Press Registration
***APPLYING FOR PRESS CREDENTIALS FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORUM***
Press planning on attending the Presidential Candidate Forum on Sunday will need to BRING the following documents on
Saturday before 1:00 p.m. to room W187C at McCormick Place West in order to receive credentials:
- THE ONSITE PRESS CREDENTIAL APPLICATION FORM (THE FORM ON THE TOP PAGE THAT YOU
CAN DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OUT).
- A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR/PUBLISHER/GENERAL MANAGER ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD GIVING YOU
AUTHORIZATION TO RECEIVE PRESS CREDENTIALS ALONG WITH THE DAY YOU ARE COVERING THE EVENT.
- BUSINESS CARD AND GOVERNMENT ID (DRIVERS LICENSE).
Additional Information:
- Press companies that are registering on-site and are bringing video crews can only bring up to 3 people.
- Press companies that are registering on-site can only bring 3 members of journalists/reporters/editors.
- Each person that wants to cover the event will have to physically pick up the badge, no couriers, no one
person representing the organization picking up for additional passes.
- Once you are approved, you will need to go to the press registration booth in the registration area and
receive your badge for the Sunday event.
- The event will start promptly at 11:00 a.m. in the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place West. The doors will shut at 9:45 a.m.
Please read below the conference advisory on proper guidelines before going to the event. The press room will shut down right
before 9:45 a.m. and there will not be a press room after the event.
- More information about the event is included in a press release below.
***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU DO NOT BRING THE COMPANY LETTER OR GOVERNMENT ID YOU WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE A PRESS PASS AND WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR REGULAR REGISTRATION.
NO EXCEPTIONS.***
UNITY '08 REGISTRATION
$575.00 - MEMBER RATE
$800.00 - NON MEMBER RATE ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Security Guidelines for Presidential Candidate Forum for Barack Obama
CNN will offer a live broadcast of the appearance of Barack Obama Sunday, July 27th in the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place
West convention center. This event is sponsored by CNN and TIME Magazine. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. The U.S. Secret Service
will be in charge of security and has imposed the following guidelines:
· Only registered conference attendees with official UNITY '08 conference badges will be permitted inside the event.
· Everyone entering the event must pass through a metal detector and all bags will be searched.
· There will be separate entrances for conference attendees and members of the
working press with official UNITY credentials to cover the event.
· Only working press with UNITY press credentials will be permitted in sections reserved for the press. Space for print and for
broadcast members of the press is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
· No luggage will be permitted in the room where the event is taking place or at McCormick Place West.
· Doors will close at 9:45 a.m. and no one will be permitted to enter or exit the room until the event is
over at approximately 12:00 p.m.
· Attendees without press credentials are discouraged from bringing laptops, recorders and other electronic equipment because it
will slow the security check significantly.
Additionally, there will be no photography permitted by anyone other than working press during the event.
There will be no live broadcast of this event by any person or organization other than CNN. CNN will provide a free,
clean satellite feed of the event after the live broadcast and will give the satellite downlink coordinates to all interested news media.
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Senator Barack Obama to Speak at Journalists of Color Convention
CHICAGO – Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will speak Sunday, July 27 to attendees of UNITY ’08, here for the quadrennial convention of
UNITY Journalists of Color, Inc. Obama’s speech will be the final event of five-day conference that attracted nearly 7,000 journalists from across the country and will be televised
live at 11 a.m. (CDT) from the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place West convention center.
Obama’s appearance will be his first public address after returning from his trip to Europe and the Middle East. Only attendees of the UNITY convention and working press
who received prior press credentials will be permitted to attend.
There will be no media availability at the close of the program. Obama will take questions from a panel of journalists moderated by Suzanne Malveaux, CNN anchor, and
Romesh Ratnesar, world editor, TIME magazine. The panel of questioners include John Yang, White House correspondent, NBC News, representing the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA);
Leonard Pitts, Jr., columnist, The Miami Herald, representing the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ); Dianne Solis, senior writer, The Dallas Morning News, and representing
the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; and Brian Bull, assistant news director, Wisconsin Public Radio, representing the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA).
UNITY also asked Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, to speak at the conference. The McCain campaign declined the invitation, citing scheduling conflicts.
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging media organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity.
The UNITY convention has been held regularly since 1994. This year’s convention, titled “A New Journalism for a Changing World,” from July 23-27, focused on how diversity concerns issues are impacted
by current changes in the media industry. Other conference features included professional development workshops, a career expo, student journalism projects, media, and awards for outstanding works by journalists of color.
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About the UNITY '08 Convention
The UNITY '08 Convention will take place July 23-27, 2008, at the McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois. The convention, which is the world's largest gathering of
journalists of color, is the signature event of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc., an alliance representing nearly 10,000 members of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA),
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA). UNITY 08's media and career
expo will be the largest in the news industry. With more than 400 booths, the expo will provide opportunities for media organizations, non-media organizations, non-profits and government agencies
with a forum to interact and recruit many of the nation's most respected journalists of color. The expo will also showcase training opportunities in the career resource center, an authors'
carousel and press conferences. A convention overview and schedule of events is available at http://www.2008unity.org/schedule.cfm.
Press Credential Information
Press credentials to cover the UNITY '08 Convention will be restricted to journalists (editorial press, not advertising media or PR representatives) assigned to cover the convention.
Registration includes access to some workshops, the media and career expo, plenary sessions, media events and the presidential candidates' forum (no videotaping), however it does
not include meals, and press will have to pay for their own lunches and once they are registered they will be notified of other event meal tickets. Pre-registration for press credentials is closed.
For onsite press credentials, you will need to bring in the application form (click on the above form), along with a letter on company letterhead from your boss giving permission for credentials,
as well as a business card and Government ID to registration (there will be a press registration booth) to receive press credentials. If you do not bring a letter or Government ID, you will not receive
a press pass and will have to pay for registration. Rahnesha may also be reached by phone at (703) 854-3587 or at rwhite@unityjournalists.org if you have any questions. Also, if you are not covering
the full convention, and want to come as non-press attendee, you will need to register online at http://www.2008unity.org/registration.cfm.
Press Room at UNITY '08
Press credentials are only valid for a day, so media covering the entire convention will be asked to apply for credentials for each day that is required (please note: UNITY is limited to giving full convention coverage).
Credentials must be picked at the press registration booth at the UNITY registration area located in the McCormick Place West. The press room at the convention will provide phones, a fax machine, and a limited number
of computers. We encourage credentialed media to bring their own laptops. The press room is accessible on a first-come, first-served basis since space is limited by reporters with credentials. Press Room Hours:
July 23-25, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. July 26, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Acceptance and Notification UNITY reserves the right to decline any requests for credentials. Applicants requesting press credentials or workspace
will be notified via e-mail upon receipt of the application form. UNITY will approve credential requests and notify your news organization of its status.
