[Seattle-editorial] Editorial Collective -- thoughts, and year-end inventory

[Brandon Faloona]

great list susan! i posted it to the editorial wiki for ongoing reference.

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/SeaEdWiki

Susan said:
> Hi folks,
>
> In reference to recent comments by Lance and Joseph regarding the
> longevity  of features in the top slot, I thought it might be helpful to
> look at an  inventory of Seattle IMC features over the past year (see
> full list below).
>
> I think that the inventory can be useful for a number of purposes ....
> maybe we, as the editorial collective can take the opportunity to look
> at  our total efforts over the past twelve months, and create some goals
> for  the months ahead. Let's especially think about Dec-Jan coverage ...
> last  year, when JL and I were on vacation, and others too, we didn't
> have a new  feature for 30 days!
>
> We can look at the types of stories we've given emphasis to, which we've
>  missed, and which we'd like to highlight in the months ahead. We can
> talk  about solutions for distributing the editorial work, generating
> more  features more regularly, and getting more folks involved.
>
> Personally, I think we ought to go out for beers and toast Jonathan for
> his  incredible work this past year .... writing 66 out of the year's 88
>  features (70%), in many cases helping others to put their features
> together, and on the whole, having a great sense of which stories needed
> to  be featured.  I think he's a terrific editor and writer, and we've
> been  lucky to have him --  I don't know how much his new full-time job
> will pull  him away from seattle imc editorial work.
>
> As for meeting tonight -- perhaps we could do so informally, since it's
> too  late to convene a meeting.  There's a seattle-tech meeting tonight
> at 8:30
> (http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/seattletech/2002-November/000647.html
>  ), and at one point or another, several editorial folks will be at the
> IMC  tonight.  Alternatively, we could actually convene an editorial
> collective  meeting for next Thursday (the 14th .... there'll be a
> Swarmcast meeting at  8, with a potluck beforehand, but we could find a
> space to huddle and meet).
>
> Regarding the current concern of how long a feature remains on top, I
> have  a couple of quick personal responses:
> * i don't think it's desirable to have an across-the-board rule
> regarding  length of placement.
> * on the whole, i think the site is better off, and more useful to our
> readers, when features are being added regularly.  the more that
> features  remain static, the less frequently folks will want to turn to
> our site for  'news'.
> * in many cases, as noted below, several features went up on the same
> day  -- due to a variety of reasons:  the ebb & flow of having no one
> writing  features for days on end, and then suddenly several people
> taking the  initiative at once; several events happening together at
> once; a large  event generating several related features at once
> * features being in the # 2 and #3 slots -- not a terrible thing.  it
> doesn't take much scrolling ... people WILL scroll if they see that new
> features have gone up, plus every feature is also highlighted on the
> global  indymedia site (on the features newswire).
> * in this specific situation (re Burning Man vs. Jobs w/ Justice), I
> think  that our friends at JwJ, and other Bellingham activists, will be
> turning to  IMC to see what kind of coverage we have of their major
> victory -- where  else would they go?  i think sometimes we can make
> editorial choices about  which news is 'bigger' or effecting the
> greatest number of people, and  choose story placement in relationship
> to that.  all that said -- i think  the Burning Man article is very
> cool. i just don't want to hang up the JwJ  story til Friday because of
> it.
>
> Thanks for your patience with a long email.  Enjoy the editorial review
> below .... and congratulations to everyone for a great year of editorial
>  activity!!!!!
>
> love,
> Susan
>
> SEATTLE IMC FEATURES INVENTORY -  November 2001 thru November 2002
