Press Release on RNC Convergence Space-Aug. 16, 2004

Location, Opening Party and More!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The New York City Grassroots Media Coalition (NYC-GMC) is pleased to announce that it has secured an Independent Media Center (IMC) workspace for use during this summer’s Republican National Convention in New York. “Come the end of August,” says Ana Noguieria, an organizer with the NYC-GMC, “the corporate media will be wined, dined, and massaged by Republicans convention-goers inside Madison Square Garden. At the same time, though, our Independent Media Center will allow media makers from New York City and elsewhere to document the mass protests against the RNC.”

The Gigantic Art Space (GAS) at 59 Franklin St, New York, NY will serve as the “front-house” infoshop and independent journalist registration center. The Grassroots Media Coalition has also obtained a large media workspace located at 220 Church St. “We’re expecting hundreds of independent journalists to descend on New York to cover protests against the RNC,” says Chris Anderson of the New York City Independent Media Center. “Thanks to the hard work and generosity of ordinary people across the across the country, our Church St. IMC will give them not only somewhere to go but also technological resources to use throughout convention week.”

According to the New York City Grassroots Media website, “the media convergence space will be the central hub of independent media production efforts during the Republican National Convention. Within the space, there will be areas for collaborative group projects and shared and rotating workspaces available to all registered independent media makers.”

During the RNC week, production will be in full swing at the main media workspace. Radio reporters will be producing a 24-hour, 7-day a week web stream of convention protests, a web stream that will also be broadcast around the world via web sites and FM stations (http://nyc.nysindy.org/sound). The New York City Independent Media Center website (http://nyc.indymedia.org) will feature breaking news from the streets of New York, as well as in-depth coverage of every aspect of the Republican Convention. Video activists will produce a one-hour RNC show every night of the convention, “UnConventional TV,” which will be aired on Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) and Free Speech TV (FSTV) (see http://www.nycimcvideo.org or http://www.papertiger.org). And journalists with the Indypendent, New York’s free bi-weekly, have just published their latest RNC-related issue. They're running 200,000 copies of it, believed to be the largest print run in decades by any radical grassroots newspaper in the U.S. The Indypendent is also planning on two RNC issues during the week of the convention that will have press runs of 50,000.

Convergence center organizers are currently finalizing plans for media tours and press events at the 220 Church St. convergence space; additional details will be passed along to media organizations shortly.

Founded in 2000, the New York Independent Media Center is part a global network of community-based media centers whose members believe that news and information should not be bought, packaged, or sold for profit. New York Indymedia is an open membership organization that encourages people to “become the media” by reporting on their community and issues about which they care.

Founded in 1981, Paper Tiger Television (PTTV) is an open, non-profit, volunteer video collective. Through the production and distribution of our public access series, media literacy/video production workshops, community screenings and grassroots advocacy PTTV works to challenge and expose the corporate control of mainstream media.