American Astronomical Society

Reporters

Please consult our Press Officer, Steve Maran, for press credentials at the meeting, referrals to experts, and other media matters. Working press should not complete the meeting registration form, but check with Dr. Maran at 202-328-2010, ext. 116, steve.maran@aas.org.

We distribute press releases from numerous institutions to accredited members of the news media. To subscribe to the press release mailing list, send us your name, affiliation, internet address, postal address, and telephone number, with your request, along with a statement to the effect that you agree to respect proper embargoes on press releases that we forward to you. Your request should go to press-list@aas.org.

We do not publish press releases from an AAS meeting on the Web and we normally do not distribute them to reporters by email until just before the time of presentation of the corresponding findings at the meeting. All findings are embargoed until the time of presentation. "Time of presentation" means the start time of the Oral or Display paper session in which the paper will be given, or the time of the corresponding press conference (if any), whichever comes first. The schedule of press conferences is sent to reporters on our distribution list by email. Many of our press conferences are made available to offsite reporters by means of telephone conference calls, which carry the press conference audio and which accommodate reporter questions, and by near real-time slidecasts, which convey each slide that is shown in a press conference to a website with a roughly two-second delay. Information on how reporters can log on to the conference calls and slidecasts is sent by email to reporters on our press mailing list in advance of each meeting.

Scientists

Press Conference List: Shortly before the meeting, the list of press conferences will be posted on the AAS website, with references to the corresponding meeting papers.

Press Releases Not on the Web. We are aware that astronomers who miss the meeting are often questioned by students and friends concerning the findings reported in the media. However, we do not post the press releases from the meeting on the Web because we supply information to the media, we don't compete with them in getting the information out. Press releases on individual papers and findings are prepared by the author institutions and not by the AAS.

Deputy Press Officers: At least one of the Deputy AAS Press Officers (Dr. Rick Fienberg and Prof. Larry Marschall) works with Dr. Maran at each AAS Meeting.