This policy applies to all activities organised by third parties for the news media during or in connection with ESHG conferences and events. It aims to ensure that information distributed to journalists concerning meetings and research presented there is accurate and is issued at the correct times, complying with any embargoes that may be in place.

All third parties are requested to adhere to this policy.

There are different policies for two types of media materials at the meeting.

1. Those relating to oral and poster presentations.

Companies or other organisations wishing to organise a news conference or any other event for the media during a conference should send a request in writing to the conference media consultant, Mary Rice, at mary.rice(at)riceconseil.eu. Any media event must pertain to presentations being made to the conference in oral or poster sessions, i.e. not at satellite symposia. Reference to the conference can only be made in connection with scientific presentations planned in the official programme of the meeting. This policy applies to any media event, regardless of whether it is held on or off-site. The programme and invitations for any third party media event should be submitted to and agreed by the conference media consultant before any invitations are sent out.

Third party press releases related to scientific presentations at the conference must be labelled clearly with the abstract number, time and date of presentation to the conference, and submitted to, and agreed by the conference media consultant at least seven days before they are issued to the media. Third party press releases relating to any abstracts that are being held back for publication online on the day of presentation to the conference (i.e. those that form part of the official media programme) must be embargoed to match the embargo on the conference official press releases (further details below).

Studies that form part of the official ESHG media programme cannot be included by third parties in their own press conferences before the ESHG embargo has expired.

Third party media materials must not contain the logo of ESHG, and must not be presented in any way that could be construed as suggesting endorsement by the conference of the ESHG.

2. Those relating to products and services offered by exhibiting companies

Media materials that do not relate to an oral or poster presentation to the meeting, and instead are designed to give information about products that exhibiting companies wish to promote at the meeting are permitted on two conditions: 1) they are submitted to and approved by the media consultants prior to the start of the meeting, and 2) they are distributed from the exhibitors’ stall.

Third party media materials must not contain the logo of ESHG, and must not be presented in any way that could be construed as suggesting endorsement by the conference of the ESHG.

ESHG and its media consultant do not make media lists available to third party organisations.

Third parties are requested to abide by the conference embargo policy. Should an embargo be broken, both the third party and the journalist concerned will be held responsible.

The majority of the conference abstracts will go on line on the ESHG web site approximately two weeks before a conference and can be reported from that time onwards. Any abstracts that will form part of the media programme will not be published until the day they are to be presented to the conference. Embargoes for releases on these abstracts must match those on the conference official press releases. Please check with the media consultant about the embargo times for these releases.

All abstracts accepted for presentation at the conference are considered to be confidential from the time the abstract is submitted to the conference until public release at the conference. No information regarding abstracts should be issued until the time the abstracts are published online two weeks before the conference or the day of their presentation at the conference (– whichever is earlier). If there is any breach of confidentiality, the abstract will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the conference programme.

If you have any questions, contact: Mary Rice, ESHG media consultant, email: mary.rice(at)riceconseil.eu