decision should have been posted 
>to the list.
>
>Crash.
>
>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 10
>>Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 11:46:57 +0000
>>From: Ecovillage Network UK <evnuk at gaia.org>
>>Subject: [IMC-bristol] Censorship of bunker feature
>>To: imc-bristol at lists.indymedia.org
>>Cc: Mike Tonks <mike at bettercode.com>
>>Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20031112112251.046a4700 at mail.gaia.org>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>>You know I had left the meeting Mike,
>>
>>1) What complaints about posting articles without peoples permission? 
>>Anyway I have Phil's permission to publish it.
>>
>>2) What do you mean?? Ian's doing this all the time. And it makes sense 
>>if you know - as John Serpico does often - most about a particular story.
>>
>>3) This article - which I think reads particularly well - Phil is a 
>>professional journo. has never been published before.
>>
>>Finally - it's exactly the sort of story the mainstream should be doing 
>>but aren't - and should pull in more mainstream readers than the 
>>'activist ghetto' stuff.
>>
>>I feel really shitty about time and effort wasted with apparently 
>>backstabbing people - the least whoever saw the feature as a 'problem' 
>>could do was ask me themselves before I had to leave the other day before 
>>simply censoring it.
>>
>>Or at the very least run it past the list before censoring it.
>>
>>If posting - for the first time for several months - an exclusive, well 
>>researched, balanced feature on a matter of international public interest 
>>is 'abuse of power' - well, I suggest you read the article.
>>
>>
>>Tony
>>0117 944 6219
>>
>>
>>At 11:01 AM 11/12/03 +0000, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>Yes, it was suggested to remove it at the meeting - sorry you had left I 
>>>think
>>>by this point.
>>>
>>>1) There's been complaints before about you reposting other people's 
>>>articles
>>>without their permission.  It is not clear if this person has been asked.
>>>
>>>2)  There's a specific rule in the guidelines about not putting something on
>>>the front page if you post it yourself, which I think applies in this case.
>>>
>>>3) It was suggested that it's not even a new article, quite old in fact.
>>>
>>>
>>>If you are suggesting the author posted this himself / herself, then 
>>>maybee it
>>>should go back up.  If you posted it, then it would be better if you would
>>>write your own article, perhaps referencing this article, and then see if
>>>anyone else wants to put it on the front page, or post to the list to ask...
>>>
>>>Don't really think this is censorshi[, more a question of abuse of power 
>>>by an
>>>imc volunteer, perhaps.
>>>
>>>I've not actually read the article myself, just feeding back on the general
>>>concensus from the meeting.
>>>
>>>This email list at: http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-bristol
>>>Archive of this list: http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-bristol/
>>>Tech List: http://lists.indymedia.org/imc-bristol-tech
>>>BrisIMC http://bristol.indymedia.org/
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Imc-bristol mailing list
>>>Imc-bristol at lists.indymedia.org
>>>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-bristol
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>This email list at: http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-bristol
>Archive of this list: http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-bristol/
>Tech List: http://lists.indymedia.org/imc-bristol-tech
>BrisIMC http://bristol.indymedia.org/
>_______________________________________________
>Imc-bristol mailing list
>Imc-bristol at lists.indymedia.org
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-bristol
>


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