[Ssf] Writing bloody workshop n hard copy

[Dan]

Allo,

New year, new attempts at things previously poo...

So!  Indymedia Writing workshop - thought I'd try again.

As some kind person has pointed out (and I'm using this as my new year 
mantra at the moment), proper prior planning prevents piss-poor 
performance!  Thus -

I think it should be shifted from being just a writing workshop - I'm 
proposing we start a *hard copy*.  Nothing fancy to begin with - just 
something like a newsletter once a month. A little, filthy, leftie rag. 
  This will also include listings of political and other goings on in 
Sheffield (so working with SSF) - or elsewhere of interest, e.g. the 
Birmingham weekend would come into that category.

I'm hoping this publication will grow - I've been in conversation with a 
few publishing folk: the Spark in Bristol, and  the Sandman folk, to 
find out something about how it all works.  I've also got a fairly 
detailed plan for an 'active research' way of getting content into the 
hard copy (including being some way into setting up a worker's co-op 
called SHARE to run it) - but I think we should start off quick and dirty.

Having said that - as far as features go, me n a friend were already 
plotting a pamphlet about the Spital Hill Masterplan - this could be a 
good way to kill two badgers with one cricket bat, and get the whole 
thing rolling.  The plan is for the Masterplan stuff to be an 'active 
research' project, so this could work.

(It may be that it needs it's own e-mail list, but let's see what people 
think first...)

So  - questions:

1. What do people think? 

On money, we could do any or all of the following, to start with:

*Get ads from people we like
*look for funding from, er, dunno really...
*prostitute ourselves to fat, sweaty businessmen

I'd rather not do the last, but needs must when the devil vomits in your 
kettle, as Blackadder once said.  I do know from my conversations, 
though, that it's actually possible to have full-time staff funded by 
listings.  for the time being, though, it would be nice if it were 
voluntary.

I'm sure I've ranted elsewhere about different forms of regular content: 
the 'active research' feature, a bit of local radical history (e.g. 
talking to someone from Argentina who moved to Sheffield); discussing a 
particular theme - 'is the Chamber of Commerce evil' would be quite a 
fun one....! ; git of the month - get people to volunteer this ; 
listings of events ; events of interest nationwide ;  etc etc - any 
other ideas?

2. Are there any funds to print and use this flyer -

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/IMCDoItYourself

I'd change the back to make it much more hard-copy focused, but is there 
any money in the kitty for printing?

3. Still not free on Mondays  -does anyone have the energy to meet up on 
a different Day, say a Tuesday, to plan this?  I'd make it a couple of 
weeks away, so's to get as many along as possible.

4. Think of some names for it.

Right, that'll do for now.

Dan

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The true meaning of life is to plant trees,
under whose shade you do not expect to sit.