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> * many headlines have been changed or paraphrased for easier recognition
> in  this list
>
> Nov 6 - Burning Man - analysis and local event announcement (Lance) Oct
> 28 -' Pax Americana' & Anti-War Protests (Jonathan) - top story for 9
> days Oct 24 - FTAA  (Jonathan) - top story for 4 days
> Oct 24 - Press Blackout on Anti-War Movement (Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes
> Oct 24 - FCC Approves LPFM for WA (Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes Oct 11 - US Troops, Out of the Phillipines Now! (Lance) -
> top story for 13 days Oct 7 - 10,000 Protestors at Anti-War Rally &
> March  (Susan) - top story  for 6 days
> Oct 6 - Anti-War Rally announcement (Susan) - top story for 1 day
> Oct 5 - Nine Lives in Nine Years - NAACP march (Brandon) - top story for
> 1 day Oct 5 - Media Blackout on Homelessness and Poverty (Lance) - top
> story for  hours
> Oct 2 - McDermott Tours Iraq (Jonathan) - top story for 3 days
> Sep 28 - Port Bosses Lock Out Longshoremen (Jonathan) - top story for 4
> days Sep 27 - Anti-War Activists Embrace Diverse Strategies (Susan) -
> top story  for 1 day
> Sep 23 - Hate Free Zone Testimonials at Town Hall (Jonathan) - top story
>  for 4 days
> Sep 19 - Hate Free Zone event announcement (Susan) - top story for 4
> days Sep 9 - Reclaim the Media pre-event coverage (Jonathan) - top story
> for 10 days Sep 9 - Clear Channel's Broadcast Interference (Heather) -
> top story for hours Sep 1 - Reclaim the Media event announcement
> (Jonathan) - top story for 8 days Sep 1 - Moquito Fleet announcement
> (Jonathan) - top story for hours/minutes Sep 1 - Radical Art (at RTM)
> announcement (Jonathan) - top story for  hours/minutes
> Sep 1 - Labor Council Passes First Statewide Anti-War Resolution (Susan)
> -  top story for hours/minutes
> Aug 30 - East Timor and the ICC (Jonathan) - top story for 2 days
> Aug 22 - 'Urban Warrior' announcement (Jonathan) - top story for 8 days
> Aug 19 - Rolling Thunder announcement (Jonathan) - top story for 3 days
> Aug 16 - U.S. Relations with Zimbabwe (Lance) - top story for 3 days Aug
> 14 - Media's Distortions Pave Way for War (Jonathan) - top story for 2
> days Aug 9 - Longshoremen Unite Against Gov't's Union-Busting Plans
> (Jonathan) -  top story for 5 days
> Aug 8 - Black Community Activists (Garrett and Allah) Arrested
> (Jonathan) -  top story for 1 day
> Aug 8 - Ujaama Detained Indefinitely (Susan & Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes
> Aug 7 - "The Buzz" Pressured to Clean Up Hate Speech (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 1 day
> Aug 2 - "Democracy Now" Coming to KBCS and SCAN (Jonathan) - top story
> for  5 days
> July 28 - 'Racist Scapegoating' at Sea-Tac (Jonathan) - top story for 5
> days July 26 - Free Speech and the Threat of Cable Monopolies (Jonathan)
> - top  story for 2 days
> July 26 - Vandana Shiva in Seattle (Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes July 25 - Enron and India's Biggest Dam (Gentry) - top
> story for 1 day July 19 - Activists Block Pipeline Drilling, Defend
> Forests (Susan) - top  story for 6 days
> July 17 - Victory for Somali Grocers (Jonathan) - top story for 2 days
> July 5 - "Seattle Crimes" Hits Streets, and PCJ's 'No Confidence' Vote
> (Jonathan) - top story for 12 days
> July 5 - Holes in the Social Service Safety Net (Jonathan) - top story
> for  hours/minutes
> June 28 - G-8 Protests in Calgary (Susan) - top story for 7 days
> June 22 - City OK's AT&T Comcast Merger, Snubs Public Interest
> (Jonathan) -  top story for 6 days
> June 16 - Greg Palast announcement (Jonathan) - top story for six days
> June 14 - Local Anti-Sanctions Activist Fined $10,000 (Jonathan) - top
> story for 2 days
> June 12 - Madeline Albright to Deliver UW Commencement Speech (Lance) -
> top  story for 2 days
> June 10 - G-8 in Canada pre-event coverage (Thatcher & Jonathan) - top
> story for 2 days
> June 10 - Unions Fight Corporate Media De-Regulation  (Jonathan) - top
> story for hours
> June 3 - Unions Rally Against Clear Channel's Anti-Labor Policies
> (Jonathan) - top story for 7 days
> May 23 - Activists Occupy Cantwell's Office Re Fast Track Vote
> (Jonathan) -  top story for 10 days
