I know that conference budgets are going to vary, based on venue, membership, and the economy. But my initial response on hearing that was WTF? You spent HOW MUCH?????????

So, if this is about cutting freebees, I stand behind the RWA.

But…

If all you want is access to whatever resources the press is getting, and are willing to buy a ticket to get that? Then I stand with you as well. While it costs a butt load of money to give a group of people free tickets, it does not cost that much to print up extra press packets, or to put a sticker on a badge that will give people access to the coffee set-up and copy machine, in the press room.

If we’re talking about spending a couple hundred dollars on printing, beverages, and a room that they have to book no matter how many passes are given, then I’m thinking we can probably afford to include even “I heart romance and kitties.com” and the Podunk Picayune Newspaper. If they can afford to come, then they can be treated as press.

Actually, what did they have in the press room, last year? What, specifically, did you have access to, that the average member didn’t get to see? Does RWA set up interviews for you, or are you left on your own? Are there special seats at the Ritas? Any special receptions or face time with writers? What’s the advantage of being a member of the press, instead of an average Joe?

Because it’s generally easier to get a cup of coffee then respect. Give me concretes.

And I suspect, although it may seem like it, if they’ve just stiffed you on something, the board doesn’t automatically have an agenda, other than cutting costs. Decisions sometimes get made because they’ve talked something into the ground, and need an answer so they can move on to the next item on the agenda before everyone goes insane. And sometimes they screw up, and have to go back and tweak the decision. But that takes time. So silence isn’t necessarily stone-walling so much as it is regrouping a bunch of volunteers that are scattered across the country, who are working on other jobs. You can’t turn on a dime, even if you want to.

So although we get the occasional under-medicated wack job with a Napoleon complex and an axe to grind, there are a tons of people in RWA who are doing the best they can. It’s not a unit. It’s individuals.

And sometimes you get volunteers like me in at Atlanta. I was working the information desk and sending people to the ladies room instead of the 10:00 panels, because I didn’t realize I had the hotel map upside down.

It takes a while to get people like me straightened out and pointing in the right direction, even when we are trying to help you.

This year, they might not just have had enough time to sort through the requests, so they had to make a blanket decision. Next year, though, I’d be really surprised if there wasn’t another change, and passes depended on #of unique visitors, whether they are syndicated, and so on.

If the “no internet” rule extends another year or two, then that’s probably time to say, “WTF?” But this time, I don’t see it as saying the Internet isn’t valuable, but a “Holy crap, what do we do now that all of these Internet bloggers/sites want a pass?”

So, where I wouldn’t agree with the way the message was presented, it would at least get the genre out to more readers.

Of course that is still only one or two passes and doesn’t account for why RWA can take ‘national print affiliations’ but not even look at websites or know how to weigh their traffic or readers. If they take any and all ‘national media’ that must mean they aren’t banging down the door to come to nationals. And if they are why can RWA figure out how to say no to print but not net?

Or maybe they are wanting to only do five this year vs however many they have in the past? But they don’t seem to have the need to answer ‘internet’ people since the blog post went up at DA. And I can sort of understand that because I don’t think there was that many people who even knew it was a possible thing much less something that RWA was restricting, so maybe everyone and their dog is emailing them?

Of course if that is the case than why the no net rule if there weren’t that many people requesting or knowing about it in the first place?

It is the one sided view of romance they have protected, lack of answers, lack of real reason other than a vague gosh this could happen and the complete removal of internet media that makes me suspect. I mean this isn’t new. The conference has been going on for how long? AAR has been going since 90something, I do believe The Romance Reader use to go. Along with a few other net folks. I would assume then they just said yes to any and all response for fear of lawsuit but they had no problems saying no to requests last year in Wendy’s case. As well as had no issue with it (as in Wendy understood and didn’t throw a fit, cuz that would have made her look like an ass not RWA). So one would ‘think’ they would have guidelines that would allow people like AAR, DA and the like to at least apply and show they have reason as ‘press’ to be there. But how many print jobs are being lost due to people being moved online? How many people are screaming about omg they are losing the print review section, and yet saying nothing about ones replacing them online? Part of that I would assume is cost but if the paper was getting more attention in print than it was online…. well. It all comes down to money right?

Of course I tend to over think things *g*. And unless Nicole was wrong last year, Jane’s pass was screwed up and not the ‘press pass’ it was suppose to be. So her name was put down or something so she would be ‘allowed’ in the press room. And if I recall correctly there was at least one time she was told to leave, because of her pass, but Nicole walked in and was able to verify she was ‘press’.

Then again maybe that was all new last year… hell if I know

It really, REALLY isn’t about keeping out the mean girls. It’s not agenda, but dollars and cents.

Pubbed or unpubbed, volunteers pay full freight. Speakers get a waiver, I think it’s 100 bucks off.

As far as I know anyone with a conference badge can get into the press room–unless an interview is going on and the doors are closed.