4 November 2014
American Geophysical Union
2014 Fall Meeting
Media Advisory 2
Moscone Center
San Francisco, California
15-19 December 2014
Included in this advisory:
- Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable
- Press registration information
- Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline – Nov. 14
- Journalism awards reception
- First-timers breakfast
- Mass Media Fellows breakfast
- Virtual Press Room launches later this month
- U.S. visa regulations for international reporters
For important information about booking hotels at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1.
1. Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable
All of the 1,700-plus sessions and more than 23,000 abstracts for the 2014 Fall Meeting have been posted in the Scientific Program on the AGU Fall Meeting website.
The full program is now searchable online. To search, enter a search term in the ‘search schedule’ box at the top, right-hand corner and hit ‘Enter.’ To search or browse sessions tied to AGU’s scientific sections and focus groups (e.g. Atmospheric Sciences, Planetary Sciences, etc.), click on the Section/Focus Group link on the left-hand side of the search engine. “Union” sessions offer the most interdisciplinary presentations.
AGU will give out at the meeting, and post online, a book with a Fall Meeting schedule including session titles and times, an author index, maps, floor plans, listings of town hall meetings and activities/events, and other information. Members of the news media can pick up copies in the Press Room (Moscone West, Room 3001A); the book does not include abstract information. AGU will also distribute daily a newspaper-style print listing of all presentations for each day, including abstract titles.
2. Press registration information
Online press registration for the Fall Meeting is now open. Please pre-register to expedite the on-site badge pick-up process.
Press registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all scientific sessions, the press room and the press conference room. For eligibility requirements, please visit the Press Registration Eligibility Requirements page.
Eligible members of the press may also register on-site at the meeting. The on-site registration location, badge pick-up location, and Press Room, Press Conference Room, and Quiet Rooms locations will be included in a future advisory.
3. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline – Nov. 14
The deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is November 14. Hotel reservations are accessible via the online press registration site. It is not required to wait for press registration approval before booking a hotel room, nor is it required to book a hotel room when registering to attend the meeting.
Important: Please be sure to book your hotel through the press registration site to ease your registration process.
Note: AGU will not be offering shuttle service to/from the Moscone Center.
4. Journalism Awards Reception
We invite you to join your Press Room colleagues to honor and celebrate AGU’s most recent journalism award winners during an informal reception. We will recognize the outstanding reporting and writing of 2014 Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–Features award winner Elizabeth Kolbert and the 2014 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–News Award winner Andrew Grant.
The reception will take place in the Press Room (Moscone West, Room 3001A) from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. on Thurs., Dec. 18.
5. First-timers breakfast
Attending your first AGU Fall Meeting and don’t know where to start? Whether you’re covering a scientific meeting for the first time or just haven’t been to the Fall Meeting before, veteran reporters and public information officers will let you in on their secrets for navigating the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists during an informal breakfast 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15 in the Press Room (Moscone West, Room 3001A). The first-timers breakfast is open to all first-time press registrants.
6. Mass Media Fellows breakfast
Are you an alum of the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship program? Whether you were sponsored by AGU or by another organization, please join us for an informal breakfast in the Press Room from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. on Wed., Dec. 17. Share what you’ve been up to since your fellowship and network with other former fellows. All alumni are welcome to attend, even those without press badges.
7. Virtual Press Room launches later this month
For journalists: Journalists covering the Fall Meeting will find many resources online in the Virtual Press Room: Press releases, press conference materials (including PowerPoint presentations, images, videos, scientific papers, and more, as available)and other information. Videos of press conferences will be added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.
For public information officers: PIOs will be able to share press releases online in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading press releases and other supplemental materials to the site. PIOs must register for access to the Virtual Press Room. Instructions on how to register will be included in a future advisory. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
The Virtual Press Room will launch in the Media Center of the Fall Meeting website later this month. Information about press conference webstreaming will follow in a later advisory.
8. U.S. visa regulations for international reporters
All journalists who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States need a visa to cover scientific meetings in the U.S. This also applies to journalists from “Visa Waiver Program” countries (e.g., Western Europe) who do not normally need visas to enter the U.S. as tourists.
The required visa is a “Media (I) Visa” issued by an American Embassy or Consulate in your home country. Journalists traveling internationally to attend the Fall Meeting should apply as soon as possible for a “Media (I) Visa.” The application procedure is simple but can be timely due to a high volume of applications.
The U.S. Department of State has a “Media (I) Visa” fact sheet for journalists available on its website.
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Contact:
Mary Catherine Adams
+1 (202) 777-7530
[email protected]