[New-imc] helping cleveland move through the process and big thanks

[Sheri Herndon]

hi susan,

thanks so much and i don't want you or anyone to feel guilty.  as a 
good friend always likes to point out, we should be guilty of nothing 
but learning.  :))  i just want people to have some awareness of how 
we'd like to see a working group list actually function so that we 
can feel more like a group helping each other out.  so this is 
awesome for the offer and i'm going to take you up on it.

could you help with the cleveland application.  i just got an email 
from dana who is wondering about the status of their application. 
they submitted it with all final documents on november 19 and are 
still waiting to hear from folks.  since jay has been away some 
us-based apps have slipped through the cracks.  it's important also 
for us not to lean too heavily on one person on these lists, who do 
the bulk of the work, cause when they slip away, things don't get 
done as easily.  so more equitable sharing of the load i think is 
important.

i am happy to "mentor" you a bit with the process if you have any 
questions.  and i'm cc'ing dana.  lemme know if you can do this 
otherwise, i'll be happy to follow up with them.

ciao
sheri

here's their application:


Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 23:34:51 -0500

Here are all the applicable documents, questions, steps, etc. for Cleveland to
become a Global IMC member.

(To briefly editorialize: We really appreciate the help we've received from
numerous people along the way (during the last year or so of organizing).
Especially thanks to those who have shared their thoughts about 
Cleveland's less
than stellar history as an IMC member... hopefully this past has made our work
more meaningful and important now. We hope to live up to the bar that's been
raised for us.)

In case people are not aware, we still have an active webpage-- albeit not
linked up in the cities.inc, which is:  http://cleveland.indymedia.org

Also, see this document in all the helpful formatting at:
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=2406&group=webcast

In solidarity,
Dana
(for the Cleveland IMC)


Cleveland IMC "New IMC" Documents


New IMC Process

(From 
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2002-March/003108.html 
)

1) Pre-organizing

You may be at this point -- you're sitting by yourself in your bedroom, looking
at your computer, reading an Indymedia site, thinking, "there should be an IMC
in my town -- maybe I'll start one!" Or, you could be an independent 
media maker
who has been talking with a number of other independent media makers in your
city about forming an IMC, and finally you feel as if everyone is ready to move
forward. Or, you could be part of a diverse, already-active independent media
collective that has started talking about melding its efforts into those of the
Indymedia network. Wherever you are, you're apparently interested in forming an
IMC. The first step is to talk with people in your community and try to get the
sense if there is interest in forming an IMC, held by enough people who will
actually do the work to make it happen that the idea is worth pursuing.

Done. Interest and need definitely exists.



2) look at the documents linked through the newimc.indymedia.org site:

-- the introductory letter will give you a basic overview of the 
new-imc process

-- the Frequently Asked Questions file will give you some background about
Indymedia and answer some questions you may have

-- the global indymedia overview will give you an idea of some of the e-mail
lists we use in having network-wide discussions. It's out of date because new
and exciting working groups keep popping up

-- the principles of unity. Make sure you have a good sense of what 
Indymedia is
about. These principles are still developing, but they give a basic 
idea of what
indymedia is and what indymedia does

-- the membership criteria. You can use these as sort of a blueprint for your
organizing. Once you can answer affirmatively to all of these criteria, you
should be ready to join the network.

Done. All documents have been viewed and distributed in the Cleveland IMC
network. The Cleveland IMC agrees with and submits to the membership criteria.



3) When you think you're really ready to do some good organizing, fill out the
form at newimc.indymedia.org. Be sure to include an introductory 
essay where the
form asks you to tell us why you want to be an IMC. This will help the new-imc
working group get to know you.

This is the Cleveland IMC’s introduction and application (sent by 
Patrick Turner
on 3/21/02):

"Why are we applying for a new IMC in Cleveland?

Well even though there is already a Cleveland IMC website, this site has not
been active for a little over a year. As we understand it the 
original IMC group
covered a couple of local events and then stopped updating the site 
for whatever
reason.

So basically this is an all-new group of people and we are applying for access
to the current IMC-cleveland site. We have discussed this amongst ourselves and
we thought the best way to approach this was to re-apply in-order to get access
to the site. This group has been in contact with one of the members of the
original IMC group through a mutual friend and as we understand it they no
longer wish to be involved and give consent for us to start a new group.

Because of recent local and international events the Cleveland area 
needs an IMC
more than ever.

