Greeting All Those Other Journalists

The Host Committee for the RNC was nice enough to throw a media welcoming party at the Time-Warner Center on Saturday evening with a price tag estimated at "well more than $1 million" and a limited access guest list. For the independent media presence at the convention not invited to participate in such perks , the NYC Grassroots Media Coalition, the Indymedia Network, and Paper Tiger have set up a Independent Media Convergence where independent journalists can come to post stories, access the Internet, and use a plethora of resources. The space is also producing a daily television broadcast and newspaper. The space, located in Soho, was donated, as were over 100 computers and other office and art supplies. Media activists in New York and around the country are donating their time to staff the space and provide technical support. Over 500 journalists have already registered at the space, ranging from a contingent from Las Vegas to a lone journalist from New Zeland. Rebecca Giordano, one of the organizers of the space, spoke hopefully of the sense of community and resource sharing that was occurring at the space, and emphasized the continued need for independent media to share resources not only amongst themselves, but also with community-based groups that are looking to tell their own stories.