... I am also a consumer of commerical media. I continually remind myself that the world they construct for me isn't "reality" and I always process information carefully, even going so far as to research claims made in commercial media. Many times I've found out that what has been reported as fact in commercial media has been misrepresented or even false.

I strongly believe that everyone needs to familiarize themselves with rules of logic and the principles of logical fallacies in particular. Though independent media is free of capitalism-based control, it's open posting forum means that it can be open to abuse. I frequently see the same old, tired arguments posted here that are clearly aimed at discrediting and disrupting indymedia as a powerful community resource.

Indymedias across the world have already had a powerful impact on commerical news and, in many instances, are even setting the direction for commericial news. Though commerical news is by no means an ideal, it is the most widely available news to most people in the United States. When Indymedias act as vital, cutting-edge news organizations, they not only deliver that news to other indymedia participants, it also increases people's impact in our society by setting the agenda in the corporate news. This amounts to real power in our society, which is what the populace is sorely lacking.

The point? Indymedia has had and can continue to have an enormous impact on our immediate community, the larger region, our society and even the entire world. However, to be effective, it needs activists at the grass roots level. It means researching stories, posting them and/or volunteering at local activist groups or indymedia. Indymedia is only as good as we the people are willing to make it.