-There has been a local effort to start and maintain a public 24/7 protest of
America's "War on Terrorism"

-The Cleveland school voucher program is involved in a possibly 
landmark court case

-Cleveland has a growing sustainable development/green building community

-May 4th anti-war protest/march after the annual commemoration at Kent State
University in Kent Ohio

So far, this new group has held three "general" meetings. In those meetings we
have discussed the indymedia process, discussed our own goals and interests for
a local IMC, and set up some basic working groups to cover basic IMC functions,
as well as written our own mission statement. Some of the members of this new
group have been involved in public access TV, video journalism, non-corporate
radio broadcasting, print media, web design, graphic art, and grassroots
activism. Minutes for these meetings are available on the 
IMC-cleveland listserv

http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-cleveland/

Everyone seems very excited about this; we are off to a really great start.

If you have any questions, comments, or require any additional information
please contact us via the IMC-cleveland listserv or through our contact person.

Thank You."



4) If you don't already have one, you can open a public, transparent, open
e-mail list for your organizing, by filling out the form at 
"newlist.indymedia.org".

Done. We have such an email list: imc-cleveland at indymedia.org



5) O - R - G - A - N - I - Z - E !!!!

The next step is to organize. Spend as long as you need to organize a solid,
sustainable, diverse and dedicated group -- there's no rush on our end. We'd
rather see your group be a good one than have a site up and running 
that doesn't
sustain itself. Try to connect with as many independent media makers in your
area as possible. Ask people what they'd like to see in an IMC, what gaps there
are in the independent media community where you live, how people want to be
involved in the short and long term in an IMC. Have lots of meetings in lots of
places so lots of people can come. Having a diverse core of organizers is
ESSENTIAL -- outreach in creative ways, don't just fall back on old 
methods. The
goal is to develop an IMC group that is committed to doing good work, both
locally and in tune with other IMCs throughout the Indymedia network. This part
of the process could take weeks, months or more. You won't be ready 
until you're
ready. Feel free to communicate with the new-imc at indymedia.org working group
throughout this process to ask questions and/or to give updates. Continue to
introduce new volunteers to the indymedia principles of unity so they know what
they're getting into. Also, you may want to start paying attention to the
network discussions happening on the global e-mail lists (view the archives
through http://lists.indymedia.org). If you're brave, you may even want to
subscribe to some and introduce yourself. Others from the collective 
may want to
do the same.

Done. The Cleveland IMC has been having consistent meetings since early March
2002. The group has a solid core of support people, and a larger network of
interested parties. Many other independent media makers in the region have been
contacted, and many have chosen to participate in different ways. Some have
started joining various network email discussions to appreciate the dynamics of
the global network.



    6. With your forming collective, write a mission statement and editorial
policy. [Links to examples here] You may also want to have your technically
proficient members contact the imc tech team at imc-tech at indymedia.org to ask
any technical questions you may have about starting an indymedia web site.

Mission statement:

"The Cleveland IMC is a not-for-profit, volunteer, & collectively-run
organization working in solidarity with the international network of 
independent
media centers to create a viable alternative to traditional media sources. The
Cleveland IMC will provide public access to passionate, accurate, & honest
information about important events & issues.

We seek to empower people of our diverse communities by providing an 
alternative
source of information and a forum for active participation. We hope this
resource will help people to make educated decisions that will affect their
lives and communities in a positive way."

Editorial policy:

What/How:

Any active Cleveland IMC (CIMC) collective member can nominate a feature story
for publishing in the "center column" on the cleveland.indymedia.org website.
Approval requires minority support-- an additional two (2) vocalizations of
support ("seconds")-- at which time the Publishing Working Group will promote
the story to the center column. The nomination and secondary support process
will take place via the imc-cleveland at indymedia.org mailing list.

Location:

Both nominators and secondary supporters must be based in the "Northeast Ohio"
region. If a nomination occurs outside of that area, it still may be considered
for publication as a feature, but requires an additional vote of support from a
local-based IMC collective member (thus, a nomination from someone in 
Washington
D.C. would require three (3) additional "seconds" to be approved).

Blocking:

Stories may be blocked in the same fashion if a minority views a 
certain feature
directly violates the mission of the CIMC

Format:

All nominations must be in the following email format:

*************

Subject: "Nomination: <Title of story>"

Message Body:

<Title of story>

<Story summary> (50 words or less)

<Story text> (will be linked to from the center column. If not already on the
newswire, it will be published to the newswire once approved)

<Other story texts> x ? (As many relevant stories as necessary... 
preferably local)

*************

Relevant Terms:

* Active: involvement in meetings, email list discussions, or reporting on
events. Must agree with the mission of CIMC.

* Block: a motion that stands against overwhelming group support, stopping a
decision from moving forward on principled grounds. Rarely used, and usually in
the case of a gross violation of a group’s mission statement or general
operating ethic.

