Press Passes are available solely for working press staff – defined as individuals employed by recognized media outlets such as television and radio stations, newspapers, and other forms of news coverage, who are on assignment from those outlets and who would not otherwise be attending the convention if their jobs did not require it. Working press staff includes immediate supporting and technical staff such as producers, photographers, camera operators, and sound personnel.
Press Passes are not issued to persons who are attending the convention in a personal capacity. Worldcon has a long tradition that all members of our community – fans, professionals, staff, and programme participants (save only our Guests of Honor) – pay for their memberships. Someone who is a member of the convention staff or who has accepted an invitation to be a programme participant is presumed to be attending the convention primarily in their personal capacity, not as a member of the working press. Similarly, staff from genre press publications and fannish news sources such as fanzines and web sites are not working press for the purposes of this policy and are expected to purchase a membership.
