[IMC-Process] Welcome VIRGINIA BEACH, US

[Jay]

Hi imc-process and imc-communication,

The decision deadline for the Virginia Beach IMC has come and gone without 
a peep.  So, we can now welcome them into the network.  Welcome Virginia 
Beach IMC!

Jay

Virginia Beach IMC
  VIRGINIA BEACH INDYMEDIA
Some Background
Like many places around the globe, a storm has been brewing in Southeastern 
Virginia.  We are an area that is controlled politically by the far right 
wing of the Republican Party.  We are the home of Pat Robertson’s 700 
Club, the Christian Broadcasting Network, and Regent University.  Given 
that, there have been a large number of previously silent 
progressive-minded people who have had no outlet for their opinions and 
that number has been growing.  In June of 2002, local progressives staged 
the first anti-war protest in memory.  While it was a mere 22 people, it 
got a lot of attention, and then after Congress authorized the attack on 
Iraq in October, the protest the next day was over 140 people.  While not a 
huge number, for this area of the world it was immense.
Sadly, it has been the war with Iraq that has galvanized local progressives 
into action.  It was early in June 2002 that the Virginia Beach Green Party 
formed.  Then, other progressive groups such as Citizens for Peace and 
Justice, Veterans for Peace, the Virginia Organizing Project, Equality 
Virginia and other more informal groups have gotten active.  While making 
some headway, we have found it difficult to get covered in the local 
press.  Even though Virginia Beach (500,000 people) and the Virginia Beach 
metropolitan area (Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News) 
total a million citizens, we only have one major newspaper, which is 
decidedly conservative.  And while we have one “alternative” weekly 
newspaper, it is owned by the larger conservative, paper.  The radio 
stations are all owned by Clear Channel and our local NPR station will not 
air progressive shows like Democracy Now.
Therefore, we need a reliable way to link with the rest of the country and 
the world, to let people know what is going on here.  This is a vital area 
of the nation, with three Army Posts, four Navy bases, one Air Force base 
and the home of a large contingent of NATO personnel.  We also need a way 
to keep each other informed about what each progressive group is up 
to.  Our plan is to begin with an Indymedia Website ASAP, and once that is 
complete, we plan on starting a monthly Indymedia newspaper.  Then, next 
summer, we hope to launch an Indymedia Internet radio station.

Virginia Beach IMC: Mission Statement

Our mission at Virginia Beach Indymedia is to make sure that “all” 
voices are heard in the media.  While we will promote a progressive agenda, 
we will allow for the viewpoints of any group to be heard, regardless of 
gender, class, ability, level, race, age, political affiliation, or 
religion.  We pledge to inform our community about all sides of an issue 
and not to censor, except in the case of an author promoting violence as a 
solution to a problem, and we will not publish hate speech of any kind.  We 
will strive to not only report the news, but in cases where are news brings 
to light a problem of some nature, we will work to offer solutions to those 
problems and give people a forum to present their opinions and possible 
solutions.  By doing this, we hope to empower everyone, encourage them to 
be proactive, and to discourage media consumers from merely being passive 
recipients.
We pledge to make the workings of our collective transparent, 
non-hierarchical, and to actively promote the inclusion of individuals from 
dissimilar backgrounds.

Virginia Beach Indymedia: IMC Membership Criteria

a. We adopt the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of Unity.
b. We have a core collective comprised of eight people from their teens 
through their 40’s that are teachers, mental health and medical 
professionals, working “stiffs”, men and women, straight and gay, and 
business people.  We have college students, high school graduates with 
minimum wage jobs, democrats, greens, military veterans, and more.  We are 
diverse and find that makes our labors and discussions more fruitful.  This 
core group has known each other for about three years and is committed to 
making this work.  We have four more people who will commit “some” time 
to the endeavor, and collectively we know several dozens of people who will 
be supportive by helping spread the word, donating some money and 
equipment, and who will sponsor a couple of Indymedia events to kick us off.
c. Meetings will be announced in the local paper and open to the public.
d. See our mission statement above.
e. We have an editorial policy that functions democratically, but through 
striving to reach consensus before any kind of a vote.  See below.
f. We will use Open Publishing as described in the IMC Editorial Policy.
g. We already have a decision-making policy that is consensus 
driven.  Voting on a matter is only done if consensus cannot be reached 
during a time limit set by the group.  Such votes need a 2/3 majority.
h. We will maintain a spokesperson that will participate in the global 
decision-making process and meetings.
i. We will participate in the key IMC Network Communication Methods and 
assure that at least one person from our collective is always on the 
IMC-Communications list.
j. Virginia Beach IMC will have no official affiliation with any political 
party, state, or candidates.  We reserve the right to do stories on 
political candidates or parties, or to cover elections and initiatives.
k. Virginia Beach IMC will not engage in any commercial for-profit 
enterprises.  Proceeds from sales of Indymedia paraphernalia such as 
T-shirts, etc., will be used only for the purpose of strengthening or 
replacing our infrastructure, (i.e. equipment purchase and maintenance, 
publishing literature, etc.) and operating costs.
l. Virginia Beach IMC will post the IMC “i” logo on it’s Website and 
literature.
m. Virginia Beach IMC will include the IMC Network “Cities List” on the 
front page of its website.
Virginia Beach Indymedia formally adopts the IMC membership criteria as 
dated May 21, 2005 as it’s own, in it’s entirety.