* Feature Story: a story that the CIMC collective believes to be of local
importance to Northeast Ohio. Found in the "center column" of the
cleveland.indymedia.org website.

* Minority support: a small percent of the CIMC collective that feels certain
stories are (a) important to the Northeast Ohio region, (b) promote 
diversity in
reporting, and (c) follow the mission statement of the CIMC.

* Publishing Working Group: a small number of CIMC collective members with
access codes to update/modify features. Will do very little (if no) editing.



Further, our tech people have been contact with other tech personnel 
(who are in
fact helping to set-up an upgraded Cleveland IMC website to run 
active-sf, which
will take the place of the present, out-of-date one, and will transfer over
existing archives).



7) When you're ready, and only when you're ready, reply to each of the
membership criteria points one by one, saying whether you've fulfilled them.
Send those responses to the new-imc at indymedia.org e-mail list. Along with the
membership criteria, send along a "personal introduction" from your 
IMC, as well
as for some of the organizers, if you'd like. This will be somewhat like the
information you sent when you filled out the form at newimc.indymedia.org, but
by this point it will no doubt be broader and more complete. Here are some
examples. [Links to examples here].

The Cleveland IMC responds to each of the membership criteria...

(From: http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-May/000155.html )

IMC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA - DRAFT

Each IMC and Global Working Group is expected to:

    1. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of 
Unity, AGREED
    2. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a functional
IMC, AGREED
    3. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary
"ownership" of an IMC), AGREED
    4. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of Purpose.
Network Mission Statement may be adopted or used on an interim basis, AGREED
    5. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed 
and functions
through democratic process, and with full transparency, AGREED
    6. Agree to the use of Open Publishing as described in the NIMC Editorial
Policy [editorial collective comments: "We did agree that the term "Open
Publishing" was one that is still being defined by the Global Network
Collective, and we would wait and see what the results were before rewriting
this criteria], AGREED
    7. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus
principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes, AGREED
(Using the "Formal Conesnsus" model from Butler& Rothstein)
    8. Have a spokesperson(s) willing and capable of participating in the global
decision-making process and meetings as a rotating liaison/representative, with
a clear understanding of the responsibilities that come with this role, AGREED
    9. Participate in the key IMC Network Communication Methods that pertain to
the health and vitality of the Network and that contribute to the work of the
IMC. Assure that at least one person from your local IMC participates at any
given time on the IMC-Communications list, AGREED
   10. (NOT FINALIZED): Have no official affiliation with any political party,
state or candidate for office (comments: but individual producers have freedom
to do whatever they like and local IMCs can "feature" stories about various
political parties and initiatives), AGREED
   11. IMCs shall in no way engage in commercial for-profit enterprises. [We
could add: The IMCN is committed to the decommercialization of information and
will disassociate from any local IMC that decides to become a for profit media
corporation.] AGREED
   12. Display a "local version" of the IMC "I" logo on your website and
literature. AGREED (After webpage updgrade we will have a customized one
visible; presently it’s the generic one)
   13. Include the IMC Network current "Cities List" on your site, preferably on
the front page. AGREED

NETWORK MEMBERSHIP

1. Network Membership is open to any group that accepts the above criteria for
membership. In the case of several requests from the same city or region, we
will encourage them to meet and work together.

2. Network Membership in the NIMC will be confirmed by the New IMC Working
Group, which is accountable to IMC-Process and ultimately to the NIMC
decision-making process.

DEFINING OUR TERMS:

For clarity and precision, we need to define our terms more carefully so there
is less room for misunderstanding. Also explains how we as a culture (the IMC
culture) use these terms.

* NIMC = Network of Independent Media Centers

* Open = means that diverse people and groups are welcome to attend and that no
attempt is made to exclude people based on their sex, race, gender, class, age,
ability or religion.

* Official affiliation = still being worked on

* IMC Network Communication Methods = international email lists, IRC 
discussions
and logs, phone calls and conference calls, and face-to-face meetings.

* Local version = acknowledges the many variations of the name and 
the logo that
will occur depending on the language and culture of the local IMC.



In addition to the above introduction from Patrick Turner, Dana Williams also
gave an introduction on the new-imc list on 9/18/02:

"Hi everyone,

My name is Dana Williams and I live in Akron, Ohio. I've been active in the
efforts to rebuild (and greatly improve upon) the Cleveland-area IMC. I've been
delegated the task of tracking down the status of the Cleveland IMC in the "new
IMC application" process.

A West Coast IMCer has been helping us set-up the new version of sf-active on a
new machine (and tutoring our tech people in the fine art of active). 
We've also
remained active in covering local Northeast Ohio happenings, and have just
completed a video compilation of 4 regional events, including a visit by
"President" Bush, the anti-war demo on the anniversary of the Kent State
shootings, counterprotests/interviews of a Promise Keeper convention, and WEF
protest footage. We continue to do outreach into the many cities within the
Cleveland metro area, including Akron, Kent, Oberlin, Canton, etc.

