[New-imc] Santa Barbara IMC membership criteria

[Jay]

Hi there Ginny,

This is Jay from the Philadelphia IMC, and also from the new-imc working 
group.  I generally help with aspiring IMCs from the U.S., and since you're 
one of them, I figured I should e-mail.  Thanks so much for sending along 
all this great information!  I'll look over it over the next couple days 
(quite swamped today and tomorrow), and I'm sure others from the new-imc 
working group will check it out as well.

On first glance everything looks really good.  I'm sure there will be some 
follow-up questions from the new-imc working group though.  We're pesky 
that way. :)

I'll be in touch soon,

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
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