[New-imc] MICHIGAN (Deadline: June 5, 10:00 GMT)

[Jay]

The forming Michigan Indy Media Collective submits the following to show that
it has satisfied the New IMC criteria and would like to move forward in the
process of becoming an official member of the Network of Independent Media
Centers.  Check out the Michigan IMC site at "http://www.michiganimc.org".  

Introduction: submitted in late March

Why we want to be an IMC: For a growing number of reasons, it has become quite
apparent how much Michigan could benefit from a local IMC. The main reason we
are seeking an IMC now is that on May 2, the G8 will meet in Detroit for an
energy summit. People in MI are beginning to mobilize around the G8 meeting,
hoping to make public the general destructive nature of the G8's neoliberal
doctrine and, specifically, the G8’s politically and ecologically destabilizing
dependence on gas and oil. An IMC website would help connect activists
throughout MI and the world so that our resistance to the G8’s policies might
become as effective and visible as possible. 
The life of MI-IMC would not die as soon as the G8 pack up their bags and leave
town. Throughout our state, people are confronting issues that have relevance
both locally and globally. IMC will help connect MI activists both within the
state, and to the rest of the online world. Personally, I devote the majority
of my activism to a United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) group at Michigan
State University in East Lansing, MI. A MI-IMC will be a great resource in
helping to link my USAS group with our state’s four other USAS cells. Moreover,
MI-IMC will help link a wide range of other groups that desperately need to
know that they are not alone in their struggles. This list would include, but
will in no way be limited to, anti-war groups such as the Detroit Ant-War
Network (DAWN), environmental groups such as the various MI communities
resisting the takeover of our water resources by corporations like Perrier,
urban community development groups like Detroit Summer and! 
the Heidelberg Project, anarchist organizations like the Trumbullplex of
Detroit and the Direct Action Network of Lansing, collective living projects,
human rights groups, anti-police brutality coalitions, anti-racist groups,
feminist groups, the list goes on and on
.The MI-IMC would also help develop
MI’s network of non-corporate media and help free us from dependency on
corporations like Knight Ridder for our news. 
Myself and several others are very serious about getting this project started.
We have links to a wide verity of activists throughout our state who, I’m sure,
will help our IMC grow and thrive. We are committed to using the MI-IMC to
build connections that cross the barriers of race, gender, and class, and
develop a united front of MI’s progressive activists. I hope this short essay
contains the information that you need regarding our plans for a MI-IMC. I hope
to hear from you soon.
-Mike Medow 

Membership Criteria:
A. PRINCIPLES OF UNITY 
At a meeting on March 22, all those in attendance agreed with the Indymedia
principles of unity.

B. COMMITTED MEMBERSHIP 
After an initial organizing meeting of five people from Detroit, Ann Arbor and
East Lansing, a call was sent out to around 40 groups throughout the state,
each 
with their own network of people, to notify them of the formation of a Michigan
IMC and to invite their participation. The email was forwarded widely. In a 
week, the discussion list set up for this purpose grew to 36 members with more
new contacts still coming in. The second meeting had 13 people (not counting a
couple 
who got lost on the way) and included folks from Traverse City. There are
others from Marquette and Kalamazoo who have expressed support and interest,
but who could not attend. Both meetings were held in Ann Arbor. Our next
meeting will be on April 6 in Mt. Pleasant, a more central location, and should
be even 
larger. Many of the people involved are members of existing media collectives,
producing newspapers, public access television shows and community radio
programs.

C. OPEN MEETINGS 
Our meetings are open and we have strived to publicize them as widely as
possible and to locate them where people can attend. Many organizations are
involved.

D. MISSION STATEMENT 
(This is the mission statement of the Michigan Indymedia organizing collective,
and is subject to change as the group grows and diversifies.)
The goal of the Michigan IMC is to create positive social change through the
open exchange of information.
More specifically, those who are currently producing media will use it the IMC
to share content with each other and new audiences. They will use the website
to 
collaborate on issues of concern to the entire state that a local newspaper,
radio program or public access program cannot adequately address alone. 
For those who are engaged in political activism, Michigan Indymedia will be a
useful organizing tool, offering a centralized place to exchange information 
and a coherent place for people who want to learn more about the challenges
facing Michigan residents and what they are doing about it.
Both of these groups of people — political activists and independent
media producers — are located in numerous pockets around the state. An
interactive, 
statewide media source like Michigan Indymedia will bring them together, out of
their isolation, and will open up the broad spaces between them for
participation 
by people who are not already involved.

E. EDITORIAL POLICY 
As a temporary solution, there will be an open list for managing the website.
Working collectively, this list will be empowered to publish features and
remove newswire posts. At the meeting on April 6, the Michigan IMC will
establish criteria for this working group to follow and a method for holding
working group 
members accountable. Once this policy is established, it will be linked to from
our front page.

F OPEN PUBLISHING 
We agree to the use of open publishing as described in the New IMC editorial
policy.

G. DECISIONMAKING POLICY 
At the two meetings so far, the Michigan IMC has used consensus as the basis
for decisions. We will develop a detailed policy at the meeting on April 6. Any

decisionmaking policy will have to allow for the fact that we are separated
geographically. At the March 22 meeting, we proposed a spokescouncil model,
with spokes from and chosen through a method determined by each local
collective.

H. GLOBAL REPRESENTATIVE 
The current representative of the Michigan IMC is Mike Medow
(Ttrickykid at aol.com).

I. NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS 
Mike Medow will be on the communications list. Other members of the MI IMC will
be encouraged to join network-wide lists and working groups and to support 
other local IMCs wherever possible.

J. AFFILIATIONS 
The MI IMC has no official affiliation with any political party.

K. COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE 
The MI IMC will not engage in commercial enterprises that inure to the benefit
of any of its members. The Michigan IMC is a public resource.

L. IMC LOGO 
We have approved a preliminary MI IMC logo.

M. LOCAL CITIES LIST 
The MI IMC website will prominently display the current “cities
list.”
*Please note that we expect to set up our own server and tech collective, and
have contacted Thomas Hallaran of the St. Louis IMC and Indymedia Tech
Collective 
to assist in that process.
Please write back to Mike at this address if more info is needed.

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