[New-imc] CvilleIndymedia

[clara]

Dear Alexis, dear all,

thanks, I think this one of the most detailed papers I have seen so far, 
and it looks very inspiring because you as a group seem to take possible 
problems already into account.

It is good to see that a new IMC is not starting naively, but that the fact 
that exisiting IMCs are open about their problems seems to be reflected in 
your start.

All the best with it.

love and solidarity,
Clara

At 19:15 13-1-2004, lexus51 at juno.com wrote:


>CvilleIndymedia would like to link to the rest of the indymedia network. 
>Following find documents relevant to CvilleIndymedia. What is printed here 
>is reformatted from CvilleIndymedia's documents which can be found in 
>their entirety at 
><http://cvilleindymedia.org/newswire/display/79/index.php>http://cvilleindymedia.org/newswire/display/79/index.php
>
>Jay has been kindly serving as our liason.
>
>Alexis
>
>lexus51 at juno.com
>
>CvilleIndymedia.org
>
>
>a. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of Unity, 
>(PrinciplesOfUnity)
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia agrees with NIMC Principles of Unity. We find these 
>principles to be in allignment with our own values and mission.
>
>
>b. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a functional 
>IMC,
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia has solid core group, including experienced activsts, 
>people already involved in numerous independent media projects, and 
>numerous sponsoring organizaitons that are interested in being involved in 
>this project. We have an established office (cooperatively shared by 6 
>social justice and environmental organizaitons for 7 years). We have our 
>own server on our own DSL line. Our sponsoring organizaitons include 
>Tradelocal, Community Yellow Bikes of the Piedmont, Alternatives to 
>Paving, Virginia Forest Watch, The Living Education Center for Ecology and 
>the Arts, Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation, Charlottesville 
>Food Not Bombs, and the National Forest Protection Alliance.
>
>
>c. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary 
>"ownership" of an IMC),
>
>
>We currently have bi-weekly meetings that are advertised and open to the 
>public. Anyone who comes to one of our meetings is invited to participate 
>in our consensus-oriented process.
>
>
>d. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of 
>Purpose. Network Mission Statement may be adopted or used on an interim basis,
>
>
>Mission Statement
>
>
>The first object of CvilleIndymedia is to empower average citizens to 
>investigate such actions, as well as events and issues of local, regional, 
>national and international importance that have been effectively ignored 
>by the modern corporate media.
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia provides an avenue for ordinary people to independently 
>present their own honest, accurate, relevant reports and a free venue for 
>people to access these reports. It hopes to become a safe, established 
>public forum for a diversity of views, giving voice to previously 
>marginalized issues and populations.
>
>
>You do not need to be a professional reporter to deliver truthful, 
>accurate, honest news. You need a connection to the realities behind the 
>issues. A point of view arises once the evidence has been tabulated. The 
>trouble with corporate-owned media is that the point of view often 
>precedes the evidence and therefore is selective about what news to 
>publish and how to portray the events and issues that effect our lives on 
>a local, regional, national and international level. Cville Indymedia is a 
>forum where all people can present their viewpoints.
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia operates on the principle of "open publishing," that 
>allows independent journalists, activists organizations to publish their 
>own articles, analysis and information in a thorough, honest, accurate 
>manner on our web site or in our print, on radio or on television.
>
>
>While CvilleIndymedia reserves the right to censor egregiously 
>unsubstantiated, insulting, hateful or offensive material (as well as 
>duplicate posts and commercial messages), we will seek to the maximum 
>degree practical to let people speak for themselves and not edit material 
>submitted to our web, print, or broadcast media.
>
>
>A secondary objective of CvilleIndymedia is to empower local 
>community-building organizations and activists, by increasing their 
>outreach, providing a permanent network and facilitating a sharing of 
>resources. Finally, community-building organizations will not have to rely 
>on coverage from traditional media sources. They can post their own 
>articles, unedited and unspun. They will become more aware of each others 
>missions and approaches to social and political issues. And they can 
>maximize event planning, by either partnering with like-minded 
>organizations, or at least not conflicting with coinciding events.
