IMC-Ithaca Mission Statement

The Independent Media Center of Ithaca started to organize during the WEF in New York, and had it's first meeting on Feb. 16th, 2002. They have held weekly meetings since then and, in less than a year, have grown into the largest source of non-commercial media in Ithaca.

Introduction

In a place where most of the property is owned by a few landlords, where all of the palaces of the privledged are perched and leering atop hills, where even the public library has rooms named after its corporate sponsors, there is a deep rumbling of dissent reverberating off the hills and through the gorges.

There are voices speaking over the "progress" of new roads and chain stores being constructed, voices telling of police violence and government corruption, speaking about the irreversible damage to our ecosystems and health, telling of the inherent patriarchy and racism in the infrastructures of our "enlightened" city. These voices have been actively silenced again and again in the name of money and power, for the greediness of the few protecting their selfish interests.

Who We Are

The Independant Media Center of Ithaca has no ties to any corporation, state institution, or any force that would influence the truth for money or power. We are a collective working together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support with similar collectives around the world.

We serve as a conduit carrying the voices of those who would be silenced to the ears of our community and the world. We are an alternative for the corporate owned media sources in our community and support those people already reporting in a manner which undermines the status quo.

We have no leaders, no rules except for open consensus, and even this mission statement is not set in stone, but is malleable to the values of the collective at any point in time.

What We Believe

We believe that the justice of the world hangs on the balance of the flow of information and that an informed and voiced public can work together, empowered to create a world in which we all can thrive.

We believe in the freedom of everyone to speak his/her truth and strive to allow these truths to be easily accessible to all.

We believe that for a free society both people and information must be free, that copyright and patent serve only the selfish and remove from society the rights to that which rightfully belong to that entire society.

We will not allow the voices of the people to be silenced. We raise our voices to the freedom of all, "People of Ithaca - Let your voice be heard!"

-- ArcNLN - 12 Nov 2002
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