A decade under the IWMfluence
Sticking around is a tough act when one’s efforts fall under that loose category of “independently produced, non-corporatized media.” Many smallish (and even smaller) efforts at formally disseminating journalism, prose, commentary, and poetry by the denizens of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond have come and gone since we started MICRO-FILM just before the Millennium. Therefore, we happily acknowledge a milestone reached by one of our surviving contemporaries by sending not-very-long distance congratulations to Troy Michael and his staff at Innocent Words Magazine, which crossed its 10th anniversary at the tail end of 2011. The Danville based on-line review of indie music and culture launched with the copy-shop Confronting Innocent Words… before upgrading to a bi-monthly newsprint format distributed in downstate Illinois and many other American cities through numerous brick-and-mortar and mail-order record stores. Since discontinuing the print edition in 2008, IWM has posted a daily news feed and monthly features exclusively to the Web; you can see their current cover graphic below. Check in here for the first of Michael’s 2012 commentaries about the birth and growth of IWM, including a sister record label and fundraising efforts for charity, as well as the rapidly shifting global music scene to which it contributes. May the next decade flow freely with Innocent Words!
~ Jason Pankoke
