[New-imc] SANTA BARBARA (internal decision deadline, Nov. 17, 16:00 GMT)

[Jay]

Hi new-imc working group,

This is from the aspiring Santa Barbara (U.S.).  Take a look at it and 
respond, if you have any responses, by 16:00 GMT on November 17.

Jay

 > At 10/28/2003, ginnybrowne at riseup.net wrote:
 >>IMC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA - Santa Barbara IMC
 >>
 >>Each IMC and Global Working Group is expected to:
 >>a. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of Unity,
 >>         We have consensed on them.
 >>
 >>b. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a functional
 >>IMC,
 >>         We currently have a core organizing group of about 20 members,
 >> with over
 >>50 people on our internal email lists, many of whom attend meetings
 >>sporadically.
 >>
 >>c. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary
 >>"ownership" of an IMC),
 >>         Our meetings are always open and announced publicly.
 >>
 >>d. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of
 >> Purpose.
 >>         Our MISSION STATEMENT is as follows:
 >>The Santa Barbara Independent Media Center is an autonomous,
 >>community-based collective committed to using media production and
 >>distribution as a tool for promoting social and economic justice.  By
 >>providing the training and the channels, SB-IMC creates opportunities for
 >>individuals and groups who are misrepresented in the mainstream media to
 >>report on the issues they face within the community.  Through our
 >>affiliation with the IMC network, we seek to draw connections between
 >>local and global struggles.  We generate alternatives to the current
 >>profit-based and state-dominated media to contribute to the development
 >> of
 >>an equitable and sustainable society.
 >>
 >>Toward these goals, we aim,
 >>
 >>* To encourage, facilitate, and support the creation of independent news
 >>gathering and reporting.
 >>* To offer training in news reporting, internet and media skills.
 >>* To encourage all people to view themselves as news makers, and to look
 >>for news sources and inspiration within their daily lives.
 >>* To cover local events that are ignored or poorly covered by corporate
 >>media.
 >>* To provide edited audio, video, and print stories of the above on the
 >>internet for independent media outlets and the general public.
 >>* To facilitate networking and coordination for the coverage of local
 >>events as well as share information and announcements about events of
 >>interest to the Santa Barbara social justice community.
 >>* To build a more inclusive and representative community through
 >> bilingual
 >>Spanish/English communication
 >>* To provide links to alternative media, activist, and research groups.
 >>* To encourage a world where globalization is not about homogeneity and
 >>exploitation, but about diversity and cooperation.
 >>
 >>
 >>e. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed and
 >>functions through democratic process, and with full transparency,
 >>         Our ED POLICY is as follows:
 >>SB-IMC is dedicated to open publishing [link] as a means of creating a
 >>transparent community forum for events and issues of social concern in
 >>Santa Barbara and around the tri-county region.  Anyone can post an
 >>eyewitness or investigative report, news analysis, or video or audio
 >> clips
 >>of events to the newswire.  The newswire is not edited for content, but
 >>SB-IMC will not tolerate messages of hate.
 >>
 >>SB-IMC is participating in a global experiment in free speech, in
 >>transparent, open structure, unconstrained by the pressures of
 >>advertising, corporations, or government.  We recognize that no reporter,
 >>whether professional journalist or IMC contributor, speaks from a place
 >> of
 >>objectivity, and that all news takes shape through a series of choices
 >>informed by the unique perceptions and biases of its reporter.  We
 >>therefore encourage all SB-IMC contributors to strive for fairness,
 >>breadth, and accuracy in their reporting, and to tap into their own
 >>experiences as sources of wisdom and knowledge. We support grassroots
 >>reporting and will not be restricted by the standards of commercial news.
 >>  We believe that people communicating in their own voices about the
 >> issues
 >>that matter to them is the first step to creating a truly democratic
 >>society.
 >>
 >>The SB-IMC editorial group checks the newswire regularly for stories to
 >>feature on the website's main page.  Features may be edited for spelling,
 >>format, and clarity.  We expect all contributions to the SB-IMC newswire
 >>to meet one or more of the following guidelines, and will assess possible
 >>features according to them:
 >>
 >>timely stories on local issues
 >>stories with picture, video or audio
 >>well-researched pieces
 >>upcoming events
 >>stories not yet reported in other media
 >>stories offering opportunities for immediate response/action
 >>
 >>Occasionally, the editorial group will hide certain posts.  (Hidden posts
 >>can be viewed on this page [link].)  Posts meeting one or more of the
 >>following criteria may be hidden:
 >>
 >>duplicates
 >>spam
 >>hardcore porn with no news or cultural value
 >>details of illegal actions or plans
 >>advertisements
 >>slander or libel
 >>unsigned articles
 >>unreadable or corrupted material
 >>
 >>To post to the SB-IMC newswire, please click here.
 >>
 >>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 definitely agree, as is hopefully shown by our editorial
 >> policy.
 >>
 >>g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus
 >>principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes,
 >>         From the beginning, we have operated through formal consensus
 >> process.
 >>We are working with other local activist groups to make sure that open
 >>consensus facilitation trainings occur on a semi-regular basis to
 >>decentralize these skills within and among our organizations.
 >>
 >>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,
 >>         We have consensed on a global representative, Ginny Browne
 >>(ginnybrowne at riseup.net).  Our tech representative is Bryan Brown
 >>(bryan.brown at kcsb.org).  (As you will hopefully notice, no relation. :)
 >>
 >>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,
 >>         Our global representative and others from the group will
 >> participate on
 >>this list.
 >>
 >>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 have no such ties!
 >>
 >>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 passionately agree.
 >>
 >>l. Display a ³local version² of the IMC ³i² logo on your website and
 >>literature.
 >>         The logo is already on our preliminary website design.
 >>
 >>m. Include the IMC Network current ³Cities List² on your site, preferably
 >>on the front page.
 >>         Absolutely.
 >>
 >>We look forward to working with all of you!
 >>
 >>with thanks and solidarity,
 >>Ginny Browne
 >>SB-IMC-to-be

