Defining Issues – The BEA Press Pass (+ bonus travel tip)

I want to take this opportunity to clarify our press registration policy.  We welcome all members of the press to BEA, which includes bloggers who provide an invaluable contribution to continuing dialogue about books and authors.  That said, we turned down a number of press applications yesterday and unfortunately we notified some individuals of their status well past the 2 week benchmark for evaluation that we stated in our original communication.  For that we are very sorry and we apologize to those individuals (and are working with those individuals to resolve amicably in a way that will make sure they are able to still attend BEA). 

Meanwhile, I wanted to take this opportunity to outline our press guidelines which have always been in place and which we will post to the website for anyone and everyone to see.  Our goal is simple:  to maintain the highest standard of excellence for both our exhibitors and our attendees in everything that we do.  It is with this in mind that we established the following criteria:  

• No one under 18 years of age is allowed at BEA unless they are accompanied by a member of the publishing industry. (This pertains to anyone registering to attend BEA.)
• Professional editorial coverage of BEA in trade magazines, electronic media (TV, Radio, etc.), blogs, periodicals, etc.
• Subject Matter & Focus
• Content Update Frequency
• Community & Traffic (total impressions, circulation for magazines/newspapers, demographics, etc.)

All returning independent and freelance journalists must supply links to stories written AND published in mainstream media outlets as proof of their journalistic qualifications; independent and freelance journalists attending BEA for the first time must provide letter of assignment from mainstream media outlet.  We hope this clears up any confusion and sincerely apologize for the delay in conveying notice.   

 

On a separate travel note - someone forwarded me a tip for cheap hotels.  I have not used this, but very much trust the person who sent this along:

On SkyAuction.com....an online auction for travel, I have purchased numerous things.  It is a legitimate site and there are some good bargains there from time to time.  

One of the things that I have purchased are nights at the Wyndham Garden Hotel at the Newark Airport.... as shown below.  Simply put...the price is right.  A room only cost me $11 + $32 = $43 total.....which isn't bad at all.  Now, I have 'won' two separate auctions for rooms at the Wyndham Newark Airport... that it can be for up to 12 nights....and anytime until Dec. 2012.