>
>
>We will operate our organization in a manner that is inviting and 
>encouraging for a diversity of people to be involved. We have and will 
>contact people from other organizations in our area and encourage them to 
>participate. We will conduct our meetings in a manner that encourages 
>cooperation and input, particularly from women and ethnic minorities who 
>often are not encouraged to participate and whose voices are often not 
>heard in public decisions making processes. We see the incorporation of 
>diverse viewpoints as fundamental to the operation of real democracy, and 
>will encorporate this diversity into our group. We will encourage a 
>reasonable openness to the feelings and opinions of each individual in 
>each meeting, while maintaining an energetic and directed campaign for the 
>organization. All decisions of CvilleIndymedia will be transparent. All 
>meetings will be open to the diversity of our community, and all decisions 
>will be made openly, and subject to review of the whole of the organization.
>
>
>Political parties or organizations may choose to publish articles on 
>CvilleIndymedia, but in doing so they invite public debate about their 
>positions from any reader of the site; and any reader may respond by 
>publishing his/her comments, in turn.
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia will encourage responsibility in reporting. Optimally, 
>submissions will be tied directly to sources, to facilitate further 
>investigation and elaboration of reports on issues and events published in 
>CvilleIndymedia.
>
>
>Because CvilleIndymedia is not-for-profit and wholly independent of the 
>potentially corruptive influences of corporate sponsorship, all original 
>content posted to CvilleIndymedia is free for reprint and rebroadcast, on 
>the net and elsewhere, for non-commercial use, unless otherwise noted by 
>author.
>
>
>If CvilleIndymedia succeeds in its mission, and ultimately becomes a 
>popular fixture in the local community, issues will be more diversely 
>represented, the public will be more thoroughly educated, and citizens 
>will find more equitable, permanent, and democratic solutions to the 
>problems that face our society.
>
>
>The right to free speech is largely irrelevant in this country because we 
>have been subjected to a media and consumptive monoculture for too long. 
>The right to free speech like any other right is only so vital as how it 
>is exercised. Americans appear to no longer have the stomach for 
>democracy, so dependent have we become on a "lifestyle" of want and fear 
>fed to us by corporate profiteers. We are failing this democracy, it is 
>not failing us. It is our hope that by freeing information, we will give 
>our brothers and sisters the stomach for struggle.
>
>
>The liberal/ conservative dichotomy is a red herring. When different 
>members of the owning class debate each other in a false opposition, it 
>fosters empty debates and hollow political process. The corporate media 
>serves to validate this process.
>
>
>The neo-liberal program focusing on economic growth and profit is deathly 
>to life on this planet. In defense of peoples the world over and for the 
>survival of all creatures, it is incumbent upon us all to resist this 
>program. In America we have the words (freedom, democracy etc.) but not 
>the meanings. We have a free press the way we have a democracy: In word, 
>not deed. By deed CvilleIndymedia joins the struggle against greed and 
>subjugation.
>
>
>e. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed and 
>functions through democratic process, and with full transparency,
>
>
>Editorial Mission
>
>
>Our Editorial policy relies on Open Publishing, and access for all. With 
>this resource we ask the question, "Who has the authority to tell the 
>stories of our day?" A cadre of careerists, whose agenda is set by the 
>corporations that they work for? Or the rest of us, whose motivation for 
>telling a story is that it affects our lives or our dignity as human 
>beings. Fundamentally, we believe that the monopoly of "journalistic 
>authority" has had a corrosive effect on the quality and subject of public 
>debate in this country. And so we here outline the principles by which we 
>intend to take back responsibility for the source, quality and assumptions 
>underlying the stories of our day.
>
>
>Open Publishing is a transparent process. You post a story, it appears. 
>Any story is welcome though we would like to especially encourage people 
>to publish:
>
>
>- Well written and researched, timely articles.
>
>- Eyewitness accounts of actions and demonstrations.
>
>- Media analysis
>
>- Stories affecting underrepresented groups
>
>- Media produced by underrepresented groups
>
>- Environmental issues
>
>- Coverage of local issues in Charlottesville including:
>
>- gentrification
>
>- corporate dominance
>
>- transit issues
>
>- tenant's rights
>
>- labor issues
>
>- forest defense/appalachia
>
>- race
>
>
>Good IMC reporting is guided by a basic fidelity to the truth, 
>understanding that everyone sees their own truth. Be factual. Corroborate. 
