Guidelines for press coverage of public hearings

held during the periods of sessions of the IACHR

 

 

The following are guidelines for press coverage of the public hearings that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) holds during its periods of sessions. If you are planning to cover a hearing, please read these guidelines. Any questions should be directed to the Press and Outreach Office director, Maria-Isabel Rivero, telephone number (202) 458-3867, e-mail mrivero@oas.org

 

Audio: The audio recordings of all public hearings will be uploaded to the IACHR webpage, www.iachr.org, on the same day that the hearing takes place. Radio stations are authorized to broadcast them, provided that credits are properly recognized.

 

Videos: All hearings taking place in Room A will be webcast live in the OAS webpage, www.oas.org. These videos will be available to be watched later on the “Videos On Demand” webpage of the OAS and in the Commission’s webpage. Communication media and organizations that would like to broadcast the hearings are authorized to do so, provided that credits are properly recognized. The highest quality signal available through this system is 65 kbps.

 

Links: The inclusion of links in external websites to the videos of the hearings is authorized. To include a link in your Webpage, please contact Carlos Koo, phone (202) 458 6074, e-mail ckoo@oas.org.

 

Languages: Please note that participants in the hearings may speak in any of the four official languages of the OAS: Spanish, French, English and Portuguese. The videos and audio recordings are made through the channel of original voices and may include different languages in the same hearing.

 

Photographs: The OAS uploads high resolution pictures of the hearings to its Webpage (www.oas.org). The media is authorized to publish them, provided that credits are included.

 

Private hearings: The program of public hearings is made available to journalists for organization purposes only. Please note that the petitioners and the State have the right to ask that the hearing is made private, and they can request this at any time, including minutes before the hearing’s start.

 

Press: Media representatives do not need to present any specific credentials to cover the public hearings. Journalists may be present in all public hearings. The use of audio recorders and portable computers is allowed, with the condition that they do not interfere with the normal development of the hearing. Cellular phones must be turned off before entering the room.

 

Cameras: The taking of photographs (stills and filming for TV) is permitted only during the first five to ten minutes of the hearing. Photographers and cameramen must leave when asked to do so. After the hearing has started, photographers and cameramen will not be allowed to enter the room. TV crews wishing to cover the hearings at greater length or transmit them live may do so taking direct feeds of sound and images from the OAS’ system if that hearing is webcast.

 

Feeds: The audio connections are XLR and the video connections are BNC. Media representatives who would like to tape the hearings through this system should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time of the hearing, so all the equipment is ready at the starting time.

 

Copies of videos: High resolution copies of the videos of public hearings that have been webcast can be required by the public. This service is free for TV channels. The copies can be delivered in Beta SP, in DVCPro or in DVD, according to the election of the party requiring it. They can be picked up at the OAS headquarters on the same day that the hearing took place. Copies can also be sent by mail to media headquartered outside Washington, DC. To coordinate this service please contact Luis Batlle, phone (202) 458-3336, e-mail lbatlle@oas.org.

 

Special service for TV stations: The TV stations headquarted outside Washington, DC, that wish to obtain video footage on the same day that the hearing took place may request the OAS to send them an unedited selection of three minutes of footage through the Internet. This is done through the OAS’ FTP server. For more information on this service please contact Luis Batlle, phone (202) 458-3336, e-mail lbatlle@oas.org

 

Press contact: Any questions and interview requests should be directed to Maria-Isabel Rivero, IACHR’s Press and Outreach Office director, phone (202) 458-3867, e-mail cidh-prensa@oas.org.