[New-imc] SPOKANE, USA (initial contact)

[Jay]

Hi there, Seth,

This is Jay from the Philadelphia IMC.  I'm also involved with indymedia's 
new-imc working group.  Thanks for filling out the new-imc form.

Sounds like you have some interesting things happening in Spokane.  I don't 
know if the analogy holds any water, but I used to live in Morgantown, West 
Virginia, which was a small city that acted as both West Virginia's 
"college town," which gave it a bit of intellectual diversity, but it was 
also very much a mountain region so it was very "local" as well.  We had 
enough activists to form several groups and plot great things though, and 
benefitted from all the independent media we could get.  (Of course Spokane 
is 10 times the size of Morgantown, but maybe some of the same 
city/backwoods questions arise.)

Anyway, the process of becoming an is a pretty basic one, though it does 
take quite a bit of effort  The goal is to organize, organize, 
organize!  Check out the new-imc documents at 
"http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo".  They will give you an 
overview of the process.  From that, you should get a pretty good idea of 
where to go from here.

Have you been in contact yet with other IMCs in the Pacific 
Northwest?  Seattle and Portland would be the obvious most active groups to 
contact.  Also, I'm sure you've talked a bit about the idea of expanding 
your organizing efforts past the poeple who are already involved in the 
Finger.  That would certainly would make a difference in how your IMC would 
relate to the community.  Sometimes when an IMC starts out of the belly of 
an already-formed entity, like a local independent newspaper, it begins 
with unspoken boundaries already formed around its membership.  (people who 
have already decided not become involved in the newspaper, for whatever 
reason, may automatically not decide to become involved in the IMC because 
they're seen as the same thing.)

Anyway, I'm just throwing some thoughts out.  You have a long (but 
potentially fruitful) road ahead of you!  Read through the how-to documents 
and see how they relate to what you're planning to do.  Let the new-imc 
working group know if you have any questions as you wind your way through 
forming your IMC and we'll see if we can help.

Thanks!
Jay

At 1/30/2005, you wrote:
>Submitted by: Seth Vincent <seth at fingerspokane.com> on Sunday, January 
>30th, 2005 @ 8:02:51 pm (-0800)
>
>Client Variables
>----------------
>
>HTTP_USER_AGENT:
>Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.23; Mac_PowerPC)
>
>Online Form Fields
>------------------
>
>proposed_imc_name:
>Spokane IMC
>
>proposed_imc_url:
>spokane.indymedia.org
>
>current_url:
>fingerspokane.com
>
>city:
>Spokane
>
>state:
>Washington
>
>country:
>US
>
>contact_name:
>Seth Vincent
>
>contact_email:
>seth at fingerspokane.com
>
>contact_phone:
>509-868-6429
>
>tech_name:
>Seth Vincent
>
>tech_email:
>seth at fingerspokane.com
>
>tech_phone:
>509-868-6429
>
>focus:
>regional_focus
>
>critical_dates:
>n/a
>
>supporting_groups:
>The Finger - a monthly alternative paper for Spokane.
>Spokane Artists and Activists Committee.
>
>introductory_statement:
>Spokane isn\'t sure if its a big city or a backwoods village--and faces 
>the dilemmas of both. Independent media is scarce and most that\'s 
>available is a weak excuse for information distribution.
>So what we need is an organization that can broadcast the story of Spokane 
>and the Inland Northwest to the world.
>It seems sometimes Spokanites live in a bulletproof bubble with windows 
>tinted far too dark.
>With the help of Indymedia we can hopefully do away with the bubble and 
>help Spokane realize its potential.
>
>resources:
>We can most likely secure free server space, we have a fairly capable tech 
>crew that could take care of most problems.
>
>Through our newspaper The Finger we have already done most of the 
>necessary organizing, and are well equipped to deal with any new 
>organizational issues that may occur.
>
>outreach:
>We help serve vegan food to the homeless, we develop friendships with as 
>many activist groups and minority organizations as possible.
>
>identity_makeup:
>Our collective ranges from mid-40s backwoods types to 20-something lesbian 
>college students. Luckily our group is able to understand any differences 
>as necessary.
>
>steps_represent_diversity:
>Our goal as a collective has always been providing a voice for those 
>overlooked by mainstream media. I feel we\'re accomplishing this goal more 
>sufficiently with each passing month.
>
>steps_involve_new_workfields:
>The accidental genius of our group is that we have very little structure. 
>The Finger has become a miniature experiment in responsible 
>anarchy--everyone gets a fair share of input regardless of differences in 
>gender, race, spirituality, etc.
>
>
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