I would have called it "citizen" journalism, but it's really more than that — activists themselves covering events in which they struggle for global justice. This radical gonzo journalism has been going on worldwide under the Indymedia banner since activists/journalists organized to cover the demonstrations in Seattle at the WTO meeting in 1999. The open-publishing Indymedia network was "Web 2.0" years before some johny-come-lately coined that silly term. Activists were "blogging" their reports, photos, and video throughout the Indymedia network before anyone had ever heard of a so-called blogosphere.

There are literally dozens and dozens of local Independent Media Centers (IMCs) on several continents. If you ever want to know what activists are doing below the radar of the corporate media — in your area or across the globe — then check out the list in the lower left column at any IMC website.

Today in Germany, for instance, there were major street battles as activists blockaded entrances to the yearly G8 Summit and police responded with water cannons. You'll barely see any coverage of this in the corporate media, but you can get first-hand coverage at the German IMC with dozens of photos, videos, and reports directly from the front lines.

G8 Protest: More than 10,000 block Heiligendamm

05.06.2007 - 18:45

As hundreds of G8 delegates arrived in the area today, mass blockades seriously interrupted their arrival in the fenced security zone. Thousands of activists blocked all routes leading to the G8 meeting venue. Over 10,000 people blocked the fence gates and breached the newly declared zone around the fence in which all demonstrations had been declared illegal. In the evening, police violently dispersed one of the blockades, while others were continuing, with several thousand people still on the streets. Other activists were protesting in the streets at the Laage airport. In the late evening, more than 1000 people prepare to stay overnight in three blockades.

Of course, language differences can be an obstacle to fully appreciating coverage in Germany, or, say, the excellent IMC work in Latin America, if you don't read German or Spanish. But "bilder" (or pictures) can still speak a thousand words.

There's a revolution going on and it's not being televised.

peace