PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Indymedia Marks Five Years
by Radio Collective Wednesday, Dec. 01, 2004 at 12:31 AM

Five years ago today, the Indymedia network was born.

The very first Independent Media Center was established by independent and alternative media organizations and activists in November 1999 to provide grassroots coverage of the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle. It served as clearinghouse of information and provided up-to-the-minute reports, photos, audio and video footage of that historic mobilization through its website.

Its first post read,

"The resistance is global... a trans-pacific collaboration has brought this web site into existence. The web dramatically alters the balance between multinational and activist media. With just a bit of coding and some cheap equipment, we can setup a live automated website that rivals the corporates. Prepare to be swamped by the tide of activist media makers on the ground in Seattle and around the world, telling the real story behind the World Trade Agreement."

Since that time, Indymedia has grown from a mere idea in the heads of a few enthusiastic innovators to become the nervous system of global resistance to corporate power, social injustice and environmental destruction. Indymedia websites now exist all over the world, in 150 cities and on 6 continents, involving the contributions of thousands of volunteers. It is impossible to tally how many people are involved, as participation runs the gamut from those who work full-time to keep the infrastructure running, to those who post a single story during a specific event.

Indymedia has also evolved beyond the anchoring website. Local collectives are engaged in numerous print, radio, video projects, some of which are uplinked every week via satellite and distributed throughout the United States to public access stations.

Having managed to open up a vital political space, Indymedia enters its fifth year of existence stronger, larger and better than any could have hoped. The Indymedia network has successfully challenged the corporate media's stranglehold of the news, foiled the FBI's attempt to bring down its websites, and defied all manners of state repression everywhere by offering witness to violent attacks on peaceful protesters.

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