>Use Links to any and all sources and other stories thus enabling the 
>reader to further your work. Our journalistic work at Cvilleindymedia will 
>be like a village commons. No single one is responsible for its 
>functionality or beauty. But any one of us can damage it through 
>carelessness or misuse.
>
>
>Criteria for Censure
>
>
>This brings us to the need for an editorial policy: First, in dealing with 
>posts that are damaging to the integrity and/or purpose of the site. 
>Second, in the selection of features and newswire stories. These practices 
>require an editorial policy statement and a statement of unity principles 
>which are put forth in the mission statement, but which we will reiterate here.
>
>
>Following is a criteria for the censure or hiding of posts. Editorial 
>working groups will have the right to feature and censor material in 
>accordance with the mission and aggreements of the organization. Material 
>may be censored if:
>
>
>1.The post is obviously incorrect or misleading.
>
>2.The post intends to spread disinformation or impersonate another.
>
>3.The post is abusive without merit or claim.
>
>4.The post is primarily hateful.
>
>5. Excessively volumnous posts intended to sabotage independent media.
>
>
>Features and Newswire
>
>
>There are two primary day-to-day mechanisms by which IMC members set an 
>agenda for the organization: by featuring an article, and by culling 
>articles from newswires. It is understood that not all collective members 
>will have immediate access to these tools, largely for security reasons. 
>But also because there must be a coherence to this agenda that comes from 
>a shared vision that we hope will grow out of this project. Let these 
>decisions be guided by the following:
>
>- A sense of urgency; that people need to hear about a particular story. 
>Ours is a passionate journalism.
>
>- Let us make connections between what is happening locally to what is 
>happening nationally and internationally. This is a part of the power of 
>this medium. Our local deicions affect people all over the world, and we 
>aim to take responsibility for that.
>
>- Let us aim to cover every local activist action that occurs and 
>encourage those that are yet to occur.
>
>- A sense of responsibility to the community.
>
>
>Editorial Working Groups
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia will appoint an editorial working group to manage our 
>website, and possibly other editorial working groups to manage other 
>media. No one may be a member of an editorial working group without the 
>approval of the organizaiton. Any member of the web editorial working 
>group may at any time remove a posting from the site, based on 
>aforementioned criteria, provided they immediately post a note to the rest 
>of the editorial working group and the CvilleIndymedia list. If there is 
>any disagreement regarding whether or not a post should be removed, the 
>post will be re-posted and the editorial working group will meet to try to 
>resolve the dispute. Any decision of the editorial working group to 
>censure posting(s) will be posted to the CvilleIndymedia list. Any 
>disagreement with any decisions of the editorial working group may be 
>brought to an organizaitonal meeting of CvilleIndymedia.
>
>
>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],
>
>
>Our site is currently operating on an open-publishing process. We 
>currently have an editorial committee of 5 people who try to keep the site 
>fresh, and have the authority to remove postings (as per aforementioned 
>criteria). We do not anticipate censuring much, if at all.
>
>
>g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus 
>principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes,
>
>
>Consensus and Decision Making Procedures
>
>
>We will conduct our decision making in a manner that aims to incorporate 
>and consider all viewpoints. Our organizational decision-making process 
>will be consensus oriented. We define consensus as a process that takes 
>into account the viewpoints, emotions, and knowledge of all members of the 
>organization such as they are represented in any particular meeting. We do 
>NOT define consensus as the right or ability of any individual, or small 
>group of individuals, to halt the work of the organization. We define 
>consensus as taking into consideration all viewpoints represented within 
>the organization and incorporating those viewpoints into each decision. 
>Specifically, our decision-making procedures shall be as follows:
>
>Most meetings are likely to be small groups of people, unfacilitated or 
>informally facilitated. In these cases, the organization shall attempt to 
>establish and maintain a tradition of considering all viewpoints and 
>hearing all voices, including the more soft-spoken. Decisions emanating 
>from such small groups shall incorporate all voices to every reasonable degree.
