Category Archives: Media

The Lavenders: Past and Present Queer Journalism in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 05/01/2023 by Public i

On February 23, UCIMC Executive Director Miriam Larson hosted a virtual conversation with representatives of two generations of activists in Champaign-Urbana. Mary Lee Sargent, former director of Parkland College’s Women’s Studies Program (now residing in New Hampshire), was one of … Continue reading →

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How The Issue of Representation Impacts Central Illinois

Posted on 12/31/2022 by Marcus Pruitt

The issue of unequal representation of cultures has plagued the nation since its birth, often resulting in the perversion of people’s natural rights. In central Illinois, it extends that perversion through aggressive discrimination. Although minorities have seen more representation on … Continue reading →

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The Future of Actual Malice

Posted on 09/18/2022 by John Nerone

Justice Clarence Thomas poked the media industry this past June when he dissented from the Supreme Court decision not to hear an appeal of a libel case. The plaintiff, Coral Ridge Ministries, had sought a review of a lower-court decision … Continue reading →

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The Public i: Countering Hegemonic Mass Media Narratives

Posted on 06/25/2022 by Fatou Jobe

I have always wondered how the Public i, which operates under one of the few Independent Media Centers (IMCs) that still exist in the United States—the UCIMC—has been sustainable for two decades despite the growing dissolutions of Indymedia centers worldwide. … Continue reading →

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An Indymedia Genesis Story

Posted on 02/08/2021 by Sascha Meinrath

Indymedia is a wide-ranging phenomenon: its genesis in opposition to dominant powers; its constituency spanning numerous public interest movements; and its continuing success creating a proving ground for a next generation of leaders who today, 20 years later, are scattered … Continue reading →

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Countering Disinformationhttp://publici.ucimc.org/wp-admin/edit.php to Build a Just Society

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Kiana Kazemi

We have heard a lot about disinformation during this past year, but learning more about how information is manipulated, distorted and deployed to shape social debates can help you recognize when you are being targeted in a disinformation campaign. It … Continue reading →

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The UCIMC Disinformation Defense Campaign

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center

IMC working groups, projects, and partners are working to fight the tide of disinformation. We have just received a grant and extensive educational materials from MediaJustice to do this work. We will focus on racialized disinformation: disinformation campaigns that specifically … Continue reading →

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Indymedia at 20

Posted on 10/27/2020 by Danielle Chynoweth

  It was twenty years ago, September 24, 2000, when a dozen people crammed into my apartment on Carle Park. We began dreaming about the Independent Media Center that now graces the heart of Urbana, nurturing new friendships, growing new … Continue reading →

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This Month from the Archives

Posted on 03/18/2020 by Kathryn La Barre and Courtney Richardson

Established in 2000, the UCIMC was one of the earliest nodes in the Indymedia network, representing an anti-globalist and anti-corporate agenda. With the motto “don’t hate the media, be the media,” along with tools, training, and support, Indymedia encourages citizen … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the IMC

Posted on 05/08/2019 by Karen Medina

Come in. I am writing to invite you deeper into the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. I lead a lot of tours of the IMC. Some of you know more of the history than I do. The IMC has been around, … Continue reading →

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Illiberal America: A Report Card

Posted on 03/12/2019 by David Prochaska

I never thought I would live to see the U.S. turn into the illiberal, authoritarian, populist, white-nationalist country it has already increasingly become in early 2019. Illiberalism Turns Liberal Democracy on its Head “Liberal democracy” is characterized in theory by … Continue reading →

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Stream some Laughs: Four Political Comedies from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico

Posted on 12/07/2017 by Audrey Wells

Subtitles don’t bite. Turn them on, if you need, and check out a superb satire from Mexican director Luis Estrada, The Perfect Dictatorship (La Dictadura Perfecta, 2014), streaming on Netflix. Prepare to laugh and squirm. In this uncomfortably relevant and … Continue reading →

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What Makes Jimmy Run?

Posted on 11/18/2016 by David Prochaska

The News-Gazette has a long history of extreme right-wing editorial columnists. In the 1940s and 1950s it was Eddie Jaquin. From the late 1980s until his downfall in the late 1990s it was John Hirschfeld, who was also the paper’s … Continue reading →

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“Labor Hour” Now on WRFU, the Radio Station of the UCIMC

Posted on 11/18/2016 by David Johnson

After 21 years at radio station WEFT, the World Labor Hour radio program has moved its weekly 2-hour program to radio station WRFU (104.5 FM/wrfu.net) in the IMC/downtown Urbana Post Office building. The World Labor Hour radio program (originally called … Continue reading →

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Is WEFT a Sinking Ship

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Sandra Ahten

Is WEFT a Sinking Ship? By: Sandra Ahten Bio: Sandra Ahten is an artist and activist as well as a business owner and grandmother. Her primary community work is primarily around both prison issues and independent media. Disclaimer: Although I … Continue reading →

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Get Your WEFT On!

Posted on 03/29/2015 by Lori Serb

by Lori Serb WEFT has been a terrestrial radio station since 1981. WEFT began webcasting in 2007. WEFT contributes to artist royalties through both of these avenues. A snapshot of recent programming includes a live set by electric blues guitarist … Continue reading →

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Media Hoax Launched Against Monsanto by Sin Maíz No Hay Vida

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Alex Cline

Last Thursday, an intriguing press release from “Monsanto Global” was sent out to to the email inboxes of media organizations all over the world, including our own Independent Media Center. According to the press release, Monsanto had received approval from … Continue reading →

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Jason Collins

Posted on 05/24/2013 by Neil Parthun

“I’m a 34 year old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” With these simple words, Jason Collins made history as the first actively playing out athlete in the NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL. The overwhelming reaction to Collins’ important … Continue reading →

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Media Hate Fiesta for Venezuela Keeps on Keepen’ On

Posted on 02/24/2013 by Mark Weisbrot

By Mark Weisbrot (This article was first published in Al Jazeera English on January 29, 2013) Last week there was a real media hate-fest for Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, with some of the more influential publications on both sides of … Continue reading →

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Community Radio Broadcasters and Builders Converged at GRC 2012

Posted on 09/08/2012 by Paul Riismandel

Community radio broadcasters and builders converged at GRC 2012 Originally posted at Radio Survivor on July 31, 2012 by Paul Riismandel   Jennifer Waits and I attended the Grassroots Radio Conference this past weekend in Urbana, IL. These are my … Continue reading →

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