About CIMC
About the Chicago Independent Media Center
Chicago Indymedia -- The Chicago Independent Media Center -- is a grassroots volunteer collective of media makers committed reporting on progressive issues and grassroots struggles for economic and social justice. We're part of the global Indymedia project, dozens of likeminded collectives around the world -- check them out via the links at the bottom of this webpage.
We're part of the participatory media movement -- built around the premise that any person can 'be the media' -- through streaming, shooting video, writing stories or sharing news about grassroots progressive struggles. Our website runs against an open publishing newswire, which allows anyone to publish their story or opinion. We also produce a monthly radio program, From The Trenches, and a monthly TV series, Chicago Independent Television.
Contact Information
CIMC Meetings
Editorial Policy
Mission Statement
Legal Disclaimer
Support C-IMC please see our Support C-IMC pages
Join us -- be the media! Post your video, news story, press release or photos on our newswire, or call us to get more information about getting involved.
Phone: 312-446-4939
Our volunteer collective meet regularly -- at least once per month, though meeting dates and times vary. Contact us via email at media@natoprotest.org if you would like to learn more details. You can also contact our respective working, video, audio, or photo mailing lists.
The general collective of the Chicago Independent Media Center meets regularly -- contact us via email at imc-chicago@lists.indymedia.org (a public mailing list) to learn more. Our video and radio collectives also meet regularly -- email us or call for details.
Anyone interested in participating in, or learning more about, the Chicago IMC is encouraged to attend. We're a friendly bunch, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about our work.
Editorial Policy
Know about a community struggle the corporate media isn't covering or isn't covering honestly?
Got a great idea to share with other activists?
Want to share your photos of an event or action?
Got audio or video that people just have to see or hear?
This is the place to put it. Use any style you want — journalistic, academic, or personal — for telling your story. To publish an article or press release, click the "Post an article" link on the uppper left-hand side and fill in the form. Please only click the 'local' field if this is a story or action relevant to the metro Chicago area and nearby cities or towns.
To comment on a story on the site, please use fill out the "Add new comment" form at the bottom of each article.
After stories have been published, they can be edited, linked or even hidden by the collective maintaining this site (using the story administration page — password required). Generally, this feature is used only to fix mistakes such as typos in a web address or remove a duplicate copy of a story.
Very rarely, someone abuses our trust, and posts a story that is far outside of, or in conflict with, the principles of the newswire posts that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or that clearly fly in the face of our mission to serve as a space for the exchange of news, dialogue and opinion that advances economic and social justice.
Posts that serve as commercials for for-profit companies will be removed.
We respect and support a diversity of opinion, but our site, as well as other sites in the Indymedia network, has unfortunately been increasingly targeted by quantities of right-wing disinformation and hatred-promoting messages. We would appreciate it if such persons would instead use, or set up their own, websites, rather then subjecting our readers and posters to their objectionable cant. For more information about our mission, see the �mission� section, immediately below, on this page.
Stories contributed to this site are free for non-profit re-use unless those who post state otherwise.
Mission Statement (drafted July 25, 2001)
Indymedia is a global network of collectively run media outlets designed to distribute and create radical, truthful, passionate stories of progressive grassroots struggles. We are motivated by a love and inspiration for people who work to create a better world, despite sweeping state repression and a parallel pattern in corporate media to distort or simply refuse to cover efforts to develop an egalitarian and sustainable society.
The Chicago Independent Media Center is a grassroots organization committed to using media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice in the Chicago area. We are dedicated to addressing issues that the mainstream media neglects, and we do not hide our political orientation behind a false claim to objectivity. We trust people on the frontlines of progressive struggle to tell their own stories, unfiltered by the corporate press, and we work to empower people to "be the media" by providing democratic access to useful technologies and information.
The views and opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those held by the participants and organizers of the Chicago Independent Media Center. While our editorial collective works to keep right-wing crap and spam off the newswire, this site is based upon an open publishing method that allows any individual to post information and media to the site. If you see a problem with a story -- if it's factually inaccurate, in conflict with our mission or just plain beyond the pale -- let us know by emailing imc-chicago@lists.indymedia.org. Return to top of page
Technical details and tips about this website
This Indymedia site has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible, while still attempting to manage a wealth of information, and some customization options.
The left-hand column lists the main sub-section pages of the site, as well as a frequently-updated list of the other Indymedia sites across the globe.
Users are encouraged to visit the login page, where they can create a user account that facilitates publishing articles, and allows some rudimentary filtering preferences based on ratings (see below for more on ratings).
The center column is the centerpiece of the site. Our feature articles are produced or commissioned by the editorial collective, and strive to offer quality journalism and opinion from the Chicago area.
The media gallery, highlighted at the top of the right-hand column, is our repository for photos, videos, and audio files uploaded to the site. When users have media to upload without accompanying text, from protest photos to flyer illustrations and PDF files, it goes to the media gallery. The gallery is broken down into categories, and can be searched by title, keyword, caption, or artist.
The newswire, displayed in the right-hand column, is the backbone of Indymedia. Articles found on the newswire are uploaded by users all over the world, and instantly displayed on the site. For our part, we have divided articles into "Local Interest" and "Elsewhere", so as to highlight local events and discussion.
It is the responsibility of the editorial collective (whose membership is open to the public) to oversee the newswire with a careful eye to balancing the open publishing philosophy with a desire to maintain the "newsworthy" quality of the site. To this end, we employ two methods: first, the editors will remove articles in direct violation of our (very liberal) editorial policy. This includes advertising, duplicate posts, pieces which fail to even resemble news or commentary, and articles which seriously violate our editorial policy.
The second method is our user rating system. While browsing the site, you are encouraged to rate articles using the popup menu at the end of each piece. While user ratings cannot remove an article from the site completely, they serve the invaluable role of deciding how much prominence is given to the display of an article.
By default, only articles rated higher than -6 are displayed in the right-hand column, and on the "newswire" home page. This is called the "display threshold." If you have created a user account, you can even alter that threshold to suit your own needs, e.g., display only articles receiving +3 or higher. Articles which fall below the threshold are moved to the hidden articles section, which is linked from the bottom of the newswire column. They are still available on the site, and can be linked to directly, but their prominence is degraded as a result of user input. You are encouraged to visit the hidden articles section to see what ends up there, and why.
Finally, remember that the Indymedia site is here for you. We encourage you to upload your own stories, commentaries, and announcements that may be of use to the community. And you are further encouraged to participate actively in the Chicago IMC project.
