[New-imc] ATHENS, GA, USA

[Jay]

Hi there Todd,

Jay from the Philly IMC here.  Sorry I haven't been quicker to 
respond!  Been up to my shoulders in stuff around here.

I sent the below response to your initial form on September 15.  Basically, 
my responding as a liaison from the new-imc group is the usual next step 
after an IMC fills out the form.  Some IMCs that fill out the form (the one 
with their introductory statement, etc.) are just at the beginning of 
organizing and just do that to let us know they've started 
organizing.  Other IMCs have been organizing for a long time and fill out 
the form because they're ready to go through the rest of the new-imc 
process.  So, the next step after we receive the form is for someone from 
the new-imc group to be in touch to see what help they need.

Sounds like you're much more in the latter group.  I get a sense from your 
info on the form that you've been doing great work, and for a 
while.  Excellent.  The next step is to look through the documents at 
(http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo) and make sure everyone 
in your group has read the stuff on there like the principles of unity, and 
the basic descriptions about how the network works.  Once you're ready, go 
through the membership criteria and respond point by point to the stuff 
there.

This is all just to make sure a new-imc is doing solid organizing.  Once 
you are, responding to the membership points should take just a few minutes.

When that happens, I'll put the responses up on the new-imc list for 
everyone to see.  I'm sure people will ask questions about things like 
outreach (like, for example, how many people are generally involved and 
coming to meetings, are they mainly college students or long-term local 
residents, is there racial and economic diversity, what activist and media 
groups around town are represented -- you've already started to answer some 
of the questions).  After that, we'll send your info along to the 
imc-process list for people to take a gander.  If no one has objections, 
voila!, you're part of the network!

I know some of this can be confusing, and even daunting at times.  Plus, 
e-mail isn't always the best form of communication.  If you'd rather talk 
on the phone I'll be happy to call, just give me your number, or I can give 
you my number and you can call me.

Hope this helps explain things.

Jay
P.S. Have you been in touch with the Atlanta IMC at all?


At 9/15/2003, Jay wrote:
>Hi Todd,
>
>This is Jay from the Philadelphia IMC.  I'm also part of new-imc working 
>group, the Indymedia group that helps new IMCs get through the process of 
>becoming part of the network.  Glad to meet you!
>
>Sounds like things are going well in Athens!  I assume you've already 
>looked extensively at the new-imc documents 
>(http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo).  Going through those 
>documents, you should be able to figure out where you are in the 
>organizing process.
>
>Have you been in touch at all with IMCs in your general area, like Atlanta 
>and North Carolina?  Maybe someone from one of those IMCs could work with 
>you to help you through the new-imc process.  Or, if they can't, I'd be 
>willing to answer any questions you may have.
>
>Either way, keep up the organizing.  Sounds like you're very much on the 
>right track.
>
>Feel free to send any questions my way,
>
>Jay
>
>
>At 9/4/2003, tfraley at uga.edu wrote:
>>Submitted by: todd fraley <tfraley at uga.edu> on Thursday, September 4th, 
>>2003 @ 9:50:59 am (-0700)
>>
>>Client Variables
>>----------------
>>
>>HTTP_USER_AGENT:
>>Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows NT 5.0)
>>
>>Online Form Fields
>>------------------
>>
>>imc_name:
>>imc athens
>>
>>city:
>>athens
>>
>>state:
>>ga
>>
>>country:
>>usa
>>
>>contact_name:
>>todd fraley
>>
>>contact_email:
>>tfraley at uga.edu
>>
>>contact_phone:
>>
>>
>>tech_name:
>>scott eustis
>>
>>tech_email:
>>thurston at uga.edu
>>
>>tech_phone:
>>
>>
>>supporting_groups:
>>Athens Common Ground
>>
>>regional_focus:
>>yes
>>
>>issue_focus:
>>yes
>>
>>event_focus:
>>yes
>>
>>critical_dates:
>>Sept 11th Showing of GNN\'s Sept 11th analysis and other
>>
>>resources:
>>We don\'t have many computer or silicon-network resources,
>>although the university holds those resources, yet to be
>>sufficiently tapped; we are just beginning to accumulate
>>technical resources for ourselves for the purposes of
>>deconstructing the corporate media bias.  We will try,
>>however, to use our newbie status to our advantage, by
>>showing everyone we can how to generate media, in order to
>>foster local voices who are able to critique media from the
>>perspective of those who have generated it.
>>
>>
>>outreach:
>>For now, we hope to help coordinate volunteers and workers at local and 
>>alternative media outlets, such as Athens Weekly News and WUOG 90.5fm, in 
>>order to foster and spread local and alternative voices.  We also have a 
>>community focus, sponsoring events and screenings at bars, clubs, and
>>restaurants; perhaps more than other IMC\'s; but we feel that there is a 
>>lot of work to be done internally in Athens to bring political discourse, 
>>opinion, and discussion down from our resident ivory tower and into the 
>>bars and plazas, and from the plazas into our homes and lives.
>>
>>We are planning public showings of films to which all are
>>invited--publicly by flyering; we are also affilitated with
>>Common Ground Athens, a imminent 501c3 Activist and Community Resource 
>>Center / Infoshop coordinating local community centers and issue-focused 
>>community and activist groups.  one of the principles of Common Ground 
>>Athens is to promote public political discourse across the multitude of 
>>lines drawn onto and that one can draw around oneself in the United 
>>States, including culture, class, race, gender, and political 
>>affiliation.  We hope to help our Common Ground find its voice.
>>
>>
>>introductory_statement:
>>During this most recent bombing run and subsequent media
>>spectacle in Iraq, it has become apparent to us how
>>purposefully blind the corporate media can be to items that
>>may be politically unpleasant, and how we must speak out
>>ourselves if no one speaks for us, on the street and over the
>>airwaves.  The movement of the FCC to consolidate the
>>corporate media of the u.s.a. even further is cause for even
>>more alarm.  We in AthensGAusa have worked to attain access
>>to venues and media outlets in our community; we seek to
>>strengthen ties among the expert voices within the university
>>that are ignored or misconstrued; and also recognize the
>>importance of empowering ourselves and others to become the
>>grassroots media; in order to foster the free flow of
>>information into, within, and out of our community--that free
>>flow of information so necessary for democracy.
>>
>>In becoming an IMC, we wish to strengthen our fledgling group-
>>-and though ourselves, our community--with an existing and
>>growing network of like-minded individuals around the globe.
>>Athens is a town with a high turnover of young people who
>>could participate in local and alternative media, and the
>>Indymedia name is one that is either generally known to or
>>readily accepted by people with the values we seek and seek
>>to instill into the mind-space of our town, and through our
>>town, to all of yours.  Thanks for being, Indymedia!
>>
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>New-imc mailing list. Lista de correo New-imc
>>New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
>>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc
>
>
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