Getting Involved with Bristol Indymedia

There are as many reasons to join Bristol Indymedia as there are volunteers, but here are a few of the reasons why some people have got involved:

• Media Democracy; With just 3 media monoliths (BBC, Granada who own HTV West, and Daily Mail & Trust who own the Evening Post, Venue, Metro and the Western Daily Press) dominating the 'free speech' in Bristol, how can democracy flourish? Some people join Bristol Indymedia as part of a commitment to media democracy and democratic media:

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one."
Abbott Joseph Liebling

"We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective."
Michael Eisner, CEO, Disney

"In 1983, fifty corporations dominated most of every mass medium and the biggest media merger in history was a $340 million deal... [I]n 1987, the fifty companies had shrunk to twenty-nine...[I]n 1990, the twenty-nine had shrunk to twenty three... [I]n 1997, the biggest firms numbered ten and involved the $19 billion Disney-ABC deal, at the time the biggest media merger ever...[In 2000] AOL Time Warner's $350 billion merged corporation [was] more than 1,000 times larger [than the biggest deal of 1983]."
Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly

• Media Experience; Indymedia uses the latest in new media technologies from Wiki systems to open source codes for digital video; its a great place to give you hands-on practical media experience.
• Social Justice; Any struggle for social justice relies on getting the word out; what better way to support the struggle for social justice and radical news than to offer your time and effort to the independent media cause.
• Accountability; What better way to ensure the the Indymedia project does what it should, than by joining the group and being involved in how the Media 2.0 Revolution!

First step is to contact us and say 'hello!' You could then meet with a couple of our volunteers. You can also sign-up to out outreach list, we will then keep you informed of events and meetings (see the contact page).

Why not come to one of our regular film nights to meet us? Then (or at any time!) you can come along to our monthly meetings, advertised on the calendar. This gives you a chance to meet other volunteers and see what you think. These are held on the 3rd Monday of every-other month. Once you have been to three or more meetings you can then become a full part of Bristol Indymedia (BIMC).

From here you can choose which area of the project most interests you and get involved:

• BIMC Tech - get involved with technical heart of the Indymedia - it is through BIMC Tech that we keep the web site running, evolving and growing. Best of all, you don't need any experience as training will be given, though if you do have experience with content management systems (such as SQL or similar) it would help!
• BIMC Admin - get involved with the non-technical day-to-day running of BIMC, such as looking after the accounts, answering emails and letters so on.
• BIMC Editors/Moderators - why not get involved as an editor! Again no experience is necessary, as training is given. An interest and eye for a good story helps here!An interest and eye for a good story helps here! Training given! BIMC Moderators - Keeping the site clean and running is a vital function! Training given!
• BIMC Film Nights - get involved in programming, organising and publicising our popular monthly film nights and bringing the best in social cinema and documentary to the masses!
• BIMC Outreach - get involved with reaching out to the local community and spread the word of open access media (people need to be told that we are all the media now!). From festival stalls to t-shirt designs, use your imagination and inventiveness to think of new ways to encourage people to get involved!
• BIMC Indycycle - get involved with our web-based free-cycling system and help stop unwanted goods going to landfill!
• BIMC ??? - want to do something related to Indymedia and its not on the list? Then get involved and see where your ideas might take the project!

So why not get in touch today!