[New-imc] BLOOMINGTON (initial response)

[Jay]

Hi John,

Jay from the Philly IMC here.  Thanks for filling out the new-imc 
form.  Looks like you've already been working really hard, putting a great 
amount of thought into what you're doing.

I assume you've already taken a look at the documents at 
"http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo".  If not, 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 midwest?  I know the 
Normal IMC is just starting up, but there are others, like the Urbana and 
Chicago, that have been doing good work for a while.  I don't know if they 
are still having imc-midwest regional gatherings every so often, but if 
they do have any plans to get together that may be a great way to get ideas 
about how to pull together an IMC group in the midwest.  (I know Chicago is 
worlds apart from Bloomington in lots of ways.  Urbana may be a better 
analogy.)

So, take a look at the documents and be in touch.  When you're ready the 
new-imc working group will hook you up with a "sponsor" to help you 
through.  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 2/3/2005, bmag at bloomington.in.us wrote:
>Submitted by: John Howard <bmag at bloomington.in.us> on Thursday, February 
>3rd, 2005 @ 1:29:15 am (-0800)
>
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>Online Form Fields
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>
>proposed_imc_name:
>Bloomington IMC
>
>proposed_imc_url:
>bloomington.indymedia.org
>
>current_url:
>
>
>city:
>Bloomington
>
>state:
>Indiana
>
>country:
>USA
>
>contact_name:
>John Howard
>
>contact_email:
>bmag at bloomington.in.us
>
>contact_phone:
>812.327.6635
>
>tech_name:
>John Howard
>
>tech_email:
>bmag at bloomington.in.us
>
>tech_phone:
>812.327.6635
>
>focus:
>regional_focus
>
>critical_dates:
>
>
>supporting_groups:
>Bloomington Media Arts Group (BMAG) - a collaboration of students and 
>citizens working to empower local independent media in Bloomington, Indiana.
>
>WFHB Community Radio
>WFHB exists to provide a neutral community forum for the exchange and 
>discussion of ideas and issues, and to celebrate and increase the local 
>cultural diversity. WFHB Bloomington Community Radio is a member of the 
>National Federation of Community Broadcasters and receives its support 
>from its listening members and business underwriters. WFHB is a 
>not-for-profit corporation held together by a handful of part-time staff 
>and scores of dedicated volunteers.
>
>Boxcar Books and Community Center, Inc.
>Boxcar Books and Community Center, Inc. is a volunteer run, non-profit 
>organization that exists to provide new and used books, zines, magazines, 
>and comics on topics of social justice, independent media, and fiction for 
>the community; send literature of all types free of charge to prisoners in 
>the midwest; and to provide a meeting space for community and literary groups.
>
>Reel Democracy
>Reel Democracy is a Bloomington, Indiana film forum that hosts public 
>screenings and discussions of politically-relevant films. Their hope is 
>that these films will contribute to a more informed electorate.
>
>We have received a very positive response from many other campus and 
>community groups, especially among social justice, environmental, and 
>humanitarian organizations.
>
>introductory_statement:
>Bloomington exists as a culturally progressive oasis in an otherwise 
>parched state that is dominated by conservative politics, religious 
>zealotry, and corporate media espousing the current party lines.
>
>We are poised to form an alliance among Bloomington\'s existing community 
>media, united through a collective effort to share information, resources, 
>and human energy in order to serve as a positive example of grassroots 
>activism in Indiana, and the region.
>
>While we understand the benefits of disseminating our news to a global 
>network, we feel that participation in Indymedia will help illustrate that 
>our local and regional issues are part of a larger, global struggle.
>
>resources:
>Our collective is blessed by the active participation of technically 
>competant, self-proclaimed geeks balanced by artists with a good eye for 
>design and usability.  Our experience includes work with open source 
>content managemnet systems, RSS Syndication, PHP scripting language, MySQL 
>databases, and server administration.  We are working locally to acquire 
>the necessary server/bandwidth- but we would also appreciate the help of 
>any existing IMCs.
>
>Our collective is also blessed with experienced and successful local 
>activists. A series of focus groups combined with over a half year of 
>trial and error has produced a solid vision and collective organizing 
>principles.
>
>outreach:
>We have been working on a larger organizing strategy that essentially 
>turns common approaches to community engagement inside out.  The notion of 
>outreach, for example, typically suggests that one's efforts are "the 
>center of the universe" and that others should be brought in to the 
>group.  After refining our methods, however, we adopted the idea of 
>"In-Reach" and began instead to get out and into the campaigns, 
>organizations, and social groups of others.
>
>We began by looking for the stories that aren\'t being told, or the 
>stories that need to be told a lot more. By personally engaging these 
>groups in discussions, workshops, and publishing technologies that enable 
>us to better understand and enhance their messages, we have filled a real 
>need in our community.
>
>identity_makeup:
>By continually emphasizing a joint effort between campus and community 
>people, we have established an environment that celebrates diversity.  Our 
>collective ranges from high school students doing class projects on 
>indymedia, to college journalism students that are rethinking their career 
>choices, to concerned middle-aged townies with relevant stories to tell. 
>Spiritual discussions focus on cooperation.
>
>We have nearly equal gender balance, though racial/ethnic identity is 
>rather typical for our geographic location i.e. white.  We do have 
>programs in place to Reach In to minority
>
>steps_represent_diversity:
>Our In-Reach Committee has developed programs to increase the diversity of 
>our collective.  First, we are just going door to door canvassing in every 
>neighborhood in our little college town.
>
>We have firm resolve to regularly get off campus and into the community, 
>as well as bringing local residents on to campus, bridging the 
>psychological gap.
>
>We are actively seeking input and membership from International students, 
>and academic programs that include multicultural and global exchanges, 
>civic engagement, and group centered leadership as their core values.
>
>We envision a thriving participatory media scene- thinking globally, 
>acting locally
>
>
>
>steps_involve_new_workfields:
>We simply get to know each and every member through their own words, 
>desires, concerns.  We look at their background and experience, of course- 
>to see how we may benefit from their talent.  But more importantly, we 
>want to know what each member expects from the collective - what do they 
>want to do, and how can we encourage them to grow, to try new things- to 
>be a bit random and paint with different colors.  We emphasize that every 
>member is a leader in our group and has the opportunity to directly effect 
>our actions.  We attempt to pair up new members with more experienced 
>mentors who can help them understand where we have been and how they can 
>get involved.  We are just now realizing the need for more social events 
>that can help people get to know eachother better, celebrate our little 
>victories, and honor those contributors large and small. Thus our first 
>\"Community Media Potluck\" is coming up in a couple of weeks.
>
>
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