[Seattle-editorial] Newswire Crap

[Gentry Lange]

The Newswire has four hiding criteria:

1 To provide an unmoderated, open-publishing newswire in accordance with
established IMC policies and philosophy.
2 To maintain the newswire and website as a community space, and a safe
environment for users, especially members of disempowered or marginalized
groups.
3 To acknowledge that speech has the power to cause injury, but that
instances of injurious speech should also be seen as opportunities for
insurrectionary response.
4 To preserve the quality of the website as a useful media resource.

http://seattle.indymedia.org/newswire-hide.php3

I think that there's been a degradation of the newswire as a whole as a
quality resource for finding useful media. Posts by recruiters, posts by
wacknuts, random poetry, none of these constitute useful news.

The act of editing the newswire to me, while respecting others rights to
speech, should not simply be passive. To make it useful, we should hide
probably 30% of the crap that gets posted. And in doing so we should clarify
the types of stories we are looking for:
    * Researched, timely articles;
    * Eyewitness accounts of progressive actions and demonstrations;
    * Coverage of Seattle/Northwest regional issues;
    * Media analysis;
    * Investigative reports exposing injustice;
    * Stories on events affecting underrepresented groups;
    * Media produced from within underrepresented groups;
    * Local stories with national or global significance;
    * Stories on people or projects working towards social and economic
justice.

http://seattle.indymedia.org/policy.php3

Currently the newswire is overrun with crap, and I for one have noticed the
complaints. I feel it is time to do something.

Gentry

-----Original Message-----
From: typist at speakeasy.net [mailto:typist at speakeasy.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 1:52 PM
To: g at art13.com
Subject: Re: [Seattle-editorial] Newswire Crap


Well that's free speech Gentry right?  I especially like the comment: "GOD
has blessed America and that is why we have bigger and better cars than all
other nations COMBINED."  The fact that this comment sides with the
sophistic poster only undermines him.  I could care less about specious
arguments like this.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gentry Lange [mailto:g at art13.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 04:46 PM
> To: 'Editorial'
> Subject: [Seattle-editorial] Newswire Crap
>
> http://seattle.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=33086&group=webcast
>
> Can we do something about this crap on the newswire?
>
> Gentry
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>