Independent Media Institute

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Independent Media Institute

The Independent Media Institute (IMI) is a nonprofit organization that educates the public through a diverse array of independent media projects and programs.

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Mission

The Independent Media Institute (IMI) is a nonprofit organization that educates the public through a diverse array of independent media projects and programs. They work with journalists and media outlets to shine a spotlight on stories that are vital to the public interest, using multiple media formats and distribution channels.

Approach

IMI amplifies the reach and impact of the work produced by their partner journalists, public intellectuals, and editorial teams on the leading issues of our times. The goal is to educate, inspire, collaborate with movements and visionaries who are fighting for social change—and prevent the worst from happening.

The organization provides a range of services to its partners: editing and quality control, visual design, project design and fundraising development, syndication to partner publications, and media bookings through its extensive email and social media channels.

History

Since 1983, the Independent Media Institute has served the public through the creation and distribution of content about political and social issues. In 1998, IMI founded AlterNet, an award-winning news website that published original reporting by independent investigative journalists, syndicated a broad range of partner publications, and reached diverse audiences for more than 20 years, reaching a peak of an average of 6.5 million unique monthly visitors in 2016, and publishing 1,000 articles a month.

In early 2018, IMI transferred AlterNet to new ownership, allowing IMI to re-focus its work on creating and distributing original, thoughtful explorations of social justice and public interest issues. Through both its own reporting and via programs and partnerships with other organizations, IMI continues its pursuit of excellence and social impact in media.

