About us - vienna.indymedia.org - May 2004

*vienna.indymedia.org will be a radical democratic news channel and plans to encourage an emancipatory approach to informations and the media. vienna.indymedia.org is the idea that consumers of the media transform to producers of the media, without neglecting existing inequalities within the society and within the project of vienna.indymedia.org.*

The idea of vienna.indymedia.org is not to gather the most interesting news from the corporate media but to counter corporate media with our own views of social developments and to concentrate on events that are neglected by corporate media. The presentation policy of vienna.indymedia.org try to support this form of media participation similar to affirmative action policies.

vienna.indymedia.org is in principle open for all informations, aside from sexist, racist or antisemitic opinions. There are numerous left internet projects, which offer good appointment calendars or discussion platforms, to groups the possibility for self-manifestation or archive left magazines. vienna.indymedia.org does not want to be in competition to these projects.

The idea of vienna.indymedia.org is different to most of these projects. vienna.indymedia.org does not have political editorship. Contrary to projects with a clear political objective, the presentation activists do not want to make politics in this meaning, but to promote primarily an emancipatory use of media.

The presentation activists set mainly investigated and/or experienced reports of individuals or small collectives to the first side. Thus Indymedia is to be outlined as a platform for this form of reporting.

This presentation policy certainly establishes a hierarchy of the information flow. This policy should help to overcome existing social hierarchies and to establish a place free of discrimination. However the selection takes place not after "felt importance", but - as far as possible - on the basis of structural criteria.

Criteria

In order to outline Indymedia as a platform for own reporting, certain contributions are not set to the starting side. Discussed are so far:

+ Dates and demo calls (With started campaigns, regularly dates and calls are set into the central column texts as links.)
+ already in other places published texts
+ from commercial media copied texts (here are translations of texts and news from hardly accessible media an exception.)
+ Group statements, press statements, discussion papers, mass mails. The accessibility of texts is the point of discussion. Contributions of groups, which were already published on numerous other internet sides or in magazines, are not set to the starting side, because it is not the meaning of vienna.indymedia.org to gather all somehow relevant on the side, but to be a platform for own reporting. However, by own reporting we understand statements of small groups that have no other access to the public should be included.
+ very short messages
+ pure comments without news value
+ contributions of groups and parties that aim to take over state authority

vienna.indymedia.org should be a tool, which want to be used by all interested people. Naturally criticism at presentation decisions belongs also to that - texts are quite lively things and sometimes it is hard to press contributions into the categories specified above. It will be a central responsibility to establish structures in which such criticism could be discussed.

Regionalism

A futher important goal will be to strengthen local structures and the coordination with international networks overcoming national boundaries. Doing that we want to take up discussions from the indymedia network.

Take part

Join us in the process to establish an independent media center for Vienna. Any participation is welcome, even if you have no clear ideas how to participate contact us by email, we will inform you about our next meeting:

Email:
> > imc.vienna@gmxSTOPSPAM.net

Subscribe our public email list:
> > http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-vienna

*Next meeting: Wednesday, July 28, 19.30 at Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus, Wielandgasse 2-4, 1100 Vienna, Austria.*

-- RudiRatte - 30 Jun 2004
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