[Imc-finance] RNC Independent Media Coverage Fundraising Document:

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi all,

This just came out over the RNC-IMC-Converge e-mail list.  Thought it
might help answer some of the questions people have raised:

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 2004 REPUBLICAN
NATIONAL CONVENTION

Overview

The Republican Party will convene in New York City from August 30th to
September 2nd to nominate George W. Bush as their candidate for President.
With the entire Republican leadership, 5000 Party delegates, 20,000 GOP
supporters, and hundreds of thousands of protesters all coming together,
this will undoubtedly be the single most significant event in the course
of this year's historic election campaign.

Because the primary purpose of the Convention is to be a huge pep rally
and media spectacle, the city government and Republican Party are making
every accommodation for the expected 15,000 for-profit journalists who
will be covering the convention. They are outfitting the huge Farley Post
Office building to serve as a press center. They are running brand new
phone and Internet lines. They are even constructing a bridge from the
Farley building to Madison Square Garden across the street, where the
Convention will be held.

That enclosure will effectively lock the for-profit journalists out of the
streets where the most important stories of the week will be told. They
will not hear the Restaurant Opportunities Center talk about the need for
living wage jobs, or the AIDS Housing Network demanding affordable health
care, or the Hip Hop Summit Action Network protest the harsh
Rockefeller-era drug laws, or students decrying the No Child Left Behind
Act, or the Immigrant Solidarity Network speak out on the illegal
detentions of Arabs in the United States. The only people in the streets
looking to record and distribute these stories will be the independent
media.

For independent media to be successful, we need your support. We are a
coalition of local organizers who are preparing to host and coordinate the
activities of well over 1000 independent journalists. Dozens of different
organizations, working in video, print, radio, web, and photo, are
collaborating to reach millions around the world with the stories the
Republicans do not want you to hear.

Independent media organizations cannot afford the access and equipment
that large media corporations can. By working together and sharing
resources, we can have a much greater impact than we could on our own.
That means we need a large, common workspace, shared phone and Internet
lines, computers and video equipment, money for printing, and access to
satellite transmission for video.

COST BREAKDOWN

SPACE (operated by the NYC Grassroots Media Coalition, which includes the
NYC IMC)
Challenge: $16,000 (money in hand - $3000)
Space rental: $15,000
Furniture Rental: $1,000

EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN
Challenge: $57,450
10 new G4.s: $10,000
50 used computers: $15,000
Communications (2400)
Hardware: $1000
Internet: $750 (T1)
Multi-line Phone Installation: $750
Local Phone bill: $300
Fax machine: $100
Printing costs $20,000
Distribution: $3000
Technology (2400)
Back-up server: $1200
Video server: $1200
2 photo scanners: $500
5 VCR & TV sets: $750
Tape Stock (1600)
200 minidv: $1000
200 minidisc: $400
50 VHS: $200
Projector: $700
Office supplies: $500
Polaroid camera and laminator: $600
Other Media Projects (described above): $18,000