Virginia Beach Indymedia: Editorial Policy

Has adopted an editorial policy that is in lines with those principles held 
by IMC membership criteria.  It is non-hierarchical, transparent and 
consensus driven.  We have adopted Open Publishing and are dedicated to 
providing media access for commentary and reporting to everyone.
a. Editorial Board Membership: The board consists of three members of the 
collective at any one time.  Membership on the board is determined by the 
entire collective and is rotated every four-months.  Ideally, one member 
from the current board will remain on the subsequent board, and that one 
member will remove her or himself from consideration for board membership 
on the next rotation.  This will ensure some group “memory” on the 
board for procedures.  Anyone can be removed from the Editorial Board at 
any scheduled meeting of the collective, if someone within the collective 
moves for this and if consensus is reached to remove him or her.  If 
consensus cannot be reached as to whether a person should remain on the 
board or not, a 2/3 vote will be needed to remove that person.  The person 
asking to remove someone must be present at the meeting in question.  The 
person being asked to step-down from the Editorial Board must be present at 
that meeting to be removed.  If they are not present, they will be notified 
via email that such a request has been made, and they will be asked to be 
present at the next scheduled meeting of the collective.  At the next 
meeting, the issue will be discussed as outlined above.  If the board 
member in question cannot make that meeting, an attempt at consensus or 
voting on the matter will ensue.  Should someone need to remove themselves 
from the board for whatever reason, the collective will appoint a new board 
member ASAP.
b. Publishing Decision Making:  Items for publishing on the Virginia Beach 
IMC Website will be reviewed regularly by the board.  Items posted will 
remain unless there is an objection to the item.  Such an objection can be 
made by someone on the board, within the collective, or from the 
community.  If an objection is presented to the board, the board will try 
to reach consensus on whether an item will remain or not.  If consensus 
cannot be reached, a 2/3 vote will be necessary to remove an item.  If 
someone from the Virginia Beach IMC collective disagrees with the editorial 
board decision, then any member of the collective can call a meeting for 
the purpose of removing an item.  If it is the consensus of the collective 
that an item will be removed, it shall be immediately.  If consensus by the 
collective cannot be reached, a 2/3 vote will be necessary to remove an item.
c. Publishing Guidelines:  While we strive to be open and allow a space for 
people to publish their reporting and commentaries, our collective has 
agreed to disallow the following types of items from being posted to the 
Virginia Beach IMC site, those include:
1. Hate posts; posts that explicitly express sexism, racism, homophobia, or 
other forms of prejudice.
2. Threats of violence.
3. Slanderous or libelous material.
4. Advertising.
5. Pornography.
6. Duplicates or extremely similar posts.
7. Disruptive or provocative material clearly intended to impede 
constructive activity on the site.
8. Misinformation.
9. Any post by an individual known by Indymedia to have consistently acted 
in a disruptive manner and that the collective has unanimously identified 
as a saboteur.
10. Stories, pictures, video footage, or other material that could 
potentially incriminate or otherwise endanger activists.
d.  Features Guidelines:  In selecting postings to feature in the center 
column, the Virginia Beach IMC looks mainly for articles that: (1) Are 
original; (2) Use factual information from reliable sources; (3) Are 
reasonably well written: (4) Have timely relevance for Virginia Beach area 
readers; and (5), Put events in context and that tell who, when, what, 
where, why and how.