Answers to some questions asked by Jay:

 From Ginny:
"Jay and new-IMCistas,

Thanks for the words of encouragement!
Some answers...

-- What kind of contact have you had with already-existing IMCs in your
region, especially the Los Angeles IMC?   (We've found that regional
organizing is both important and a lot of fun.)

*Oddly, we don't have contacts with LA IMC.  However, over the past few
months, members of our group have met in person with folks from San Diego
IMC, NYC-IMC, Chappel Hill IMC, and Urbana-Champaign IMC.  We have kept
regular correspondence with some of these people, and they were all
fabulously helpful in offering guidance and tips about various IMC issues.
(UPDATE: The SB IMC group is sending people to an LA-IMC general meeting on 
November 22)

-- do you have an e-mail list for discussions?  Not that an IMC has to
discuss everything on-line, but having an open e-mail list helps assure
people access if they can't physically make it to meetings.

*We have a general list, a process list, an editorial list, a web list,
and a youth list, all on riseup.net.

-- In your editorial policy you say the IMC won't tolerate messages of hate
and also list a number of things that would cause a post to be hidden.  Do
have any sort of mechanism for how that would happen?  Meaning, if a hate
post comes onto the newswire, what's the process you're going to go through
to decide to hide it.  I don't think that's necessarily something you have
to spell out fully in your editiorial policy, but it's something important
to discuss.

*Assuming by this question you mean what would be our process for coming
to consensus on what needs to be hidden (as opposed to the standard
logistics of editorial decision making), I think, first of all, we all
recognize there will be instances where we don't have immediate agreement
on hiding a post, and, in many of those cases, coming to consensus will
not be simple. Throughout, we will use the our mission statement and IMC
principles of unity as guides for what is not acceptable.  (Please say so
if we haven't full answered your question!)  Are you suggesting we
incorporate a larger discussion of this into the Ed policy itself?

-- You mention you are in the process of doing outreach for racial
diversity.  How is that going, and do you feel comfortable joining the IMC
network with that still being an active concern?

We have begun to form relationships with folks in local Raza/Chican@, and
Asian organizations, some of whom are planning to come to our next meeting
and be the liasons for their orgs.  Certainly, it's a balance between
recognizing lack of racial diversity as a problem that needs to be dealt
with immediately and making sure we do so through good process in order to
build trust over time. This is a central focus for our group right now,
and we are confident in our process to be comfortable with joining the IMC
network at this point.

-- (something we haven't been asking very often but something that seems
important) Do have any sort of conflict resolution system built into your
decision-making processes?

Very important, yes, and no, we do not have a conflict resolution system
built in to our decision-making process.  This is definitely something we
will be tackling soon."


_______________________________________________
New-imc mailing list. Lista de correo New-imc
New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc