Editorial Policy
On this page:
Newswire Policy
Feature Approvals
Hiding Posts
Logs and IPs
Being a Website Editor
Newswire Policy
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.
In accordance with the DC IMC's overall mission, the online newswire is designed to empower individuals to become independent and civic journalists by providing a direct, unmoderated forum for presenting media, including text articles, audio and video recordings, and photographs, to the public via the internet. Within that general framework, we specifically encourage individuals to publish:
- Researched, timely articles;
- Eyewitness accounts of progressive actions and demonstrations;
- Coverage of DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia regional issues;
- Media analysis;
- Investigative reports exposing injustice;
- Stories on events affecting underrepresented groups;
- Media produced from within underrepresented groups;
- Local stories with national or global significance;
- Stories on people or projects working towards social and economic justice.
- Original, underreported stories of local, regional, national, or global importance;
After stories have been published, they can be edited, linked, hidden, or deleted by the collective running this site. We like to link related stories, so that they appear grouped together on the summaries pages.
For instance, this can be used to display together:
- sound bites from the same event;
- a picture with text about the same thing;
- a lower quality realaudio file with a higher quality (but slower to transfer) MP3 audio clip for radio stations to re-broadcast;
- a video in realvideo with a freeze frame picture;
- a group of stories about the same issues;
Feature Approvals
The center column of the website is where selected newswire articles will be featured, especially original news from the DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia area.
The process for making changes/additions/deletions to featured content on the website is:
- A member of the editorial working group nominates an item to be a feature, using an administrative interface in the DC Indymedia website
- When two editorial members have approved an article to be a feature, it will automatically be promoted to the center column. An editorial member cannot approve his/her own article.
- If an editorial group member doesn't agree that an article should be featured, that person can use the web interface to put in a "dissent" for that article
- An article which has a dissent will be automatically removed from the center column. The editorial group will discuss the article further on the editorial email list, until consensus is reached.
- People who aren't members of the editorial group can nominate newswire articles for features by emailing imc-dc-editorial@indymedia.org. Please include a link to the article you wish to nominate, so we know which one you are referring to.
- Some articles will be automatically nominated, if they receive a high rating from users.
Hiding posts
The newswire is an open-publishing resource, with no prior restraint on publication. The newswire is not intended for: promotion of commercial enterprises, religious diatribes, or as a forum for sociopaths to abuse the community.
To serve this end, the editorial working group is empowered to hide posts that are: for-profit ads, sexist, racist, homophobic, pornographic, defamatory or libelous of individuals, personal attacks on non-public figures, fabrications, repetitive (spam), and DC IMC Policy/Process off-list. Policy/process discussions should be posted to appropiate listserv, ie imc-dc-editorial@lists.indymedia.org
Hidden articles are accessible one link away from the main newswire. On this page, you can see which editor hid an article, and the reason it was hidden, as well as view the hidden article.
Logs and IPs
Logs and IPs: IPs for this website are not kept. They are flushed, frequently and regularly.
Website Editor Policy
Passed on 2/3/05. In order to be a DC IMC website editor:
- You must abide by the DC IMC editorial policy (posted above)
- You must live in the DC area
- You must have a basic competence in the website publishing tool
- You must attend DC IMC editorial meetings
- You must communicate with the DC IMC editorial group by the means established by the group
- When communicating with the public, you must make clear whether you are speaking on behalf of yourself or the editorial group
- You must help moderate the DC IMC newswire, which includes reading content and hiding and/or deleting content as per policy
- You must participate in at least one editorial training each year
- You cannot use the website to engage in sniping, personal attacks and vendettas
- You do not have to produce original content in order to be a website editor
Three abuses of editor account is cause for removal of account. Abuses are determined by consensus of the editorial group. If you don't use your account for two months and don't communicate why, your account will be deactivated.
Are you interested in being a part of the editorial working group? Please email imc-dc-editorial@lists.indymedia.org for more information.
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