The Madison Independent Media Center hosted a WORT Access Hour show from 7-8 pm on Monday, April 1, discussing the growing indpendent media movement. Several members of the Madison Indymedia discussed the state of the local IMC and interviewed numerous independent journalists and activists across the globe.
The show was produced by JoAnne R. Kee, Kristian Knutsen, John Hamilton, John Anderson, and Wajid Jenkins, as well as Vidhi Parthasarathy of the India Independent Media Center.
Guests (in order of appearance) include Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, Sheri Herndon of the Seattle Independent Media Center, Jenka of the Washington D.C. Independent Media Center, Toya Mileno of Centro de Mídia Independente Brasil, Bilal Salameh of the Palestine Independent Media Center, and Mike Gonzales and Alex Nutter of The Madison Insurgent.
The show began with a short explanation of the Indymedia concept and network, encouraging listeners to view media with a more critical eye. Following this short introduction to the concept and in-studio participants, the discussions with the various guest began. The audio begins with Amy Goodman.
Amy Goodman discussed the basic concepts behind independent media, and her experiences with Democracy Now! in the wake of struggle in the Pacifica radio network. She pointed out the need for independent voices in the contemporary media atmosphere, and related her experiences with how the New York City IMC supported Democracy Now! in Exile.
Sheri Herndon gave a short history of the Indymedia movement, explaining its beginnings at the 1999 World Trade Organization Ministerial and protests in Seattle, and its growth in the last two years and four months.
Jenka introduced the upcoming combined peace and globalization protests from April 19-22, 2002 in Washington D.C., and explained the role of the DC-IMC to report on the events there. She also discussed the need for more participation by women in Indymedia, and the need to expand the network to the Global South.
Sheri and Jenka discussed the financial status of the Indymedia network following high-profile donations, and the methods through which financial decisions are made. They agreed that funds should support independent reporting in the Global South.
This marked the midway point of the hour-long show, which turned from discussing general Indymedia concepts to looking at the international arena for the network.
Toya Mileno of the Centro de Mídia Independente Brasil discussed the growth of Indymedia in Brazil and the actions aroung the second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre this February. She discussed the differing methods of media activism in Brazil and the difficulties and opportunities of operating with less technological infrastructure.
Bilal Salameh of the brand new Palestine Independent Media Center explained the ongoing Israeli actions in the occupied territories, and his experiences the past several days in Bethlehem. He discussed the difficulties of reporting in the midst of ongoing conflict, as well as the positive role that an uncensored, unfiltered media can play in the current atmosphere in Palestine.
Vidhi Parthasarathy discussed the formation of the India Independent Media Center, its current status, and its need of increased support. She also discussed its coverage of recent religious violence in that nation.
The final guests were Mike Gonzales and Alex Nutter of The Madison Insurgent, a year-old monthly newspaper reporting news and issues underrepresented in the mainstream media. The summarized the vision of publishing a newspaper, as well as the copyleft relationship between the paper and the Madison IMC.
The show concluded with a discussion of the upcoming Madison Independent Media Open Haus on Thursday, April 4 at the Electric Earth Cafe (546 W. Washington Ave.), beginning at 7pm. Listeners were reminded about the local, grassroots, and participatory model of Indymedia, and encouraged to report news and commentary at the Madison IMC website.
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