The goals of the NYCGMC are to strengthen and unify the networks of local grassroots media makers to better serve the communities of New York City.
In organizing media makers the coalition seeks to provide a space to look critically at the NYC indepedent media movement and organize for increased resources for local communities and for media advocacy. The coalition will work to provide a format through which independent media makers can communicate, collaborate and strategize ways to increase awareness of community organizing campaigns through media making.
The coalition will work to create both physical and virtual spaces where local media makers are accountable to and inclusive of the diverse communities of New York City, and provide spaces for organizations, artists and individuals to share experiences and resources, collectively develop projects and avoid duplicating efforts.
The Need That Our Group Seeks To Address
Although there are hundreds of media and activist organizations working in NYC, many feel isolated from one another as competition for diminishing resources divides groups who otherwise could unite to achieve common goals. Particularly in urban centers like NYC, media resources and attention tend to concentrate in certain communities and around specific issues, while others go underrepresented.
Increasing corporate media consolidation has also greatly limited avenues for alternative and progressive voices and campaigns to reach the audience needed to advance them. While there have been a marked increase in independent media across the city from video collectives to ‘zines to internet blogs, too many community groups with important campaigns still do not have access to media outlets to broadcast their issues to a wider public and affect policy.
As large political events are staged New York City, it is vital that the local independent media unite resources in order to provide alternative news to the public, provide for community dialogue and facilitate the tools to make independent media. The unexpected high conference attendance and overwhelming positive response from participants are significant indicators of the urgent community need for more spaces for media-makers and activists to share information, to maximize our limited resources and to avoid duplication of efforts.