arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

In the most recent edition of Adbusters (Nov/Dec 2001), a Canadian magazine dedicated to subverting the power of mainstream media and corporate advertising, Sheri Herndon of Seattle IMC was featured as a spokesperson for Indymedia in both an article offering praise of the IMC phenomenon's opening of doors to non-journalists with something to say and one of the twin feature pieces on "Mental Environmentalism."

The first of the two articles proclaims the beginning (or beginning of recognition) of the new "mental environmentalism" movement. It explains this occurrence thus: "Today, we are realizing that our mental environment is dying too [as well as our physical environment] and we're getting ready to march again with a new vision: the vision of a wave of antitrust suits against the media megacorps, a new science of mental ecology, a new way of managing the production of meaning in our society." (For full text, see: http://adbusters.org/magazine/38/indy.html)

The second is titled "Nine Pioneers of Mental Environmentalism", and it features
Herndon as the voice of the Indymedia. Please note that Indymedia ITSELF is not the pioneer-- Herndon is personally. Interesting, no?

Herndon has been involved with Seattle IMC and the global IMC network since the WTO protests in 1999. Some Indymedia collective members have characterized her as far less radical than average among those who run Indymedias worldwide -- and at times much less straight-forward and more willing to pervert the original intentions of what IMC's ideals are understood by many to be (a completely democratic, egalitarian organization dedicated as much to the voices of its constituency and its philosophy of freedom of information as to its own "legitimacy" within wider media circles or its financial backing).

Sheri seems to have successfully positioned herself-- at least in this case -- as the go-to girl for the media looking to report on Indymedia. (The full text of this article, as well as the URL of the original, is reproduced below.) Herndon's soliloquy on the state of media today and the power of Independent Media Centers is largely truthful and accurate to what I, as a member of a local Indymedia collective, believe is my purpose and strength in this work-- even if she's a little overly optimistic in the third paragraph.

But if the medium is the message, as both Sheri's commentary and the broader framework of the articles in which she appears seem to suggest, then why is she fronting for a network of wide-spread people? One would think that, as someone who had already been interviewed for one article (along with Jeff Perlstein) in the same issue of the same magazine, she would perhaps find it prudent to relinquish the limelight to one of the vast number of others who are deeply committed to both the work and the principles of Indymedia worldwide. Because Indymedia's integral statement is that information and truth should and must be disseminated through voices of many, rather than a few, it seems clear that the tough ethical and philosophical idea of "being the change that we want to see," as Herndon phrases it, hasn't quite sunk all the way in with her yet.

As a member of an Indymedia collective (and, I must note, speaking only for myself), I strongly advise Herndon to step out of the spotlight, put down the damn microphone, and direct the next reporter who calls to someone else, in the interest of allowing diversity not only to become a part of the media through our newswire, but also through the media that reports on us. And if Herndon deems herself a better representative of 'us' than 'we' are, it might be wise for her to at least consult more broadly with the larger consituency that is Indymedia before touting her message to the press.

I have some specific suggestions: Herndon, might, for example, offer the soapbox to one of the many volunteer tech workers who form the backbone of the network -- and without whom the network would collapse in a heartbeat. They rarely get the slightest recognition for their incredible amount of hard work. And given Indymedia's genesis in the anti-globalization movement, it might behoove Herndon to surrender the spotlight to one of the dozens of Indymedia collectives OUTSIDE of North America or Western Europe whose voices tragically continue to be marginalized both within the corporate media... and often within the ostensibly progressive movement that claims to embrace their struggle for justice, equality, economic equity and freedom.

Hey Sheri: thank you for all your dedication and hard work with Indymedia since the time of its emergence. I appreciate every single one of those good folks who shows up to Indymedia with a work ethic, a vision, and the guts to put their money where their mouth is. And I think it's time that every one of our dedicated collective members adopted and asserted that appreciation, too.
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Nine Pioneers of Mental Environmentalism: Sheri Herndon

Sheri Herndon works with the global network of 65 Independent Media Centers based on-line at http://www.indymedia.org.

"Whoever is controlling the flow of information is controlling the global mental environment. The corporate media limits, it constricts, it keeps life force down. People don't feel they can participate. It's not democratic. It puts us straight into the context of consumerism. It's one against many, and there is no possibility for dialogue, no possibility for feedback. You have letters to the editor - I guess that kind of counts.

Indymedia represents an appropriate technology for information liberation: It's wanting to free information up. The model is not waiting for when it can work, for when we can buy a radio station or buy a television. It's about creating, being the change that we want to see.

To me, the greatest leverage point that we have is communications systems. The corporate mainstream media is going to be marginalized. They are going to have to find new identities for themselves, because they are not going to play the role they currently have in controlling the mental environment around the planet. That's because with projects like indymedia, where we are growing at a phenomenal rate, we are going to have an impact.

If you go to the indymedia site, you see that often the people are motivated by the fierce injustice in the world. They are also totally motivated by the passion and by the love. Strange to put that in the context of a radical news organization, but it's integral. There is just a lot of love. And that's part of the community we are building worldwide. In spite of differences in language, culture and politics, we all feel this kind of drive to create something different. People really do believe that another world is possible."