Associated Authors
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Debra Merskin, PhD, is a professor of media studies in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon and is a co-founder of Animals and Media.
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Ginger Fedak is the wild horse and burro campaign director at In Defense of Animals. A lifelong animal welfare advocate and horse professional, Fedak has spent decades teaching about and advocating for domestic and wild horses.
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Nina Jackel is the founder of Lady Freethinker, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to exposing and stopping the suffering of animals, humans, and the planet. Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Brittany Michelson is an animal rights activist, writer and former teacher.
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Erika Schelby is the author of Liberating the Future from the Past? Liberating the Past from the Future? (2013) and Looking for Humboldt and Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond (2017). Schelby lives in New Mexico.
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Leslie Crawford is the author of Sprig the Rescue Pig and Gwen the Rescue Hen, both published by Stone Pier Press. She lives in San Francisco with her two children, six hens, and four foster pigeons. No partridges. Follow her on Twitter @lesliemcrawford.
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Lydia Chodosh is a writer, designer, and fine artist based in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist, author of more than 20 books.
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Katy Neusteter is the marketing director at American Rivers, a national non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy natural rivers and the variety of life they sustain for people, fish, and wildlife, founded in 1973.
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Alicia Graef is a guardian and dog meat campaigner at In Defense of Animals. A lifelong animal lover and freelance writer with a Bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science, Alicia has covered issues relating to animals for more than a decade.
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Alessandra Korap Munduruku is a Munduruku Indigenous woman leader from Indigenous Reserve Praia do Índio in the Brazilian Amazon. She is a member of Pariri, a local Munduruku association, as well as the Munduruku Wakoborûn Women’s Association. In 2020, Alessandra won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for her work defending the culture, livelihoods and rights of Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
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Laurel Sutherlin is the senior communications strategist for Rainforest Action Network. He is a lifelong environmental and human rights campaigner as well as a naturalist and outdoor educator with a passion for birds and wild places. Follow him on Twitter @laurelsutherlin.
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Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner is a writing fellow at Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, AlterNet, Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and other publications.
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Anita Krajnc is executive director of the Animal Save Movement and global coordinator of the Plant Based Treaty initiative.
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Carrie P. Freeman, PhD, is a professor of communication at Georgia State University and is a co-founder of Animals and Media.
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Carter Dillard is the policy adviser for the Fair Start Movement. He served as an Honors Program attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and also served with a national security law agency before developing a comprehensive account of reforming family planning for the Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal.
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Daniel Ross is a journalist whose work has appeared in Truthout, the Guardian, FairWarning, Newsweek, YES! Magazine, Salon, AlterNet, Vice and a number of other publications.
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Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and author of 31 books of nonfiction for adults and children. She is the recipient of lifetime achievement awards from the Humane Society and the New England Booksellers Association.
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For more than two decades, Darryl Knudsen has channeled the power of civil society movements to create enduring, positive change toward social and environmental justice for the underrepresented. Darryl holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a BA from Dartmouth College. He served as the executive director of International Rivers.
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Elliott Negin is a senior writer at the Union for Concerned Scientists.
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April M. Short is an editor, journalist, and documentary editor and producer. She is the Local Peace Economy editor of the Observatory.
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Reynard Loki is a co-founder of the Observatory, where he is the environment and animal rights editor. He is also a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute, where he serves as the editor and chief correspondent for Earth | Food | Life.
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Steve Taylor is the press secretary for Global Justice Ecology Project and the host of the podcast Breaking Green. He is the recipient of the Leo and Kay Drey Award for Leadership from the Coalition for the Environment for his work as co-founder of the Times Beach Action Group.
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Omala Snyder studies English literature, creative writing, and international relations at Dartmouth College.
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David Hastings is a marine scientist.
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Irikefe V. Dafe has advocated for river protections in Nigeria and throughout Africa for three decades. Much of his work has focused on protecting the River Ethiope and the rights of communities who rely upon the river for food, water and their livelihoods. He is a lead organizer of the First National Dialogue on Rights of Nature in Nigeria. He is also the founder and CEO of River Ethiope Trust Foundation and an expert member of the UN Harmony with Nature Initiative.
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Frederick Clayton is an investigative journalist with the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism focusing on environmental themes, specifically water and sanitation issues worldwide.
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Anne Petermann is the executive director of Global Justice Ecology Project.
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Karen Davis, PhD, is the president and founder of United Poultry Concerns, an award-winning animal rights activist and the author of numerous books.
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Mary Mazzoni is the senior editor of TriplePundit and director of TriplePundit’s Brand Studio.
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Elizabeth Henderson is co-chair of the Interstate Council policy committee of the Northeast Organic Farming Association and represents the Interstate Council on the Board of the Agricultural Justice Project.
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Lucy Goodchild van Hilten is a writing fellow at Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute. She has served as assistant editor of Microbiology Today and senior marketing communications manager for Life Sciences at Elsevier. She holds an MSc degree in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from Imperial College London.
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Nital Jethalal is a policy analyst and economist.  He currently serves as strategist and policy advisor for the Plant Based Treaty and also oversees economics and policy research for Plant Based Data. Nital is also the president of  VegTO and a director at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank.
  • Guide to Conscious Consumption (#4: The Palm Oil Industry Is Pushing Critically Endangered Elephants to Extinction by Laurel Sutherlin)
  • Guide to Conscious Consumption (#5: The Myth That Meat Is Essential for Human Health Could Harm Us All by Jennifer Barckley)
  • Guide to Conscious Consumption (#3: Want to Help Stop the Plastic Scourge? Stop Relying on Recycling and Do This Instead by Lydia Chodosh)
  • Guide to Factory Farming (#3: Investigation Exposes Animal Abuse at U.S. Supplier to World’s Largest Meat Company by Reynard Loki)
  • Guide to Factory Farming (#1: Factory Farm Conditions Are Terrible for Animals—and Humans, Too by Tia Schwab)
  • Local Peace Economy Guide (#2: Understanding the Solidarity Economy and Just Transition by April M. Short)
  • Local Peace Economy Guide (#3: Why the U.S. Culture of Colonial Extraction Is Making People Sick and Destroying the Planet by April M. Short)
  • Local Peace Economy Guide (#4: Lessons from Mutual Aid In Social Justice and Survival by April M. Short)
  • Guide to Renewable Energy (#2: How Bioenergy Causes Air Pollution: The Dark Side of Renewable Energy by Sam Davis)
  • Guide to Renewable Energy (#1: Can We Abandon Pollutive Fossil Fuels and Avoid an Energy Crisis? by Richard Heinberg)
  • Guide to Renewable Energy (#5: The Renewable Energy Transition Is Failing by Richard Heinberg)
  • Guide to Renewable Energy (#3: Damming Rivers Is Terrible for Human Rights, Ecosystems and Food Security by Darryl Knudsen, Deborah Moore, Michael Simon)
  • Guide to the Plastic Crisis (#6: Want to Help Stop the Plastic Scourge? Stop Relying on Recycling and Do This Instead by Lydia Chodosh)
  • Guide to the Plastic Crisis (#5: Our Planet Versus Plastic Bags—A Tale of Two Cities by Erika Schelby)
  • Guide to the Plastic Crisis (#3: 600 Million Metric Tons of Plastic May Fill Oceans by 2036 If We Don’t Act Now by Tina Casey)
  • Guide to the Plastic Crisis (#4: Ninety-Nine Percent of Seabirds Will Have Plastic in Their Guts Within Decades by Lorraine Chow)
  • Guide to the Plastic Crisis (#1: The Complex and Frustrating Reality of Recycling Plastic by Mary Mazzoni)
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