IMC Editorial Guidelines (sample)
Indymedia is network of a sites for reporting, promoting, and commenting on community, grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial social justice, environmental, and political issues. It is run by a local Indymedia Collective (IMC) - an open group of volunteers who maintain and make decisions about the site.
The IMC is dedicated to the open publishing ethos. This means that you can post any story or event, as long as it does not break our guidelines. The guidelines ensure the site stays true to it's aims of providing an alternative to corporate dominated mainstream media.
The guidelines are not rules. The interpretation of them is decided by the IMC collective.
There are two areas to the site that allow open posting: the newswire and the calendar. Anybody can suggest content for the features section, but only site moderaters can upload it.
Content may be deleted
All content
- Not local: Items that do not have an explicit link to instance subject/location and the surrounding area.
- Not news: Stories which are clearly purely comment, opinion, or rants unrelated to a recent event (does not apply to comments, but we encourage you not to rant - more on comments below).
- Discriminatory: Items using language, imagery, or other forms of communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of discrimination or oppression.
- Inaccurate: Items that are inaccurate or misleading.
- Promoting hierarchy: The newswire is designed to generate a grassroots news resource, not a notice-board for hierarchically structured organisations (including political parties).
- Advertising: Content with personal or commercial promotions.
- Repeated: Items that are reposts (e.g. a stories that is already present as a comment).
- Without an English translation: You can post in any language, but you should provide an English translation as well. Free translation tools are available on the web - just search for them.
- Personal attack: Articles and/or comments that contain abusive language against other activists or site users. Please make your point without resorting to personal abuse.
- Disruptive: Contributions by individuals who habitually publish above mentioned discouraged content.
Calendar Events
Anybody can add local events to the site calendar. Events are subject to the guidelines above, as well as:
- Non-political: Events which do not relate in any way to radical or progressive politics, or to grassroots community activism, may be deleted.
Comments
Anybody can add comments at the end of each article. Comments are subject to the guidelines above. They can be used to:
- State an opinion about any given posting.
- Add information.
- Correct inaccurate or malicious information.
- Rectify misinformation.
Corrections and updates to a story can be given prominent status by contacting the imc with the qualified accurate information.
Features
The features on the middle column of the IMC website reflect postings to the newswire. Features are highlighting specific issues to make them more accessible. They are put together by volunteers communicating on the imc.
Anybody can join the features group and propose a new feature for the middle column. A proposal can take the form of an idea or a completed feature. Features usually have a summary of between 50 and 80 words, and include at least one link to the newswire, preferably also links to background information.
(If no one objects to the feature proposal within 24-hours, and if it is completed, it will be uploaded to the middle column. The 24-hour rule ensures that everybody can contribute to the middle column and allows time for collaborative improvements and considerations.)
Legal disclaimer
Oxford IMC is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of Oxford indymedia. Although Oxford IMC volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.
From https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/static/editorial.html