>
>In larger meetings or more contentious circumstances, the organization may 
>choose to have formal facilitation. If so, the facilitator position should 
>be rotated, not between every member of the organization, but between 
>those members of the organization, or unaffiliated persons, who possess 
>some skills at facilitation. In larger meetings, any individual may put 
>forward proposals. Such proposals shall be incorporated into the agenda of 
>each meeting, preferably at the beginning of the meeting. Any member of 
>the organization may speak to any proposal, to modify, to support, to 
>oppose, or to put forward alternative proposals. If the organization has 
>discussed a proposal, and their is a majority sentiment in favor or a 
>proposal, an individual may choose to block the proposal on the basis that 
>they put forward an alternative proposal that is amenable to the members 
>of the organization. If an individual blocks a majority opinion of the 
>organization, and they are not able to persuade the members of the 
>organization toward an alternate proposal within a reasonable time, then 
>their block will be considered null. The organization will under all 
>circumstances give full and due attention to all alternative proposals to 
>a reasonable degree.
>
>If the organization should ever find itself making highly conflicted 
>decision, as a last resort and after considerable effort has been made at 
>reaching consensus, a majority vote may be called for. That vote shall be 
>binding on the organization. In the unlikely event that our organization 
>is ever stormed by newcomers possessed of the intent to steer the 
>organization away from its original vision, a majority vote may be called 
>of members who have been part of the organization for at least six months. 
>Such a vote may only be called after every other avenue is exhausted, most 
>especially consensus oriented processes, and shall be binding on the 
>organization. In all other circumstances, anyone who chooses to show up at 
>a regular meeting of the organization will be considered a member of the 
>organization.
>
>If our meetings grow large, then parliamentary procedures may be employed 
>to facilitate the discussion. If parliamentary procedures are employed, 
>the organization shall still be bound by aforementioned decision making 
>procedures, specifically the attempt to reach 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,
>
>
>Alexis is currently serving as liason to the rest of the Indymedia 
>network. We have two other members who have been active in LA indymedia 
>and Portland. They are likely to serve as liasons as well.
>
>
>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,
>
>
>We are currently subscribed to the newimc list. We will subscribe to the 
>imc communications list shortly, assuming all goes well. We look forward 
>to participating in the larger imc network.
>
>
>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),
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia has no party affiliation. Some of our members have been 
>active in local green and progressive democratic politics, and that may 
>show up in on our site.
>
>
>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.]
>
>
>CvilleIndymedia is currenlty an informal non-profit organization. We may 
>become an formal non-profit at some point (501-c-3).
>
>
>l. Display a i² logo on your website and literature.
>
>
>Logo displayed. See CvilleIndymedia.org
>
>
>m. Include the IMC Network current &Cities List² on your site, preferably 
>on the front page.
>
>
>Current cities list displayed at CvilleIndymedia.org
>
>
>NETWORK MEMBERSHIP 1. Network Membership is open to any group that accepts 
>the above criteria for membership. In the case of several requests from 
>the same city or region, we will encourage them to meet and work together.
>
>
>2. Network Membership in the NIMC will be confirmed by the New IMC Working 
>Group, which is accountable to IMC-Process and ultimately to the NIMC 
>decision-making process.
>
>
>
>Proposed IMC Name (required)
>
>CvilleIndymedia, website at CvilleIndymedia.org
>
>
>City
>
>Charlottesville
>
>
>State/Province
>
>Virginia
>
>
>Country
>
>USA
>
>Contact Name (required)
>
>Alexis Zeigler
>
>
>Email (required)
>
>lexus51 at juno.com
>
>
>Phone
>
>434-760-1297
>
>
>Technical Contact Name
>
>Toby Reiter
>
>
>Email
>
>Toby at breezing.com
>
>
>Phone
>
>434-297-1692
>
>
>Supporting Groups
>
>Tradelocal, Community Yellow Bikes of the Piedmont, Alternatives to 
>Paving, Virginia Forest Watch, The Living Education Center for Ecology and 
>the Arts, Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation, Charlottesville 
>Food Not Bombs, National Forest Protection Alliance
>
>Regional Focus, Issue Focus, or Event Focus?
