Fellow members of the IMC Community,

Earlier this year I sent out the following request for information and have received very few responses. Some have expressed some concerns as to our motivations with this research. Our main goal is to provide information that will help our movement to continue and build a truly democratic, open and people centered independent media and communication network. Please read the request below and help us in this endeavor.

Rich Templin

Tallahassee-RedHills IMC

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We are working on a research project that examines the internet traffic patterns of IndyMedia Sites. Historically, research on audience uses of alternative media has been very difficult because it is hard to find large numbers of people who read 'zines or who listen to micro radio. The Internet offers some great data to give us a broad description of the way people are using IndyMedia websites.

Here in Tallahassee, the Tallahassee-Redhills Independent Media Center has posted a traffic report: http://tallahassee.indymedia.org/logs/Report.html.

We are interested in collecting similar reports from IMC's worldwide. If you have a server report covering the dates of 1/1/03 to 6/1/03, please send us a link and/or an email with the report attached. If you do not have one and would like to get one, email us and we will try to help you run a similar server report. Reports or requests for further information may be sent directly to templin@workingfamilies.com.

Our goals with this research are to examine IMC traffic patterns over the course of the Iraq War. We will post the results of our research and share the findings with you and the IMC community at large. We are only interested in the number of visits to you site, not about the individuals who visit.

Thank you in advance for your assistance,

Andy Opel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

340 Diffenbaugh Hall

Department of Communication

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL 32306

850-644-8768



Rich Templin

Doctoral Candidate

Department of Communication

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL 32306



Andy Opel has written about Micro Radio and the emerging Media Activism Movement. He is currently editing a book, "Representing Resistance: Media, Civil Disobedience and the Global Justice Movement" due out in October by Greenwood Press.

Rich Templin is a doctoral candidate researching alternative media. He is a founding member of the Tallahassee-Redhills IMC and is the Communications Director with the Florida AFL-CIO.