Press Operations

Thank you for your interest in covering the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium®, presented by UT Health San Antonio and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The SABCS® program features the latest research in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of premalignant breast disease and breast cancer, including data from late-breaking clinical trials. Each year, the Symposium attracts thousands of basic scientists, physician-scientists, clinical investigators, breast care providers, and advocates from around the world.

Complimentary registration is available to credentialed news media and public information officers (PIOs) from cancer centers and other eligible organizations. Please see the policies and guidelines below for media and PIOs covering the Symposium.

Press and PIO Registration 

Press Registration Policy

SABCS® provides complimentary Symposium registration to professional journalists for the express purpose of gathering news and information to produce media coverage of the Symposium in news media outlets, broadly understood as magazines, newspapers, news agencies and wire services, broadcast outlets, and websites that consistently publish editorial news coverage. Press registration is intended for representatives of news media outlets that: 

• Produce ongoing (>6 months), original editorial news coverage;
• If sponsored, have more than one sponsor;
• Clearly identify all sponsors and advertisers;
• Have complete editorial freedom from sponsors and advertisers; and
• Do not provide services that extend beyond publishing news content. (Outlets that produce CME content must also produce editorial content and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.)

To register as press, journalists must provide:

• Official press credentials such as a business card, editorial roster or masthead, international press card, or letter of assignment, and
• Bylined coverage from a recent SABCS®, or for first-time attendees, two examples of recent (<6 months) bylined health/medical/science coverage.

Freelance journalists without a letter of assignment may be eligible for press registration if they can provide a summary of their reasons and goals for attending the Symposium and: 

• Bylined coverage from a recent SABCS®, or for first-time attendees, two examples of recent (<6 months) bylined health/medical/science coverage published in news outlets that meet the Symposium's criteria.

Members of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) who can provide proof of professional membership are permitted to register as press, regardless of assignment.

Broadcast television and radio crews must present valid press credentials from their respective media outlets.

Journalists working for medical and scientific journals must have proof of an editorial news assignment to register, and the publication must have a regularly appearing news section or a special meeting/conference news section. 

SABCS® will consider requests from other potential registrants not covered by the above criteria for press registration on a case-by-case basis. 

All press registration decisions are made at the discretion of the SABCS® public relations team. SABCS®may request additional information before approving a press registration request. Please note: Prior press registration does not guarantee eligibility for the 2024 SABCS®.

SABCS® requests that all coverage include reference to the Symposium.

Press Registration Form

PIO Registration Policy

Public information officers (PIOs), communications professionals, and writers from cancer centers, academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit cancer research organizations are welcome to register for access to meeting press rooms. Each institution is allowed a total of up to two complimentary registrations for PIOs, communications professionals, or writers.

PIO Registration Form

Not Eligible for Complimentary Registration

Individuals who do not meet the requirements above do not qualify for complimentary registration or access to the SABCS® press room and press conference room. Some categories that are not eligible for press or PIO registration include:

• Advertising, marketing, public relations, and other communications representatives affiliated with industry and outside firms
• Individuals affiliated with companies that intend to produce content for internal use, advertising/marketing (including advertorials and sponsored content), or public relations purposes    
• Journal representatives who are affiliated with publications that do not have news sections, or who are attending for the purpose of soliciting manuscripts and other submissions, advertising, or subscriptions from meeting attendees or exhibitors
• Financial analysts and consultants

This list is not exhaustive. As noted above, all press registration decisions are made at the discretion of the SABCS® public relations team, and prior press registration does not guarantee eligibility.

Please contact Kathleen Venango at kathleen.venango@aacr.org with any questions about the registration process.

Embargo Policy

Please read the following information closely regarding the embargo policy for SABCS®. You may contact Julia Gunther at julia.gunther@aacr.org with additional questions. 

With the exception of those selected for the official SABCS® press program, abstracts submitted to SABCS® are confidential and embargoed until they are published on the SABCS® website November 25, 2024. Embargoes on abstracts lift as soon as the abstracts are available online. 

Abstracts selected for the SABCS® press program are embargoed until the date and time of presentation, either at an official SABCS® press conference or in a scientific session. Press program abstracts will be made publicly available once the embargo lifts.

Institutions or companies planning to promote abstracts that are selected for the official SABCS® press program must contact Julia Gunther at julia.gunther@aacr.org to ensure all embargo policies are followed. The SABCS® public relations team will contact presenters directly if their abstract is selected for the press program.

