About

About Twin Cities Indymedia

Twin Cities Indymedia, or the Twin Cities Independent Media Center (TCIMC), is the Minneapolis-St. Paul outlet of the global Indymedia Network.  The stories published on this site are entirely published by users, including the TCIMC collective, and (except when reposted from elsewhere as noted) entirely not for profit.  Front-page feature stories are either written by collective members or are high-quality news items published by users in the community and moderated by TCIMC.

Indymedia.us (United States) | Indymedia.org (Global)

Mobile updates: Subscribe to our breaking news twitter feed at twitter.com/tcimc or by texting "follow tcimc" (without quotes) to 40404 on your mobile phone.  Be notified when we post a new feature by subscribing at identi.ca/TCIMCfeatures or twitter.com/TCIMCfeatures.

The Independent Media Center is a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of the truth. We work out of a love and inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, despite corporate media's distortions and unwillingness to cover the efforts to free humanity.

History
from indymedia.org...
The Independent Media Center (www.indymedia.org), was established by various independent and alternative media organizations and activists in 1999 for the purpose of providing grassroots coverage of the World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle. The center acted as a clearinghouse of information for journalists, and provided up-to-the-minute reports, photos, audio and video footage through its website.

The center also produced its own newspaper, distributed throughout Seattle and to other cities via the internet, as well as hundreds of audio segments, transmitted through the web and Studio X, a 24-hour micro and internet radio station based in Seattle. The site, which uses a democratic open-publishing system, logged more than 2 million hits, and was featured on America Online, Yahoo, CNN, BBC Online, and numerous other sites.

Through a decentralized and autonomous network, hundreds of media activists setup independent media centers in London, Canada, Mexico City, Prague, Belgium, France, and Italy over the next year. IMCs have since been established on every continent, with more to come. Each local site has its own editorial policy and mission statement, but must also agree to the network Principles of Unity.

Indymedia Network Principles of Unity
[This is the current draft of the principles of unity for the Indymedia Network.]

1. The Independent Media Center Network (IMCN) is based upon principles of equality, decentralization and local autonomy. The IMCN is not derived from a centralized bureaucratic process, but from the self-organization of autonomous collectives that recognize the importance in developing a union of networks.

2. All IMC's consider open exchange of and open access to information a prerequisite to the building of a more free and just society.

[3. All IMC's respect the right of activists who choose not to be photographed or filmed.]

4. All IMC's, based upon the trust of their contributors and readers, shall utilize open web based publishing, allowing individuals, groups and organizations to express their views, anonymously if desired.

5. The IMC Network and all local IMC collectives shall be not-for-profit.

6. All IMC's recognize the importance of process to social change and are committed to the development of non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian relationships, from interpersonal relationships to group dynamics. Therefore, shall organize themselves collectively and be committed to the principle of consensus decision making and the development of a direct, participatory democratic process that is transparent to its membership.

7. [All IMC's recognize that a prerequisite for participation in the decision making process of each local group is the contribution of an individual's labor to the group.]

8. All IMC's are committed to caring for one another and our respective communities both collectively and as individuals and will promote the sharing of resources including knowledge, skills and equipment.

9. All IMC's shall be committed to the use of free source code, whenever possible, in order to develop the digital infrastructure, and to increase the independence of the network by not relying on proprietary software.

10. All IMC's shall be committed to the principle of human equality, and shall not discriminate, including discrimination based upon race, gender, age, class or sexual orientation. Recognizing the vast cultural traditions within the network, we are committed to building [diversity] within our localities.

Twin Cities Indymedia Mission Statement

Twin Cities Indymedia is an independent, democratic media outlet dedicated to the passionate, radical and accurate telling of truth. We do not claim neutrality; rather, we report from inside social movements against capitalism, imperialism, and injustice.

See also the US Indymedia Mission Statement: http://indymedia.us/en/static/mission.shtml

Editorial Policy

Twin Cities Indymedia is an open-publishing website. The Editorial Policy is not designed to censor, but rather help maintain a community of mutual respect where all users can express themselves freely. To this end, the editorial collective reserves the right to 'hide' content that violate the site's mission. (more...)

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those held by the minneapolis / st paul Independent Media Center. This site is based upon an open publishing method that allows any individual to post information and media to the site. (more...)

Donate
Support Independent Media

The Independent Media Center is a grassroots organization committed to using media production and distribution as a tool for promoting social and economic justice.

The IMC is a truly cooperative effort of hundreds of independent media organizations. The IMC is not owned or funded by big conglomerates and advertisers and we are in desperate need of your support to sustain our effort.

We are happy to take donations of time, financial assistance, or equipment.  We're currently raising money to fund a physical space in the Twin Cities, partnering with groups with a similar mission.

Make a one-time donation (you pick the amount):

   

Make a recurring monthly donation - deducted from your acount each month:
$2/month | $3/month | $5/month | $10/month | $20/month | $30/month | $50/month

If you're interested in exploring more ways to support Indymedia in the Twin Cities, please contact us or come to a meeting listed in the events calendar! To send contributions by mail, contact us and we'll give you an address.

Trifold Brochures --> Download, Print, Fold and Distro!

About Twin Cities Indymedia (Jan. 2010)

Be the Media: How to Start Reporting (Feb. 2010)