Should be :  http://www.ntk.net/1999/07/02/

How very odd. Back in the summer, the New Statesman published a huge pullout announcing an endorsement of BAE Systems, weapons manufacturers and suppliers to the military.
I personally find the mass Volte Face among the Labour constituency highly disturbing. What has provoked it ? I wouldnt mind, but its been just a bit TOO sudden...

They've run the awards for quite a few years and have given awards to some good projects, as said above, like mcspotlight (the anti-macdonalds website).

Of course the judges are not just from the statesman, but include both corporate and non corporate people (like folks involved in the anti-RIP Bill campaign www.stand.org and faxyourmp.org).

It isn't a turn around for the statesman at all. But they could well do to heed the messages as media issues come more into the spotlight. It is true however that many trade union workers are a lot more radical that the leadership...


ROUGH TEXT OF SPEECH @ AWARDS

First we have to say that we are here simply as individuals who volunteer on the Indymedia project - we do not represent Indymedia.

We are a little surprised to be here at the Labour Party Conference of all places receiving a New Statesman award for Indymedia. After all, Indymedia was originally created to cover the anti-globalisation WTO protests of Seattle 1999, while the uk site was started to cover the Mayday protests in 2000.

Today, there are 92 Indymedia websites on all 5 continents providing a platform for grassroots community news reporting from Johannesburg to Jerusalem, Washington to Argentina, Hackney to Bristol.

This award actually represents recognition of THOUSANDS of volunteers who are working on pioneering open, participatory, non-hierarchical models of news reporting, communication and collaboration. Built on Open Source software and with an 'Open Publishing' system which allows people to publish their own reports, pictures, audio and video direct to the website, Indymedia is helping to build a media culture based on diversity, social justice and campaigns for a fairer world. But not just on the internet, also through print publications, film and more importantly for many parts of the world, through radio.

Crucially however the work of Indymedia volunteers is publicly archived on the web through hundreds of email lists - making Indymedia the biggest user of such transparent journalistic models anywhere in the world.

With war now seeming imminent, and at a time when respected groups like Statewatch, Reporters Sans Frontiers, and the International Federation of Journalists have all recently published reports condemning new threats to the free press, and attacks on civil liberties, privacy and communication rights since September 11th, the need for independent media has never been greater.

Telling the truth can of course be difficult and dangerous as some journalists will testify. Indymedia volunteers themselves have been arrested, beaten, and very nearly murdered by state forces across the world.

From the bloody police raids on Indymedia offices during the G8 protests in Genoa last year (when Blair congratulated media baron Berlusconi and the Italian police for their actions) to the tentative definition in some countries, of Indymedia as an organisation supporting terrorism, telling the truth and reporting political opposition is becoming increasingly hazardous.

Indeed we have just heard that in Australia the New South Wales Police Minister is taking steps to try and close down the Indymedia Melbourne website ahead of Anti-WTO protests in November.

In this situation, as you can imagine, we are rather delighted to be getting this award from E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms, and from judges such as Bill Edwards, the Director of this government's e-Communications office – and we wonder if we can count on their continued support if Indymedia is attacked here in the uk in the future.

So in accepting this award we call on all of you, who are in some way part of the same media machine, to renew your commitment to the highest values of journalism, and to be on your guard against the increasing restrictions on the freedom of communication.

In a few weeks from now, October the 19th will see International Media Democracy Day – the beginnings of a global movement around media issues. It provides an opportunity to both publicise and unite the work of alternative, independent and community media - and to protest against the failings of the corporate media system.

This grassroots mobilisation also has another goal in mind - that of the UN World Summit on Information Society in Geneva, 2003 - with the UN looking to allow individual companies a place at the table, people are already talking about Geneva, as 'The Media's Seattle'.

Finally, while similar awards to this have been presented to Indymedia around the world, the recognition that really matters, is that which comes from the active participation of tens of thousands of people, who use independent information projects like Indymedia to voice their ever increasing frustration, and to search for sustainable alternatives.

It is they that are making this media revolution happen, and it is they who deserve your support when they come under attack.

well done people
it must be good to get some recognition of what you people do
even if it is from the media industry as so many people on the newswire accuse you of all sorts of shit
good job well done!
keep up the good work

This echoes the tactics of germany indymedia who got an award as well this summer. They used the platform to list repression against them and other indymedias. Their award was given to them by a member of the interior ministry dept!! so they were able to put the spotlight directly on him in public as it was his dept that orders the kind of political raids that have been seen. Well done indy!

Nobody cares that the corporate mainstream like New Statesman gives IMC an award... as was said the only recognition that counts comes from people using things like IMC. They can shove their awards, we know we do not need their approval one way or another. It makes them feel better to give an award to 'progressives' but it just shows them in their worst true colours. Let's start an Indy Awards and vote for the WORST MEDIA, and give more support to things like project censored which lists the most important stories ignored by mainstream media.Intersting link re media democracy day (crap name though!)

their all at it !!!!

There should be no need for "alternative" media. The truth and facts as it is exposed on Indy, should BE the mainstream news!

they try to incorporate it.
If confrontation and oppression doesn't do it... then perhaps praise does.

Surely, someone will at some time take it in the greed for power.

This tactics has also been employed when trying to destroy the (grassroots) movement and that should not be forgotten.

Co-option is a big word and i think we can use these events to our own advantage. We do need to be clear that our interests are not the same as theirs, if they feel the need to award alternative media, fine as long as we use it well. Reaching out and showing we are not the caracature the media paint of us is always good. Lets think of new ways to push out ideas further.

Awards are always good to acess to certain people and organisations ..I find people react differently when u say "award winning" so use the accolade it well!

Undercurrents also just won an award in canada for One world film festival for our documentary on indymedia!

Is this really something to be proud of? And is there nothing going on in the world more deserving of headline status than this ego-massaging crap? Good luck with your journalism careers.

Certainly there are 100 things that are going on in the world that are 'important' news, but this is directly about Indymedia UK so it's fair enough to report it here isn't it? The users of this site should know about the award, since it's only through people's use and volunteer contributions of time and reports that this site runs.

"ego-massaging crap" - well not really, it's just a report about some mainstream media and noteable judges giving Indymedia UK an award - but which is certainly of note given the growing list of Indymedia groups under attack in different countries.

As for the comment about good luck with your journo careers, well that deserves zero consideration really given the sacrifices, harrassment and beatings the people that help run this site have taken in the course of the last 2 years.

Just in addition, I wonder if there was any prize money given to indymedia. The German prize did not give any prize money to actually practically run and support the stuff- how is it with this award?

My comment above should not be taken as criticism at indymedia in present, these are more some thoughts considering future development.

Also there is a lot of work involved and at this point there can be no doubt about it, that all the volunteers over the whole wide world do it for idealism more than for anything else, which deserves praise.