Outside Press Releases

Public information officers or public relations firms representing academia or industry with abstracts in the Symposium can issue press releases on information that is available via the SABCS® website or virtual meeting platform. With the exception of abstracts selected for the press program:

• Abstract text will be published to the SABCS website on November 25 at 4:30 p.m. CT. A press release disclosing data in an abstract may be issued at this time.
• Posters, including posters selected for spotlight presentation, will be published to the virtual meeting platform for registered attendees on December 10 at 8 a.m. CT. A press release disclosing data in a poster may be issued at this time.
• For oral presentations, any information beyond that which is included in the abstract is embargoed until the beginning of the session where the study is being presented.

Embargo Violations: Presenters and Public Relations

Presenters, their companies/institutions, and affiliated public relations representatives who break the SABCS® embargo policy as outlined above could jeopardize an abstract’s placement in the scientific program and press events.

Embargo Violations: Media

Individuals registered as press for SABCS® agree to abide by all embargoes. In advance of the meeting, SABCS® will provide abstracts, press releases, and other materials under embargo to facilitate accurate and comprehensive reporting. Failure to abide by SABCS® embargoes may result in removal from SABCS® pre-embargo press lists and dismissal from current and future SABCS® meetings.
 

Photo, Video, and Audio Recording Policy for Registered Media and PIOs

Registered media are permitted to take photos, film interviews, and record audio in the following areas of the convention center: 

• Press conference room
• Interview rooms (daily limit: 2 hours per outlet)
• Hallway in the immediate vicinity of the press room (see press room staff for guidance)

Registered media may also take photos and record audio in the common areas of the convention center. Registered media may record video in the common areas of the convention center with a special camera tag or SABCS® press room escort only. Please see the press room staff to request a camera tag or escort. (Please note the “common areas of the convention center” do not include the exhibit hall. Rules regarding the exhibit hall are below.)

You may not take photos or record video or audio in session rooms for public or commercial use. You may take photos of slides and utilize hand-held devices to record excerpts of presentations for personal and non-commercial use only. Please be mindful to not share any slides marked “DO NOT POST” on social media or elsewhere.

Photos, Video, and Audio Recording in the Exhibit Hall Poster Sessions

Registered media may request photos of the exhibit hall from SABCS® press room staff. Brief b-roll shots of the exhibit hall are permitted if accompanied by an SABCS® press room escort. Please see the press room staff to request an escort.

Exhibitors must obtain approval to photograph, videotape, and/or audiotape (including time-lapse photography) in the Exhibit Hall. For approval, please submit your request to sabcs-exhibits@uthscsa.edu no less than 60 days before the first day of move-in. Approval is at the sole discretion of SABCS®.  Additional information can be found in the Exhibitor Prospectus.

Poster Sessions

Registered media and registered PIOs are permitted to take photos and record video and audio at posters with the express, written consent of the poster presenter. Due to space constraints, only small hand-held devices are allowed. No tripods or other equipment that may interrupt the flow of traffic in the aisle or prevent attendees from accessing posters may be used. Registered media and registered PIOs must inform press room staff before recording any videos at a poster session.

Other Filming Requests

Outlets and individuals who are interested in filming at SABCS® but who do not qualify for complimentary media registration should contact the SABCS® public relations team with their request.

Media Resources 

Media Badge Pickup at Registration Area in Main Entrance
Registered reporters can pick up badges in the registration area at the Henry B. González Convention Center’s main entrance starting at noon on Monday, December 9. There is a special booth designated for media badges. Once you arrive in the press room, Room 217A-C, check in at the front desk to receive a press ribbon.

Press Conferences From December 11-13 in Room 217D
Three press conferences will be held in Room 217D at the convention center and simultaneously broadcast via Zoom for virtual attendees:

• Wednesday, December 11
  7:15 a.m. CT
• Thursday, December 12
  7:15 a.m. CT
• Friday, December 13
  7:15 a.m. CT

Press conferences are only open to registered reporters and PIOs.
 

Press Room Open December 10-13 in Room 217A-C
The press room will be located in Room 217A-C at the convention center. Hours of operation are as follows:

• Tuesday, December 10
  12 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. CT
• Wednesday, December 11
  6:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. CT
• Thursday, December 12
  6:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. CT
• Friday, December 13
  6:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT

Interview Space
Journalists are welcome to film in the hallway in the immediate vicinity of the press room. There are also a limited number of private interview rooms available to registered reporters only for a maximum of two hours per day, per outlet. To reserve space in one of these rooms, please contact Julia DeMalto at julia.demalto@aacr.org.

Contact

For more information on SABCS® and press operations at the Symposium, contact a member of the public relations team:

Julia Gunther, Director of Public Relations, AACR
julia.gunther@aacr.org
770-403-7690

Kathleen Venango, Manager of Public Relations, AACR
kathleen.venango@aacr.org
215-290-5408

Julia DeMalto, Coordinator of Public Relations, AACR
julia.demalto@aacr.org
215-446-7127