[New-imc] RochesterIMC Introductory letter

[adillon at frontiernet.net]

Hello from Rochester, NY 

     The purpose of this letter is to introduce ourselves to the Independent 
Media Network, and all our sisters and brothers involved with this movement. 
Our group, loosly referred to as the Rochester Media Collective, has been 
meeting for the past five months with the goal of generating 
direct-democratic forms of media for the Rochester area. We immediately 
recognized that the Nework of Independent Media Centers (NIMC)shares the 
goal of democratic media with us and has been doing significant work in this 
movement since 1999.  Many of our members have already been participating in 
the IMC movement by submitting stories on the newswire and interacting with 
others already involved with the IMC.  We feel that our group has achieved 
the size, level of commitment and coherence necessary to provide an 
important voice for the Rochester activist community, and others interested 
in this new media.  Within our group, we have the necessary support to 
undertake this project.  We all share a commitment to the process of 
direct-democratic decision making, transparency of process and open 
publishing.  We have at least two members who have extensive experience with 
technical issues involving the internet aspect of our work.  Of our members, 
several have already been doing reporting in the way of print, video 
documentary, and radio work.  As activists, we experience first hand the 
need for a media which serves the movement for change.
   In terms of futher taxing the main IMC Internet servers, we have been in 
contact with the Ithaca IMC and they have offered us space on the server 
they use.  Our website is already in the works and we are anxiously awaiting 
"officially" becoming part the IMC network.

                          In Solidarity,
                             The Rochester Media Collective
                                  RochesterIMC