For Immediate Release Contact: 202-332-4481  www.inaugurationmedia.org www.dc.indymedia.org

 

During the events surrounding the Inauguration of President George W. Bush on January 20, 2005, the mainstream media will be buzzing with coverage of the parties, parades, and speeches that will cost the American people tens of thousands of dollars. The media will not discuss how there are reports of faulty Diebold computer voting machines and uncounted votes that have yet to be fully investigated, or that almost half of those who voted did not vote for Bush. The same was true of the last election. The mainstream media provided almost no coverage of the protests and general dissent surrounding the 2000 inauguration. We do not want this situation to occur again, and we are determined to use our voices and the voices of others around the world to ensure that independent messages are heard.

The success of delivering these messages depends upon how much unity we can create in the world of independent media. One person acting alone is one voice. Acting together, we are many voices, and can pool our resources to rise above the din of the mainstream media. We can ensure that the voice of independent media is heard loud and clear.

For that reason, the Inauguration Media Coalition, a group of independent media makers, has converged to facilitate coverage of the Inauguration. We are providing a media resource center with high speed Internet access and facilities for doing audio, video, print, photo and Web media. The space will be open between Saturday, January 15 and Friday, January 21. It will be open from 10 AM-10 PM every day, except for Inauguration Day, when it will be open from 8 AM until 10 PM, and on January 21, when it will be open until 8 PM. The media resource center is located at 624 T St. NW, Washington, DC, at the intersection of T St. and 7th St. NW, near the Shaw/Howard University stop on the green line. We are extremely fortunate to have been provided with this space by Cafe Mawonaj, a community cafe that has a wide selection of delicious entrees (including vegetarian and vegan entrees) as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and fair trade coffee from Cameroon. Cafe Mawonaj will be open for extended hours during the Inauguration, from 7 AM to midnight every day.

We will be providing this space to give journalists the resources to create independent coverage of the Inauguration events, but also to give activists a resource for immediate coverage of the events of the Inauguration as they happen. If you would like to contact this resource space during the week of the Inauguration, for updates or for more information, please call (202) 332-4481. For more information on the Inauguration Media Coalition and independent media, please see our website at www.inaugurationmedia.org. To see news updates as they are produced online, please see the DC Indymedia website, at dc.indymedia.org.

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