Can anyone tell me where we stand on our application... our understanding is
that we've completed everything. Is this correct? If not, what remains to be
done (and how)?

Thanks so much for whatever help anyone can supply.

In solidarity,

Dana

(for the Thieveland IMC)"



8) You will very likely have been working with an individual from the new-imc
working group from when you sent in your newimc.indymedia.org form, someone who
has volunteered to help you with your "application." That person will 
place your
completed membership criteria and personal introduction on the
new-imc at indymedia.org e-mail list for three days. If no one on the 
list dissents
to your information, the new-imc working group will pass it to the
imc-process at indymedia.org list. If no one on that list dissents to your
information within a week, you will be part of the network. When your web site
is ready it will be linked through the left-hand column of www.indymedia.org.

Jay (jay at tao.ca) from Philadelphia had been our liaison thus far.



9) The fun begins. Have members of your IMC who have committed to participating
in the network e-mail lists join those lists and introduce themselves if they
haven't already. Get involved in Indymedia discussions and decisions. Offer to
work with other IMCs from your area or elsewhere around the world. Do 
good work.

10) Change the world, for the better of course. We wouldn't expect 
anything less.

In progress.







(From bottom of: http://newimc.indymedia.org/ )

NEW IMC FORM

After your collective reviews the above information, please fill out the form
below and answer the following questions.

NOTE: All information entered in this form will be publicly archived at
lists.indymedia.org. Please provide only information that can be made public.

We'd like your group to draft up a statement or essay or short story (any style
you'd like) that expresses why you are interested in starting an IMC in your
city or region and why you want to join the indymedia network. Later in the
process, when we send the application on to the IMC-Process list, we will ask
for an introduction to your IMC. You can have this serve both purposes. Or you
can revise it for both purposes (nothing is set in stone - we're hopefully
always evolving this process and improving it).

Doing this will help us better evaluate your request. A short essay 
will tell us
much more about your ideas for participating in the IMC network than just the
form. This should be written with the approval of the collective who wants to
start up an IMC.



Proposed IMC Name (required): Cleveland Independent Media Center (IMC)

City: Cleveland

State/Province: Ohio

Country: U$A

Contact Name (required): Patrick Turner

Email (required): patraig at hotmail.com

Phone: 440-286-3137

Technical Contact Name: Steven "Stav" Almeroth

Email: stav at worldgain.com

Phone: 216-661-1685

Supporting Groups: Independent Akron Media (IAM), Liberation Brew, WRUW, ...

Regional Focus? X ("Northeast Ohio")

Issue Focus?

Event Focus?

Critical Dates? None.

What kind of resources can you contribute, in terms of
server/bandwidth/technical and organizing skills? We have various technical
skills (programming, video) and access (radio and cable access).

What kind of outreach have you done to bring together a diverse group 
of people?
Outreach to existing "fringe" media, public media, alternative media. Fliering
at political/activist events locally. Informal outreach into 
individual activist
organizations.

Please write an introductory statement about why you want to participate in the
Indymedia Network (see above). We would like to participate in the Indymedia
Network because the Do-It-Yourself attitude of the IMC is inspirational; and,
with the last bastion of alternative journalism disappearing from 
Cleveland (The
Free Times), this city needs an IMC more than ever.




</NEW_IMC_APP>


--
the nature of sanity is open to debate
the notion of insanity protects the State
- red monkey

_______________________________________________
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New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc

At 11:18 AM -0800 12/2/02, Susan wrote:
>Hi friends,
>
>I'm afraid I've been guilty of what Sheri described in a recent post 
>--- reviewing the email from this list, and tucking it away in an 
>email folder, without actually participating on the list. My 
>availability has changed within the past year ... I'm not working 
>full-time, and I'm no longer deep in conference-planning (Reclaim 
>the Media, this past September) ....  I'd like to jump in and help. 
>If someone has suggestions about where to begin, that would be 
>appreciated.
>
>My earlier introductions (below) are still fairly accurate.  In 
>addition to what's mentioned there, I've also been an active 
>contributor to the Newsblast productions, a regular feature writer 
>for Seattle (and occasionally the global site), a media literacy 
>educator, and a local organizer.
>
>1st introduction:  May 2001
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-May/001449.html
>2nd introduction:  March 2002
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2002-March/002927.html
>
>looking forward to working with you all, -- Susan
>
>_______________________________________________
>New-imc mailing list. Lista de correo New-imc
>New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc