Mission Statement
The Houston Independent Media Center is an all volunteer collective committed to using media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice. We seek to provide alternatives to for-profit media not only in our coverage, but also within our collective by implementing consensus based non-hierarchical work-group models of decision making. While focusing on local social movements, we will explore connections to global systems. We believe that by reporting on dissent, by critiquing corporate, government and military domination, and by promoting art, culture and critical thinking through participatory events, we can contribute to the development of an equitable and sustainable society.
Action Guidelines
We, participants in the Houston Independent Media Center, agree
- to use indymedia to report the truth and to provide background, references
and sources whenever possible
- to respect the viewpoints and privacy of other members of the group, to
contribute constructively to the group and to use
formal consensus
to reach decisions
- not to use or tolerate harassment or violence or threat thereof in conjunction
with our media work
- not to represent our personal viewpoints as viewpoints of the IMC
- not to accept money or any form of influence or coercion from groups or
individuals over our participation in the Houston IMC
- to only allow individuals who will agree to our Mission, Guidelines and
Protocols to join any of our decision making teams
- not to wear or display IMC press credentials at any event at which I am
participating as a protestor
Website Editing Protocols
With the help of our readers
who may alert us to posts in violations of these guidelines by sending an
email to houston at indymedia.org, our editors may:
- Edit postings to correct spelling, grammar or format problems only without
consulting the author
- Choose features based on what they believe to be an article's importance
to Houston, the solidity of the research and sources, and the quality of writing
- Hide posts, without consulting the author, that in the editors opinion:
- are duplicates (we will keep the oldest post)
- are in an unreadable format or are marked "test"
- are boldly slanderous, libelous or personal
- advocate criminal activity with a specific time, place and manner
- advocate hatred toward or repression of any individual or group of people
- are not news related
Houston IMC Policy for Violations of the Mission Statement and/or Action Guidelines
When consensus has been reached that a signatory to the Membership Document
has violated the Mission Statement or Action Guidelines, the following actions
will be taken.
1. Counseling
The individual will be publicly (on the listserv or in a public meeting) asked
to acknowledge the violation in question. If the individual acknowledges the
violation within a week and recommits to the Mission Statement and Action Guidelines,
counseling will be considered concluded. If the individual does not acknowledge
the violation within a week, he/she will be held in suspension from the listserv
and work groups until such time as he/she acknowledges the violation and recommits
to the Mission Statement and Action Guidelines.
2. Probation
If within six months, consensus is reached that a second violation has occurred,
the individual will be publicly (on the listserv or in a public meeting) asked
to acknowledge the violation in question. If the individual acknowledges the
violation within a week and recommits to the Mission Statement and Action Guidelines,
he/she will be held in suspension from the listserv and work groups for three
months. If the individual does not acknowledge the violation within a week,
he/she will be held in suspension from the listserv and work groups until such
time as he/she acknowledges the violation and recommits to the Mission Statement
and Action Guidelines. At that time, the probation period will begin.
3. Expulsion
If within six months of the second violation, consensus is reached that a third
violation has occurred, the individual will be considered permanently expelled
from the listserv and work groups.
The Houston Independent Media Center (HIMC) is a non-commercial, democratic collective of independent media makers and media outlets, and serves as the local organizing unit of the global Indymedia network.
Get Involved
This is your independent media center. As an all-volunteer
organization, we need you to get involved! Introduce
yourself at our volunteer signup
page and check our contact page for
info on meetings and e-mail lists.
Last updated Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:26:27 -0800
imc-houston : process : about (top)
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