>
>We would like to give an alternative perspective on regional issues, as 
>well as bringing national/ international news to our area.
>
>
>Critical Dates?
>
>Server is up and running, will be doing monthly films showings starting 
>early 2004. Also plan to put Democracy Now on local cable early in 2004. 
>We also have plans for print and broadcast media that is further down the pipe.
>
>
>What kind of resources can you contribute, in terms of 
>server/bandwidth/technical and organizing skills?
>
>We have our own server, on a 700+ DSL line. We have our site running at 
>CvilleIndymedia.org. I am not sure if that bandwidth will accommodate much 
>more than our own use. We have a surplus of geeks. We also have 
>experienced activists who have started and run numerous other 
>orgazanizations and campaigns.
>
>
>What kind of outreach have you done to bring together a diverse group of 
>people?
>
>Please write an introductory statement about why you want to participate 
>in the Indymedia Network (see above).
>
>
>There are a number of people in our organziation who have done work with 
>various social justice and environmental causes in this area. It is 
>actually quite easy to get media coverage for some issues, local issues in 
>particular. But the local media is largely pitiful as concerns issues of 
>American foreign policy, or larger environmental issues. We would like to 
>be able to cover these issues in a manner that the local media is not 
>willing to do.
>
>
>Indymedia can also serve as a useful commmunity building and communication 
>tool among activists, as per activists directories, calendars, etc. We put 
>up our site just a couple of weeks ago, and it is already taking off with 
>people posting news about local anti-war actions, the local struggle to 
>stop a NEW nuclear reactor near here. (One of 3 in the country that are 
>being put forward to test the resistance.)
>
>
>We have strong connections to local social service organizations that do 
>work on tenants rights, housing issues, migrant workers (who pick the 
>apple and peach crops in VA). These groups are less computer oriented, and 
>thus have not been so far involved in a lot in creating the website. Our 
>site in brand new, but we have and will continue to approach local 
>organizations and inform them that they are welcome to publish news and 
>annoucements there.
>
>
>We have a strong commitment that the website is only a starting point. We 
>are pursuing multi-media approaches to the news. We have a couple of 
>people who are working with local access cable. It seems likely that we 
>will be able to put up programming there very soon. We will start a 
>monthly film showing in a few weeks, as both a consciousness and 
>fundraising venture. We have worked some on starting a newspaper, but that 
>will have to await more financial support. We are also working on radio 
>transmission, for which we have acquired the equipment.
>
>
>The larger social justice organizations are not yet listed as sponsors of 
>our project because there decision making is more slow and cumbersome than 
>the lean little organizations that work so hard to make things happen. It 
>is some of these larger organizations that are likely to be our best 
>avenue for reaching the local working-class population. These 
>organizations include Virginia Organizing Project (a very progressive 
>umbrella organization that works with on numerous civil rights and social 
>justice campaigns), the Monticello Area Community Action Agency (a large 
>and more mainstream social justice organization in this area that 
>administers programs like Head Start, youth mentorship, etc.) Public 
>Housing Association of Residents (works with public housing residents) and 
>Legal Aid (works with migrant farm workers). There are few others like 
>these as well.
>
>
>Charlottesville is wealthier than many American cities, but it still has a 
>large, working class, largely poor, largely black population in the 
>downtown areas. Fully half of the cities' households do not have a 
>computer, hence the need to reach beyond a website. There is also the 
>migrant farm worker population. We have people involved in our project 
>that have been active in all of the aforementioned organizations. We 
>intend to involve them to the maximum degree, recognizing that they will 
>only seek involvement to the extent that it serves their needs.
>
>
>Below you will find the documents we have drafted for CvilleIndymedia. 
>These documents include our vision statement, as well as editorial policy 
>and decision making procedures. The whole thing is long (11 pages) and a 
>bit legalistic compared to some other indymedia documents. But we wanted 
>to define things early on so we wouldn't have to come back and do it later 
>under less ideal circumstances.
>
>
>Thanks for reading!
>
>Alexis
>
><mailto:lexus51 at juno.com>lexus51 at juno.com
>
>
>
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