Leeds Indymedia Mission Statement

Why we exist and what we are for

Leeds Indymedia is part of a global network of locally based websites offering independent, non-corporate news coverage. It should serve as a space within which people are free to present their own stories and versions of events. It allows the reader to become the writer – providing locally-based, grassroots coverage as well as perspectives that you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. Leeds Indymedia can do this because in contrast to the traditional mainstream corporate media, it has no advertisers or investors to please. It operates according to an open publishing principle which, in its simplest sense, means that nobody decides what is or isn’t news, and everybody can contribute. Rather than spoon-feeding readers with ideas from a narrow perspective, it relies upon their own intelligence in being able to differentiate between nonsense and cutting edge journalism. The reader is allowed to make up his or her own mind and participate in making news, as opposed to the mainstream media with its lack of openness and participation, its timid reporting, sound-bites and spin.

Leeds Indymedia :

• provides a forum for all those in Leeds and West Yorkshire who are struggling for another world, one without exploitation, oppression, domination, militarism and environmental destruction.
• rejects the manipulation of “public opinion” to suit the agendas of corporate and state power, and instead aims to amplify the voices of all people and allow them to speak for themselves.
• aims to open up access to media technology so all groups and individuals can speak for themselves, making it easier for people to participate in the growing global movement for social justice, human rights, peace and ecological balance.
• intends to help break down barriers between activists and people who would not generally see themselves in that light, providing an interactive medium for the local community through which anyone can post anything – a news story, a report, a picture, a video, an audio file, or just a comment.
• seeks to link global issues such as war, debt, poverty, AIDs, militarism, climate change, water resources, GM foods, people flows and globalisation, to everyday local issues like racism, education cuts, unemployment, landlordism, lack of social housing, privatisation, poor transport, pollution and the erosion of local democracy.
• provides a forum for the promotion and discussion of local events and culture - such as art exhibitions, music gigs, film festivals, sporting occasions and community meetings - promoting a more socially cohesive community.

Leeds IMC, 02.07.2003 23:19