DefCon X Press Info

Press Information

Press Information	Press Contact: B.K. DeLong Press Coordinator Def Con X press at defcon d0t org First things first - no DEF CON CREDENTIALLED member of the media will have to pay for entrance IF THEY PREREGISTER. If you arrive on-site and you haven't pre-registered as press with me and received a confirmation, you will have to pay the $75 entrance fee. So - pre-register NOW: To PRE-REGISTER as press for DEF CON, please send the following information to press@defcon.org: NAME PUBLICATION TITLE EMAIL PHONE MOBILE URL Attendees are naturally wary of anyone claiming to be press so it's important that if you will be representing the media that you make an attempt to be credentialed - we become your validation as press to the rest of the attendees who will be instructed to be careful of anyone representing themselves as a member of the media yet does not carry a Def Con Press Badge. I will also need a URL to your past articles covering security for the publication you're representing as well as contact information for your Editor. I will let you know within 48 hours if you can expect a press badge at the show. If you choose not to pre-register and show up on-site requesting press credentials WE WILL NOT GUARANTEE YOU GET ONE and YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY $75 TO GET IN. If registering on-site, please bring paper copies of past articles covering security for your publication and contact information for your editor (we may need to reach them before we approve your credentials). ALL JOURNALISTS SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 2 BUSINESS CARDS TO PRESENT UPON REGISTRATION WHETHER YOU'VE PREREGISTERED OR NOT. EXTRA POLICY FOR BROADCAST MEDIA Because of the problems in past years associated with the media DEF CON has established a set of guidelines everyone with a media-recording device must agree to. Ok so here is the score. DEF CON will allow press people into the common areas. These areas include the Capture the Flag areas, Vendor areas, DJ / Rave rooms. If an attendee is in one of these areas it is their responsibility to be aware of and avoid the cameras. Short of banning all recording devices and strip-searching every attendee, we see no other alternative. This means.. Everyone with a recording device MUST respect people who request not to be filmed or photographed. DEF CON will allow press into the speaking areas to only film the speakers, and we will rigorously enforce this rule. If anyone, including attendees, is found to be recording or photographing people who do not wish to be, they will be removed from the convention and must surrender their recording media/film for erasure of the offending content. This rule is the result of (a) too many camera men trying to sneak an audience shot in with out notifying the crowd or (b) one too many camera men walking around pretending their camera was off when in reality they were "secretly" recording the attendees. Anyone filming or recording these presentations must receive official permission from the speakers to redistribute or rebroadcast any portion of said content. DEF CON Staff is there for the protection of the attendees and the press. Two years ago an errant cameraman decided to ignore a staff member and was almost flattened by a rampaging cDc gorilla (yes it's true). We want to prevent issues like this from arising again. We won't bother you with trivial stuff, but we are trying to prevent the attendees from getting pissed off at us and the media - and at this show, you do NOT want to upset an attendee. Finally, if we catch you giving your press badge to non-credentialed press, you will be escorted off the premises and not be allowed to return. We sound like press nazi's, I know - but we've had too many people in past years scamming press badges, misrepresenting themselves to attendees, causing arguments and even fighting with speakers (our GUESTS) and it's simply not worth the hassle. All badges reported lost or stolen will incur a $75 replacement fee. We welcome all legitimate press to the show and hope you don't mind our heavy-handed tactics to weed out the riffraff who give you a bad name. FOR DEALING WITH ALL THIS PREREGISTERING CHAOS There will be press rooms available and a schedule of when speakers and others are available for interviews. Video crews can set up in these rooms and conduct interviews, however keep in mind they are first come, first serve and be expected to SHARE a room once you're in it. The Sound of Knowledge will be recording all the speakers, and this stock footage can be bought cheaply the day of the show. You will also have access to the DEF CON Wireless Network and we are doing our best to make Ethernet available up there as well. Wireless cards MAY be available for purchase at the show but there are also computer stores in town where you can purchase one. If you need something to show your boss that's a little less crass than the above, we've prepared the following item - we will also ask you to read and initial this at on-site registration so there's no after-the-fact claims of "I never saw the policy".
Introduction	Hello and Welcome to DEF CON TEN. If you're reading this, you are applying for a press pass at this year's show. Press registration is open to any member of the broadcast, print and Internet media (book authors included) who can prove they work for an organization or publication that covers computer security on a regular basis. We welcome anyone to apply for a press pass but reserve the right to deny you a pass. As such, please be prepared to show us copies of your articles either at your publication's Web site or on the publication's masthead should we request it. Please be able to present a business card and contact information for your assignment editor should we need it to validate your credentials before issuing you a pass.
Requirements	Due to the obscene amount of journalists in past years, we are now requiring that everyone vying for press credentials PRE-REGISTER or pay the $75 entry fee if you choose to register on-site. Attendees will be told not to trust anyone claiming to be a journalist without DEF CON press badges because those people have not been properly credentialed. If you are issued a press pass, please make sure it is visible at all times. Due to situations in the past where people have given their press passes to other attendees, you may be asked at random by DEF CON staff to present a photo ID and/or business card to validate you. Since these are the same credentials needed to be issued a press pass, you need to have them on-hand - ALL persons on the event premises must be wearing the DEF CON badge at all times. Please respect the privacy of the attendees. If they give you information that normally only be given as background, please verify it as printable/broadcastable. Many of the attendees are juveniles and may have no previous experience talking to the media. We'd appreciate your cooperation in not exploiting this fact. Should you be caught giving your press badge to a non-credentialed attendee (or violating rules set by DEF CON conference staff) you will be escorted off the premises and asked not to return.
Special Broadcast Media Requests	If you are a member of the broadcast media (radio or television), please respect any requests from attendees not to be photographed, filmed or recorded. Broadcast journalists will have free reign in the common areas - the Capture the Flag areas, Vendor areas, and DJ / Rave rooms. However, this means DEF CON staff will only allow broadcast media into the speaking areas to film speakers and will rigorously enforce this rule. If anyone, including attendees, is found to be recording or photographing people who do not wish to be, they will be removed from the convention and must surrender their recording media/film for erasure of the offending content. This rule is the result of (a) too many camera men trying to sneak an audience shot in without notifying the crowd or (b) one too many camera men walking around pretending their camera was off when in reality they were "secretly" recording the attendees. DEF CON staffers are here for the protection of the attendees and press. Last year an errant camera man decided to ignore a staff member and was almost flattened by a rampaging cDc gorilla (yes it's true). We want to prevent issues like this from arising again. We won't bother you with trivial stuff, but we are trying to prevent the attendees from getting pissed off at us and the media.
Amenities	There will be a press area containing a press room with telephones and Internet access as well as a schedule of sessions and events. There will be a few rooms available for recording interviews - please let us know if you need access to such a room. Due to limited access of these rooms, some groups may need to "share" time. To make it easier to interview the more popular speakers, we will be holding several "press conferences". A separate schedule is available at registration and in the main press room. If you have a speaker you'd like to interview, please let us know and we will do our best to locate them. However due to the amount of attendees at DEF CON this is often extremely difficult and we recommend you try to connect with said speaker shortly after their talk. The Sound of Knowledge will be recording all the speakers, and this stock footage can be bought cheaply the day of the show.
Important Note	As part of your press registration, please read these guidelines and initial a copy. This certifies that you read and will abide by these guidelines and will allow us to keep you informed of future DEF CON shows.
Contact	Should you have any questions, problems or requests during DEF CON, please contact B.K. DeLong - He is staying in the Alexis Park Hotel.