Fox News got excluded from Comdex press tents

Obviously running a major convention is bound to bring some challenges, but one that really was glitch heavy was the media accreditation process.

Generally speaking, media accreditation these days is generally a click or two on the Interweb, and a day or so later getting confirmation that all is well, providing you are a legitimate media type. [Er, er... er, Ed.]

That's what I did for Comdex 2003, with nothing untoward about the process. But others did not share my experience.

One journalist, who runs a weekly radio computer show, was denied entry through the online submission. A phone call later, he was granted entrance through the pearly Comdex gates. Upon arrival, he was again denied a press pass, and only a long discussion with the event staff was he begrudgingly issued a pass.

Far more ridiculous was the denial of Jerry Pournelle of Byte.com fame. Apparently, after being denied accreditation as a Senior Contributing Editor of the magazine, he posted the news on the site and two hours later the problem was solved.

Think that is left field? How about Fox News? That one was dealt with in record time, but can you imagine the phone calls?

On the positive side it does show that, however misguided the final decisions are, the organisers do review the applications for media access. What a shock. µ