[New-imc] Online form: Proposed new IMC! (Sarasota Indymedia)

[adamroca at gmail.com]

Submitted by: Adam Roca <adamroca at gmail.com> on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 @ 1:59:52 pm (-0700)

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proposed_imc_name:
Sarasota Indymedia

proposed_imc_url:
http://sarasota.indymedia.org

current_url:


city:
Sarasota

state:
FL

country:
US

contact_name:
Adam Roca

contact_email:
adamroca at gmail.com

contact_phone:
352-283-4669

tech_name:
Marlon

tech_email:
Marlon at riseup.net

tech_phone:
804-282-8637

focus:
regional_focus

critical_dates:


supporting_groups:
Alliance for Responsible Transportation (ART)
Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence (SCOPE)
WSLR
Code Pink
Food Not Bombs
Community Infoshop
Student-Farmworker Alliance
Coalition of Instant Run-off Voting (CIRV)
Second Chance Last Opportunity


introductory_statement:
Like people all over the world, we in Sarasota are getting tired of corporations and other authoritarian institutions filtering the stories and events that affect our lives. We are also tired of the fragmentation and lack of communication that exists between the various elements in our community that are striving to create a positive change. We want to participate in the Indymedia Network in order to combat these two problems, so that we can create an, indpendent community-based media outlet. We feel that participation in Indymedia would be the best way that we can achieve our goals and participate in the global struggle.

resources:
The various members of our collective have decades of organizing experience between us, and we have demonstrated a commitment to our communities and towards enacting social change.
We plan on getting server space through Nearly Free Speech. Our tech person(s) have enough technical experience between them to run an effective website. There are a few of us that have skills in operating radio-quality audio equipment.

outreach:
We have done outreach to student groups, groups in communities of color, the LGBTQ community, the poor and homeless, political groups, service-based NGOs, and through WSLR, the community-run radio station here in Sarasota.

identity_makeup:
At the current moment, our group is fairly homogenous. We are mostly white males who are fairly educated. However, most of us are very active in our communities and work with a very diverse group of people.

steps_represent_diversity:
We have developed a strategic outreach plan in order to bring a more diverse population to utilize and participate in the media that is about their community and reported by members of their community. This working outreach plan can be found here: http://groups.ncf.edu/infoshop/wiki/OutreachPlan
Underrepresented and disempowered communities will also be the focus of our media workshops in order to ensure a more equitable distribution of the knowledge that is neccesary to create community-based media.

steps_involve_new_workfields:
This is not something that we have discussed much thusfar, but certainly something that is very important.
We have discussed in regards to Sarasota Indymedia's sustainability. We don't want our collective to be dependent on the labor of one only one person to the extent that if that person leaves, she brings her specialized knowledge with her and essentially causes the collective to no longer be an option. We have discussed the importance of having sort of an 'apprenticeship' for such technical tasks as upkeeping the website and we try to do everything as transparent as possible in order for tasks to be duplicated and improved on by other members. Other than explicitly sharing our skills through workshops and working with various other organizations that have a lot to share with us, we have not explicitly addressed this issue.

username:
Adam Roca