The Independent Media Centre, coined Indymedia or IMC, is an online citizen journalism platform devoted publishing grassroots and non-corporate news coverage that is of interest. It was founded on November 1999 as a means of providing up to date information to an online audience about what was what was occurring at Seattle’s WTO anti-globalization protests. According to their homepage, Indymedia is comprised of several independent news organizations and journalists all working towards “the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth” from a different standpoint. But from the start what set Indymedia apart from all other news sources of the time was that it provided citizens with the opportunity to pick and choose which articles should and should not appear on the site. The content is freely decided upon by the participant as well as the moderators who regulate the site. As Skyler and Maya pointed out in the video they made, the objective of Indymedia was brought about by the need for people to have the option of hearing from alternative news sources, not just from the mainstream news. This was deemed independent media and was the driving force behind the concept of citizen journalism and sprung into action hundreds of Indymedia outlets which are popping up worldwide.

Funded solely by donations, Indymedia has had an extensive impact on journalism. After the Indymedia coverage of the Seattle protests was hugely popular, people ran with this idea of having equal say and being able to criticize this precedent of objectivity that exists today in corporate media. It has encouraged independent journalists to set up their own citizen journalism networks. Additionally, it has facilitated global activism movements and provides a platform for transnational activism outreach. Most importantly, indymedia has raised awareness (minus all the sensationalizing that mainstream media throws in there) on many important issues. By January 2006, there were over 150 Indymedia websites globally distributing print, audio, photo and video media in virtually any language. Take a look at this Indymedia website based in the United Kingdom.

Despite its major contributions to the field of journalism, since its founding in 1999, Indymedia is losing the fight with its competitors. In the digital age, with the huge advancements that are being made in new media today with blogs, podcasts and social networking Indymedia is struggling to keep up to date. They are left to question whether there are better websites out there that offer a participatory aspect while still providing a platform for users to speak out against mainstream media. And the answer is Yes! Take a look at a couple independent news sources like Democracy Now!, Truthout and Freepress which seem to be more relevant to the times than Indymedia is. For example, Democracy Now is an award –winning news program that is broadcast on some television networks and radio stations as well as on the internet with its podcasts being the most popular on the web. It provides access, much like Indymedia, to alternate views from the perspectives of independent journalists, citizens, grassroots leaders and activists from all over the world. As well, in the age of Twitter and Facebook, it will become increasingly more difficult for Indymedia to stay relevant since people often turn to social media before anything else.

What I’ve learned from this presentation is that Indymedia was a major player the creation of participatory journalism. If it wasn’t for Indymedia and allowing their users to have a say in the articles, websites based on the same idea like The Drudge Report and Ohmynews couldn’t have existed.