[New-imc] Membership Criteria

[Randy Francisco]

Erie Independent Media Center had a meeting today and we approved the Membership Criteria:

IMC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA - DRAFT


Each IMC and Global Working Group is expected to:

a.Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of Unity.

We have a mission statement

Mission Statement

The Erie Independent Media is dedicated to providing a Community Based Media. Where groups and individuals in our region can use their own voices to provide a journalistic alternative to the dehumanization of corporate media, with the passionate telling of under-reported local and regional stories, this democratic media outlet, if well used, will bring greater exposure, connection, and sustainability to our community. 
Your news is welcome, whether it is artistic, environmental, political, activist or social justice issues. We aim to be as inclusive as possible. This site depends upon your active
participation via open postings and commentary.

b.Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a functional IMC.

We've had monthly meetings since April that have been well attended.

c.Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary 
"ownership" of an IMC)

We agree and have done so.

d.Work toward developing a local mission statement or statement of purpose.

We have done so see a above.

e.Establish and publish an editorial policy, which is developed and 
functions through democratic process, and with full transparency.

Erie Indy Media Editorial Policy 

The Erie Independent Media Center is an open publishing forum providing a space for everyone in the Erie community to become reporters, providing an alternative to the corporate media outlets in the area. Those who feel left out of the coverage by corporate media outlets are especially encouraged to post their news and events. There is an editorial collective that oversees and monitors Erie Indy Media (EIM) that is open to participation by anyone in the community that regularly attends EIM Monthly meetings. The dates of these meetings can be found by going to the participate section on the front page of the website.

EIM encourages the free and open expression of news, commentary, opinion and analysis; however, the EIM editorial collective may in certain circumstances edit, hide, or delete post according the following criteria:

Advertisements- Advertisements for for-profit products and /or services will be removed from the newswire; however, events may be posted in the community calendar.

Racist/Sexist or other discriminatory speech- this type of speech will be hidden because its presence on the open wire may discourage participation from our diverse community.

Duplicate Post- In case of an exact duplicate post the original post will be kept and any subsequent one deleted; however, relevant non-duplicate comments from the subsequent post will be saved and added to the original post.

Direct Threats- Any direct threats on specific people or small, easily-identifiable groups of people will be deleted.

Pornography- If a post contains sexually explicit material that the EIM editorial collective determines to be pornographic, it will be dealt with as an abuse to the newswire.

Spam- Any post that the EIM editorial collective feels is simply flooding the newswire with pointless material will be dealt with appropriately. And if the spamming continues the IP address involved may be blocked from participation.

Blatant Libel- Any unsubstantiated libelous comments will be hidden. The EIM editorial collective is not responsible for doing your research for you

f. 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].

We have agreed.

g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus 
principles, which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes.

We run on consensus.

h. 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.

Brett( paco at velocity.net ) is willing to do this and others if need be.

i. 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.

Brett will do this also.

j.(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).

We agree on this.

k. 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.]

We agree.

l. Display a local version of the IMC ³i² logo on your website and 
literature.

We have one and it will be posted soon.

m. Include the IMC Network current Cities List on your site, preferably on 
the front page.

We have done this.




 
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www.erieindymedia.org

 




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