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Event press accreditation workflow
Journalists, bloggers and a camera crew have all asked for press passes, and the committee has no way to say yes or no.
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The short answer
Set written criteria before the first application arrives, collect only the details the review needs, give one named person the decision, and say in the approval what the pass allows: which zones, which sessions and what material.
Keep the criteria about the work the person does, not about whether you expect favourable coverage.
Decide who counts as press
Write down the categories you will consider, for example staff of a news outlet, freelancers with a commission, trade publication writers and creators with a stated audience. State what evidence you will accept for each, such as an editor's email or a published sample.
The categories are your decision as organiser. Apply them the same way to every applicant.
The workflow
- Publish the criteria, the deadline and what a pass allows.
- Use a short form. Check the fields with the registration form field minimiser: name, outlet, role, contact and evidence are usually enough to start the review, and sensitive details are not needed for it.
- Assign one reviewer and a second person for disputed cases, and set a date for decisions.
- Reply to every applicant with approve, decline or ask for more, and say why in a sentence.
- Issue passes with the access written on them or in the approval email.
- Give approved press the programme, the rules for recording and photography and the contact for interview requests.
What a pass allows
| Access | Decide | Note on the approval |
|---|---|---|
| Zones | Press room, session rooms, backstage or none | List the zones |
| Sessions | All sessions or named ones; closed sessions excluded | List the sessions |
| Recording and photography | Rules for stage, audience and delegates | Link to the recording plan |
| Material | Press kit, slides, embargoed items | State what and when |
| Interviews | Who arranges them and when | Name a contact |
Records and privacy questions
- What personal data may we collect from press applicants, and what must the notice say? (data protection contact)
- How long should applications and decisions be kept, and where? (data protection contact)
- May we share the list of accredited press with sponsors, speakers or the venue? (data protection contact and legal adviser)
- What terms can we state on the pass about photographing delegates and speakers? (legal adviser)
- Do we need anything from outlets about how they use images taken at the event? (legal adviser)
- The event team gathers the answers and keeps them with the accreditation file. It does not decide what is lawful.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional industry summit with 22 press applications
Fictional organisation and figures, illustrative only.
A fictional manufacturing summit received 22 applications. The reviewer approved 12 against the written categories, asked six for a commissioning email and declined four whose sample material was not editorial.
Approved press were limited to the main hall and the press room, closed roundtables were excluded, and the pass note linked to the recording rules. The applications were kept in one file with the privacy answers.
Use this yourself
Press accreditation criteria and review sheet
Adapt this list into your published criteria and your internal review sheet.
- Categories of press accepted and evidence needed for each:
- Application deadline, decision date and named reviewer:
- Form fields (name, outlet, role, contact, evidence) checked for necessity:
- Decision and reason recorded for every applicant:
- Access on the pass: zones, sessions, recording rules, material, interviews:
- On-site check-in plan and who handles disputes:
- Privacy and legal questions sent, answers filed:
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Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Few press applicants and one person decides.
- The access for press is the same as for delegates.
- No embargoed material.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Many applicants and several zones or closed sessions.
- Sponsors or speakers are asking who is attending as press.
- Disputes over access are expected and no one owns the answer.
Want the press desk coordinated?
A conference project lead can draft the criteria and form with you, run the review against your categories, brief the registration desk on access levels and keep the decision log. Privacy and legal questions go to your own advisers.
Questions organisers ask
Should we accredit bloggers and creators?
That is your decision as organiser. Put it in the criteria with the evidence you will accept, and apply it equally.
Can we decline someone who criticised us before?
Decide on the written criteria. Using past coverage as the reason is risky and is worth raising with your legal adviser first.
How does this relate to press releases?
Accredited press usually receive the release first or at the same time. See the press release approval page for how it is cleared.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.