As you may have heard, radioheads and IMCistas will be converging on Urbana-Champaign next weekend to help launch the UC-IMC low power radio station, the first IMC to have a low power FM license! The UC-IMC will also open its new space - in the downtown post office.

At 3pm on Friday we'll pause in our labor and take some time to look at the successes and challenges the global indymedia network is facing. We hope someone from your IMC will be there to represent!

Here are some questions for consideration:

- What are the biggest successes that the IMCs represented have experienced? What about the biggest challenges?

- Who is using Indymedia today and to what ends? Is Indymedia its own movement? How can it be integrated (or at least better integrated) into struggles for justice - locally, regionally, and globally?

- How can we build indymedia sites into a daily, online alternative to local newspapers, with regular, reliable coverage? What technology and infrastructure is needed? What innovations are various IMCs pursuing to this end?

- How can we better syndicate and share regional news?

- What role can topic pages play in increasing the reach of indymedia? How well are we using categorization technology that is currently available to us?

- How can we better share resources and knowledge? Is there interest in starting a movement of hosting one another for a period of time - an "Indymedia Activist Exchange"? What about an exchange between IMCs and related movements? What would we need to sustain this?

- How could we build an economic base to support indymedia makers? What would an online or regional version of Free Speech Radio News look like where freelance contributors were paid? Can we facilitate the starting of media coops to provide high paying, part-time work to indymedia makers? Would this be a good direction for indymedia to take?

In addition to the big session, there will be an opportunity to organize follow up caucuses as there is interest.

If you are planning to come, make sure you register by the deadline of November 6. Click here to get to the registration page or for more info on the barnraising.

Also, let us know you're coming by giving a shout out here or dropping an email. Whether you can come or not, please add any additional questions or discussion points you have.

Cheers,
Danielle Chynoweth, UC-IMC
Amy Dalton, amylorraine@phillyimc.org
Josh Breitbart, breitbart@indymedia.org