[New-imc] Sarasota passes new-imc, imc-process is next

[nick]

DEADLINE 13 Sept 2007 GMT 16:40 PASSED on to imc-process for final approval

On 10/09/2007, nick <sarsnic at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1) new-imc form (with Diversity Statement )
> 2) Mission Statement
> 3) Editorial Guidelines
> 4) Membership Criteria Response
>
> 1) new-imc form (with Diversity Statement )
>
> 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:
> Sarasota Indymedia has formed to create an alternative, uncensored,
> not-for-profit and community-based source of news that is unfiltered by
> corporate and authoritarian interests in this nation.  Sarasota
> Indymedia seeks to increase solidarity, connectivity, and communication
> through an uncensored media network of grassroots community activists.
> Sarasota Indymedia will be a principled alternative free from the bias
> and lack of objectivity that the existing corporate news structures
> exhibit.  Sarasota Indymedia feels that participation in Indymedia would
> be the best way that we can achieve our goals and participate in the
> global struggle for truth and social justice.
>
> 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
>
> 2) Mission Statement
>
>    * This is a working mission statement based on discussion at the
> 8/1 Indymedia meeting
> Sarasota Indymedia: We are a non-profit collective of independent
> individuals committed to creating community-based media in Sarasota.
> We do this by making our own media, whether it's through our website,
> newspaper, radio program, or any other means. We tell our stories and
> communicate the important happenings in our individual communities
> that are often ignored or misrepresented by other media outlets. We
> aim to empower the community by sharing our experiences, knowledge,
> skills and resources so that everyone's voice is heard.
>
> 3) Editorial Policy
> -NEWSWIRES-
> Articles are featured in 1 of 3 newswires, and possibly on the front
> page as well. The three newswires are Local, Global, and Other Media:
> The Local Newswire is reserved for articles that are specially
> relevant to Sarasota or the surrounding area, for example articles
> about local politics or protests in Sarasota.
> The Global Newswire is for articles about national issues,
> international issues, or other articles that don't fit in the Local
> Newswire.
> The Other Media newswire is for articles from other alternative or
> mainstream media sources. If an article was published elsewhere first,
> it will be featured here.
> Articles from any of these newswires may also be featured on the front
> page if they meet some or all of these standards:
>   - Especially high quality
>    - Especially timely or relevant to current issues
>    - By Sarasota locals
>    - Featured in the Local Newswire
>
>
> -CENSORSHIP-
> Articles which do not meet the standards for publishing may be
> "hidden", meaning they will not be displayed on the front page or any
> of the newswires. These articles are still viewable (link)here(link),
> along with an explanation of why they were hidden.
> The following types of content may be hidden:
>   - Commercial advertisements
>    - Spam
>    - Racist, sexist, homophobic, or other "hate speech"
>    - Deliberate or obvious disinformation
>    - Plagiarism or mis-attribution (claiming to be a real person who
> you are not)
>    - Information illegal under US law including:
>       - Copyright-restricted music, video, software, etc. which you
> do  not have permission to redistribute
>       - Child pornography
>       - Other things that will cause the government to shut us down  :(
>    - Duplicate posts or obvious test posts
> Once hidden, content is only completely deleted from the IMC if it
> meets one of the following conditions:
>   - It is obvious spam
>    - Making it available at all will put the IMC in legal jeopardy
>    - It is taking up an unacceptably large amount of server space
>        Another thing that we should make a policy to delete is code that
> will disrupt the site or site users' computers. (like viruses,
> exploits, attempts to deface/break the site)
>                -marlon
>        It was suggested that we delete all hidden content after a certain
> amount of time, for example 30 days for non-spam and 2 days for spam -
> this is still up for discussion.
>                -marlon
> -HOSTING-
> The Sarasota Indymedia site is primarily intended as a distributor of
> text, images, and audio reports. While content like music, video,
> software, etc. is allowed, you're encouraged to host large files
> elsewhere (for example YouTube, Flickr, RapidShare, and other free
> hosting sites) and link to them from your article. This will help save
> us bandwidth and storage fees.
>  An exception, I made a suggestion that we should not allow "embedded
> media" like web videos or flash animations that contain ads (for
> example, Revver) to be displayed on the Indymedia site.
>        -marlon
> -EDITING-
> If you want an IMC editor to help review and edit your article, you
> can request it when you submit the article. Otherwise, the content of
> your article will not be edited in any way, however in some cases
> editors may have to adjust the layout so it will display properly on
> the site.
>
> 4) Membership Criteria Response
>   1. Agreed *
>   2. During the three general collective meetings held thusfar, a
> core group has showed up and been actively involved in the process.
>   3. Meetings are held in a meeting room at the front of a public
> library. The library is in a neighborhood where we have virtually no
> members, but hope to build new relationships with.
>   4. Mission statement established*
>   5. A rough, working editorial policy established*
>   6. Publishing is often to anyone who uses the site
>   7. Agreed with a strict consensus format*
>   8. First spokesperson assigned to this rotating role*
>   9. First spokesperson assigned to this rotating role*
>  10. Not affiliated with any political part
>  11. Not engaged in commercial for-profit enterprises.
>  12. Local logo being developed
>  13. "Current cities" list on site
> *Denotes a portion of the criteria discussed by the general collective
> at the monthly general collective meeting on 8/23. All decisions were
> made by the consensus process.
>


-- 
peace,
Nick
freerads.com nickcooper.com houston.indymedia.org somadocumentary.com
nickcooper.com/antipowerworkshop.htm ngolohouston.org fnbhouston.org