> May 20 - Palestine Solidarity Activists Reportback (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 3 days
> May 20 - Issues with Housing Projects in the Central Area & Downtown
> (Jonathan) - top story for hours
> May 20 - Immigrants Face Discrimination and State Terror, Post 9/11
> (Lance)  - top story for hours
> May 14 - Shaping the Network Society event announcement (Jonathan) - top
>  story for 6 days
> May 9 - Seattle Activist Enters 14th Day of Hunger Strike (Susan) - top
> story for 5 days
> May 4 - CARP Strangles Internet Radio in the U.S. (Jason) - top story
> for 5  days
> April 28 - Seattle IMC Volunteer among activists at the Church of the
> Nativity (Susan) - top story for 6 days
> April 28 - U.S. Computer Recycling Creates Environmental Hazards in Asia
>  (Jonathan) - top story for hours/minutes
> April 24 - April 20th Weekend of Activism (Lance) - top story for 4 days
> April 12 - A20: A Day of Action pre-event coverage (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 12 days
> April 12 - Other Weekend Events: Earth Day, Amnesty Int'l USA Conference
>  (Jonathan) - top story for hours/minutes
> April 12 - SPD Pressures School, Church to Shut for April 20 (Jeremy) -
> top  story for hours
> April 1 - War in Palestine: Indymedia Coverage (Jonathan) - top story
> for  11 days
> April 1 - Who Will Police the Police? (Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes March 23 - Media Democracy Events Broadcast Live From DC
> (Susan) - top  story for 9 days
> March 21 - Seattle School Bus Drivers Try to Save Union Contract (Jill &
>  Jonathan) - top story for 2 days
> March 18 - 400,000 protest "Europe of Capital" in Barcelona (Jonathan) -
>  top story for 3 days
> March 16 - Qwest and Immunex: Local Enron Wannabes (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 2 days
> March 14 - Activists Condemn US-backed Attacks on Palestinian Civilians
> (Steve) - top story for 2 days
> Feb 24 - WA State Anti-Terror Legislation (Melissa & Jonathan) - top
> story  for 18 days
> Feb 23 - Secwepemc Elders and Activists fight Resort Expansion (Susan)
> -  top story for 1 day
> Feb 20 - IMC's Under Attack in Italy & Switzerland' (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 3 days
> Feb 9 - Salt Lake City Olympics: Homelessness & State Repression
> (Jonathan)  - top story for 11 days
> Feb 6 - Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier (Jonathan) - top story
> for 3  days
> Jan 31 - WEF in NYC... WSF in Porto Alegre (Jonathan) - top story for 6
> days Jan 27 - Somalian Killed in Walla-Walla Prison Shooting (Jonathan)
> - top  story for 4 days
> Jan 25 - "Alternative" Weekly Doesn't Worry, Stays Happy (Jonathan) -
> top  story for 2 days
> Jan 22 - Anti-Terrorism Legislation Brews in Olympia (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 3 days
> Jan 12 - Martin Luther King's Living Challenge (Jonathan) - top story
> for  10 days
> Jan 11 - Public Space Activists on Trial in Bellingham (Jonathan) - top
> story for 1 day
> Dec 12 - Afghan Civilian Death Toll Surpasses Sept. 11 (Jonathan) - top
> story for 30 DAYS!!
> Dec 4 - Fast Track Scheduled For House Vote (Jonathan) - top story for 8
> days Nov 30 - A Peoples' Holiday: Global Resistance (Jonathan) - top
> story for 4  days
> Nov 29 - Waging War Against Dissent (Jonathan) - top story for 1 day Nov
> 26 - Voices of the Global South: Breaking Free From Debt (Jonathan) -
> top story for 3 days
> Nov 14 - Anti-War Solidarity Fast Begins in Seattle (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 12 days
> Nov 11 - Bush Dragnet Targets Seattle's Somalian Community (Susan) - top
>  story for 3 days
> Nov 8 - Criminal Justice Reform Summit, Nov. 10-11 (Jonathan) - top
> story  for 3 days
> Nov 8 - WTO meets in Doha, Qatar (Jonathan) - top story for
> hours/minutes Nov 6 - Killing Continues in Afghanistan as Anti-Bombing
> Activists Gather  Forces (John Yu)
>
> 88 features in 365 days --- we're averaging a feature every 4 days.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Seattle-editorial mailing list
> Seattle-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/seattle-editorial


Brandon Faloona
http://inlet.org