Indie Light

Okay before we start this, I’d like to say for the purposes or transparency and honest disclosure that we are associated with this organisation, as two members of our team, Freelancer Tom and Tori B Bearly, to be specific have done some work for them, including attending and covering a Black Lives Matter protest at the Glasgow Green back in June 2020. You can feel free to check out the video of this event if you’re interested by clicking here.

Regardless of that association I will endeavour to be unbiased in our coverage of the aforementioned organisation.

As I understand it UMS, which was officially launched to the public on the 24th February 2019 at the Forward Conference in Aberdeen aims to support independent journalists, bloggers and media professionals as they seek out stories from the real Scotland, unfiltered by partisan bias. The contributors are being allowed to find their own stories, and share their own views on matters which interest them and tell stories relevant to their lives and the communities in which they live.

UMS also wants to be Scotland Positive and even at this early stage in their development you can see that, even supporting citizens to report their own stories is a big part of what makes UMS a strong and positive media platform for all of Scotland. But also the desire to support its contributors as they grow, providing whatever resources they can to help it’s contributors flourish and say what needs to be said, whether that involves funding travel, equipment or just the platform itself which could provide new writers with invaluable experience. It all matters and all sets UMS apart, but what attracted me to them the most was that David McGowran, one of the people behind it, said he wanted something honest, without twisting of words, without taking things out of context. I value that morality in journalism and feel it can be sorely lacking elsewhere, so I agreed to sign up to the same editorial guidelines as my fellow contributors and I feel like UMS will become something great and that in a few years I can look back and be proud that I was/still am a part of it.

The project will be funded by paid work by it’s contributors, and from work done for various organisations, such as recent work with the Aberdeen Independence Movement, but it takes a lot to keep an organisation like this running so if you like what you’ve heard and want to help keep it running then you can donate here. If you want to get involved yourself then feel free to reach out and share your passion for Scotland. Which reminds me you can check out their website, as well as their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube if you want to keep up to date with all the goings on with Unchained Media Scotland.