Welcome to our annual Clinical Congress, which is one of the largest educational meetings of surgeons in the world. We’re glad you can join us, and we genuinely appreciate your interest in covering the conference for your respective audiences. We ask that you carefully review this policy document in advance. It’s been developed to help guide you in covering the meeting and lays out our expectations for all registered media working onsite during the Clinical Congress.
Clinical Congress attendees who meet the appropriate criteria set by the American College of Surgeons and are registered as “media” or “commercial media” must display their credential [name] badges at all times while attending Clinical Congress sessions in the convention center or headquarters hotel. Registered media should introduce themselves as members of the media to speakers/program participants before posing interview questions.
A media or commercial media badge allows registered media access to:
- The Clinical Congress media workspace and News Conference and Interview Room
- The Exhibit Hall that houses the technical exhibits
- The College’s annual Convocation awarding Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons to surgeons from around the world
- The Opening Ceremony, guest lectures, and town hall meetings
- Most Clinical Congress program sessions, with the exception of those mentioned below
Note: Registered media may not attend skills courses, didactic courses, meet the expert sessions, annual Business Meeting of Fellows, the Ethics Colloquium, ancillary meetings, and social events. Didactic and skills course manuals and other materials are not available for viewing by the media.
Recordings and Photography
- Registered media may discreetly take photographs with mobile devices (without flash) from their seats of speakers’ slides to help inform their reporting of lectures and sessions. However, media must clear any copyright permissions for reprint of any slides directly with individual presenters. (The ACS cannot provide copyright permission on behalf of presenters.)
- Photographing presenters during program sessions is prohibited. Official convention photographers have exclusive access to professionally photographing speakers and sessions throughout the conference. Some of their photographs may be available for media use upon request in the ACS Media Room. Video recording is prohibited, unless pre-approved by ACS media relations staff, and livestreaming of sessions is prohibited. Registered videographers must gain permission in advance and register in the Media Room before they will be admitted to any program sessions or the exhibit hall.
- Registered media may use individual audio recorders from their seats during a scientific session to help them cover sessions. Recording equipment must be used discreetly so it does not disturb others. Recordings of the actual proceedings of any scientific session may not be posted online or sold for profit. With the exception of the official convention recording staff, commercial recording equipment is prohibited in all sessions.
- Registered media may take photographs, video, or record interviews for news coverage in the Exhibit Hall on show days, unless there are objections from surrounding exhibitors. Exhibitors have control over their rented booth space and may exercise the right to ask registered media not to photograph or record their commercial exhibits or presentations. Please ask all surrounding exhibitors first if they will permit photography, video, or audio recording in or near their booth spaces. A staff member from the ACS Media Room may accompany registered media to the Exhibit Hall to help you clear permissions with surrounding exhibitors.
- Photography, video, and recording devices are allowed during news briefings held in the ACS News Conference and Interview Room. Such photos and recordings may be used to augment articles in print, online, or for broadcast. However, individual photos and recordings taken at these news conference sessions may not be sold for profit.
Speaker Slides
Many speakers are willing to share a copy of their presentation slides with reporters as a resource to help them develop news articles. Contact a staff member in the ACS Media Room for assistance in securing slides, if available. Journalists must clear any copyright/permissions issues related to content on presentation slides directly with the presenter(s). Speakers’ slides may not be reproduced and sold for profit.
Members of the media are required to adhere to the criteria set forth in this document throughout the entire Clinical Congress. Failure to comply can result in being asked to leave a session or forfeiting one’s media credentials.
