The mission statement defines what we are and what we do.

There are a number of projects that we're currently working on, that we plan to work on, and that we need help to do.

Join meetings, mailing lists or online discussions to communicate with other IMC-oriented people.

Learn to make your own media, or download or buy media from Maine IMC

Cover events, create an article, and publish to the Maine IMC newswire.

Contact us with ideas and questions and find out how you can get involved.

Maine IMC is always in need of equipment and monetary donations.

The Maine Independent Media Center (MeIMC) is a not-for-profit collective of independent media makers and journalists offering grassroots news coverage and media education for the state of Maine, and enjoying yummy food. We are not the mouthpiece of any particular political party or commercial viewpoint - rather, we are the voice of all those individuals and communities who want to get involved and report the news as they experience it. Unlike the corporate media, we do not claim complete objectivity. Subjectivity comes with any human's observation of an event. We believe in open dialogue, and placing the means of communication back in the hands of people and away from the drive of profit.

The Maine Independent Media Center works to demystify media through media literacy education and by fostering the skills and providing equipment necessary for people to be the media. We seek to become a recognized and utilized media source in the state. Maine IMC provides an interactive website at http://www.maineindymedia.org, and an interactive Maine events calendar at http://calendar.maineindymedia.org, through which up-to-the-minute information can be posted and made available throughout the world. Acknowledging that the majority of people in Maine, and the world, do not have access to the Internet, in addition to working to make this technology more accessible and available to all interested, we focus on providing and educating people in other mediums of media, including print, in the form of the regular publication the Maine Commons, public access television and community and low power radio.

• Collaboration with community radio stations such as WERU, and public access television stations such as Portland Public Access Center, & projects like True Media, to broaden the reach of independent media and work with already existing Independent Media groups in the state.
• Continual updating of our interactive website with current events of relevance to Maine people and communities at http://www.maineindymedia.org. We work to make sure as much of our software as possible utilizes open-source code. We are also working on making this site as accessible as possible to people with slow internet connections or older computers, and to people with disabilities.
• Print publication The Maine Commons published monthly (funding dependent), providing exclusive news & commentary throughout the state.
• Interactive web-based calendar of upcoming events for use by all Maine groups at http://calendar.maineindymedia.org.
• Coverage of events throughout the state and beyond.

The following are projects we hope to implement soon, but are dependent upon receiving grant money, donations, and volunteers.

• Workshops: We plan to organize workshops on media literacy and how to use the tools of the media. These workshops will be available to groups requesting them. We hope to provide workshops to groups of all types, such as schools, Adult Education classes, activist groups, youth groups, assisted living homes, prisons, other media projects, and any other interested groups.
• Traveling Media Center: We plan to buy a full size bus and convert it into a traveling studio and workshop space.We hope to do biodiesel conversion to power the bus, and implement solar power for the equipment. The bus will eventually contain a darkroom, digital video editing studio, interview space, small workshop area, micro-radio center, networked computers with an Ethernet and celluplink to the Internet, and various other equipment. Workshops & IMC coverage of big events will be based out this traveling studio. This traveling studio can reach people who are spread far throughout the state, who might not otherwise be able to travel to a center to learn and use the tools of the media. The studio will come into communities and allow members to practice using the tools and report on events affecting their communities.
• Studio Spaces: We plan to acquire video cameras, still cameras, mini-disc recorders, and computers to edit footage, and house them in various locations around the state. These tools will be available for in-studio use as well as lent out for coverage-use. These spaces will also provide workshop spaces. We will hopefully have at least one space for each region of the state - we would like to share spaces with already-existing groups working on complementary projects.
• Prison Media Project: This project will work to help those who have little to no public voice - prisoners - make their experiences public, and report on life in prison. We hope to organize media literacy and tool-use workshops to take place in prisons in the state, and continue correspondence with people in prison, sending those interested copies of the Maine Commons, and making their coverage available through our various media forums.
• Maine Lost History Project: We would like to have a monthly column in the Maine Commons written about the forgotten history of Maine towns - the "unofficial" history, labor history, cultural history, etc. If you or someone you know could write a piece about your town, please get involved.

If any of these projects particulary piques your interest, and you'd like to help get it started, please contact us.

In-Person Meetings: Maine IMC tries to have physical meetings monthly. Meeting announcements are sent out to the mailing list and are posted on the calendar. All formal meetings' notes will be recorded and sent to members.

IRC Meetings: Periodic IRC (Internet Relay Chat) meetings are held, largely for the tech group but sometimes for general meetings as well. These are only announced on the email list.

Email List: Subscribe to one or more of the email lists to get involved in Maine IMC discussions and receive announcements about Maine IMC events. The publication list and tech list are for specific issues; the discussion list is the general list that all Maine IMCers are on.

The Wiki: The Wiki is an experimental collaborative interface used for working on Maine IMC projects.

We try to balance on-line meetings with face-to-face meetings to help balance the conveniences and inconveniences that both offer to people in Maine - namely, that many do not have internet access to attend IRC meetings, but for those who do, no driving is required to attend. Also, a meeting at any physical space in the state of Maine is going to require a large amount of traveling for at least some members, as there are participants all over the state, but for those who can make it, no internet connection is required to attend. Most components of Maine IMC's projects reflect some attempt to deal with the dynamics of successfully functioning as an organization in a large state with people scattered to all ends in which under half of the residents have internet access.

As we can get funding, we'll start holding media-making workshops. Until then, you can start or continue learning how to use some tools of the media:

• DIY Media/Journalism Tutorials at SF Indymedia
• WMPG (occasional video workshops)
• WERU (occasional audio workshops)
• Paper Tiger Television
• Video Journalist/Activist Survival Kit

Maine IMC has an ever-growing collection of audio and video files in various formats ready to download, as well as tapes, videos, cds and other merchandise available to buy.

Cover events: Find out what's going on in the state of Maine on the statewide events calendar and help provide coverage of events that interest you. If you can provide coverage, please contact editor@maineindymedia.org and we'll do what we can to help coordinate this coverage and help you get your media published.

Email us at info@maineindymedia.org. Write us at Maine IMC, PO Box 1444, Waterville, ME 04903 (note - while our mailing address is in Waterville, Maine IMC members are active throughout the state.) We do not yet have a phone number. If you would like to donate a phone line and/or a voice mailbox, please let us know.

The Maine IMC needs you - be the media. To get started, please contact editor@maineindymedia.org, and we'll send you a volunteer form.