[Seattle-editorial] RE: [IMC-Seattle] David vs Goliath, or IMC News vs Corporations

[Laury]

First, rather than ramping up, let's wake up.  IMHO, it would be a 
mistake to have an open meeting without reconstituting the collectives. 
   Critical SEAIMC decisions should be made by active members of the 
collectives -- not the local arm chair activists . . . or, worse, our 
troll brigade.  Likewise, we need to ascertain whether we have the 
volunteers to do the work -- and raise money.  Without a volunteer 
base, there is no need for a Media Center.

Here is my proposal:

Prior to the meeting, let's make an announcement on the website that we 
are coming out of hiatus and make a shout out for volunteers  (to work 
on the website, to fundraise, to work on media events such as the NW 
Social Forum, to work on community outreach, etc.).  Each collective 
should establish weekly planning/work meetings open to any anyone 
willing to make a minimum 3 month commitment to that collective.  Since 
money is an issue, a fundraising collective should plan short term "out 
of debt" fundraising action plan and a more long term fundraising 
strategy.   If there are only enough volunteers to run a bake sale . . 
. so be it.

During this wake up period, no new expenses should be paid by Seattle 
Indymedia.  All wake-up activity should be self-sustaining.

Once the collectives have had an opportunity to ramp up again (a month? 
  two months? three months?), then **and only then ** should we have the 
full meeting.  This should be an all-day event.  Attendees should be 
limited to currently active members of the collective.  Representatives 
of each of the collectives would provide a forward-looking work plan, 
including a clear mission statement as well as information about their 
operating expenses for the next 12 months.  This information should 
minimally include whether the collective needs funding or if they will 
be a self-sustaining and/or fundraising collective.  Each proposal 
should be voted upon by all the attendees.

During the meeting, a 12-month action plan should be approved to pay 
the entire SEAIMC debt off and create a surplus fund.  This plan should 
include the operating costs of the collectives and the process for 
paying these expenses.  Additionally, there should be a clear breakdown 
of how SEAIMC  fundraising money will be spent (e.g., 40% debt, 40% 
current expenses, 20% surplus) and whether the collectives are 
permitted to raise their own funds or not.  (If they are, the plan 
should contain the percentage that goes to the Seattle IndyMedia 
central fund.)  This plan must also define who has the power to sign 
checks and provide a transparent accounting process.

At the end of the meeting, each collective should be empowered to work 
autonomously on the high level plan passed in the full meeting.  If 
there are any unforeseen financial expenses or the scope of their work 
changes, each collective has the option of petitioning for additional 
funding.

-- Laury Kenton

On May 20, 2004, at 1:30 PM, bill aal wrote:

> Actually,
>  The northwest social forum is a potential project that indymedia could
> be involved in a ,major way in October.  It is vision building not
> opposition.
> If people are interested to collaborate on creating a media space ( 
> with
> other like minded people, this could be an opportunity.... Or it could
> be simply a place to have a large scale conversation about political
> media vs the empire, etc....  I know others in Seattle are wanting to
> have that conversation.  Could it be a rallying pint for indy?
> www.nwsocialforum.org  is a touch stone.
>
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: imc-seattle-bounces at lists.indymedia.org
> [mailto:imc-seattle-bounces at lists.indymedia.org] On Behalf Of Joseph
> Eisenschmidt
> Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 10:01 AM
> To: ListSeattle
> Cc: ListSeaTech; ListEditorial
> Subject: [IMC-Seattle] David vs Goliath, or IMC News vs Corporations
>
> Friends,
>
> Staying Strong means staying small.
>
> Staying small is really the only option, and since we are small at
> this point, with a tiny but functional Ed. WG, and a tech person
> still maintaining the site, we need to find out what is working for
> the folks doing the day to day work, and see if it's ok just to
> continue doing that.
>
> We experienced, creative folks can come up with more great ideas
> than the field units will be able to use. I think you'll agree that
> this is part of our long-term institutional problem. Striking the
> balance between support and direction, needed imagineering and
> actual reality based organizational capability.
>
> Frankly, we have nothing to ramp up for; no G-8 in Seattle in 2005,
> etc. And Seattle has a wealth of 'news and ideas' in it's
> alternative press at this time, from KBCS to Colors mag.
>
> My concerns about the top heavy nature of imagineering must be
> tempered with the need to develop formal as well as informal ways
> for the community to interact with - and help give direction to-the
> IMC. An advisory board or something might help.
>
> We ARE just a website now, and will remain so for as far as I can
> see at this point. Randy's video work is a good source of raw
> material, and I think the way he plugs into the SEAIMC, like an
> autonomous module doing great supporting work, is the model we
> should seek to encourage and foster.
>
> UC-IMC is run this way, with WG's doing their own thing, and only
> reporting back occasionally. The decision-making is forced down to
> the WG level, and GM's are twice yearly. All meetings are open, so
> anyone who wants a say just plugs in where they feel most useful.
>
> After all is said and done, I can see there are still great and good
> feelings towards the SEAIMC. I was talking to Jim G., the local
> permit-getter who is the official permit holder for the DNC in
> Boston, and he said folks in Boston were concerned with our
> struggles and thought highly of us. That feels warm and fuzzy.
>
> At Ed., we need bodies. Not many, but just a very few good workers
> streaming in over time. Same with Randy's video collective. S.B.
> can't train newbies easily do to the technical nature of software
> work, and her schedule and stuff. Recruiting just the right tech
> person or three is something we need to work on.
>
> Add in fundraising for bandwidth and a piece of media recording
> equipment or two and an occasional upgrade, and were still tiny.
> Like a diamond or a little baby, we're tiny and therefore hold much
> promise and potential.
>
> In Solidarity,
> and keeping it simple and therefore not stupid,
>
> Joseph
>
>
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