For the full version of the PRCA Media Guide, please visit http://www.prorodeo.com/Media_Guide.aspx

NOTE: The following guidelines govern media covering PRCA events, as well as those co-sponsored and approved by the association. All media must review these guidelines. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may, at the discretion of the PRCA and/or the respective rodeo committee, result in forfeiture of media credentials and an immediate escort from the premises, as well as refusal of accreditation for future events. Unless specified otherwise, journalists and media are general terms for print, electronic, television, Internet and photo journalists.

General media guidelines and regulations

Credentials are distributed on an as-available basis to journalists of recognized news outlets who are on assignment to cover the event and/or the PRCA. Journalists must represent recognized daily or weekly newspapers; news services; recognized publications and outlets that regularly cover rodeo; recognized national/regional radio and television networks; local radio and television stations; and/ or recognized Internet sites. In each case, this determination is at the sole discretion of the PRCA and the respective rodeo.

Accreditation badge must be worn at all times. Freelance journalists and photographers must provide proof of assignment to be considered for accreditation. Freelance photographers must sign a form agreeing that the images they take will only be used for that specific publication and for that specific story – they cannot be sold over the Internet or used in any other way.

Credential applications and approved credentials to cover individual PRCA rodeos are available through each individual rodeo. Media credentials should be requested well in advance of the rodeo.

Security checkpoints and procedures have been implemented in the interest of safety for everyone. Accredited media are expected to cooperate with the procedures and requirements implemented for access to the media, photographer and broadcast areas. Media access will vary by rodeo, and the media rules of the respective rodeo must be followed.

Contestants may be available for interviews after they compete.

Many of the individuals staffing media areas are volunteers, and accredited media and broadcasters are expected to treat them with courtesy and respect.

To ensure a positive working environment for all, please avoid making excessive noise in working areas; do not leave belongings in the common work area overnight; and dispose of unwanted papers, etc., to assist in keeping the area neat. A media workroom is not a gathering place for staff and volunteers.

Each individual is responsible for his/her personal property. The PRCA and/or the local rodeo committee are not responsible for thefts or damage to personal items.

Media access to contestant dressing and warm-up areas is regulated by the respective rodeo. Television, radio and Internet

The PRCA owns the rights to originate live, play-by-play coverage from the rodeo grounds, and in many instances, these rights may have been awarded to a broadcast or cable network and/or an Internet provider. Subject to limitations, local radio, television stations, networks and Internet providers who were not specifically granted those rights are nonetheless encouraged to cover PRCA events with the following limitations.

The PRCA retains all rights to the filming, taping, recording in any media now or hereafter known, still footage/ photography, radio or television broadcasting or reproduction in any manner or form thereof of any PRCA-sanctioned event. The only exception is coverage for local, regularly scheduled newscasts. Any nonlocal news outlets must first get approval from the national PRCA office and the local rodeo before they can shoot footage at any PRCA-sanctioned rodeo.

Some rodeo rounds are televised, and for those sessions, access may be limited.

Any TV/radio broadcaster who does not comply with the above regulations will, without warning, have his/her accreditation withdrawn for the remainder of the rodeo and may be banned by the PRCA from covering future events.

For local, regional and national TV news coverage, video of PRCA rodeos shall not exceed three minutes in length in the daily aggregate and must be part of a regularly scheduled newscast. Only prerecorded footage may be included in these reports. The outlet may not purport to show live play-by-play coverage from a rodeo unless approved in advance by the local rodeo and the PRCA.

Local credentialed TV outlets may broadcast live from the rodeo grounds, as long as the broadcast does not include footage from inside the arena (which is covered above).

The use of tripods is limited, based on available space.

Television cameras are not allowed on the arena floor, with the exception of the TV network covering the event.

The PRCA owns the rights to all recorded coverage of its rodeos, whether it airs on a national, regional and/or local network. Such television outlets will provide the PRCA with copies of their coverage upon request.

Radio and Internet (audio or video) coverage may not purport to be live play-by-play from the rodeo unless this capacity has been approved and arranged in advance with the local committee and the PRCA.

For more information, contact PRCA Senior Public Relations Coordinator Jim Bainbridge, 719.528.4746, jbainbridge@prorodeo.com

General photography guidelines

Only PRCA-accredited photographers are allowed to shoot in the arena. The only exception to this is a post-rodeo ceremony shot, if applicable.

Freelance photographers will not be accredited without proof of assignment for a specific media outlet and without signing an agreement to limit usage of the images to the specified assignment. Photographers must shoot from designated photo areas. Photographers may not shoot behind the bucking chutes during a roughstock event except with specific committee approval and may shoot from there for timed events only with the appropriate approval.

Equipment guidelines: Cameras should be an SLR or DSLR, with an appropriate lens to capture action from an appropriate distance to ensure the safety of the photographer and to eliminate the chance of the photographer affecting the conduct of the event. Recommended lenses are 80-200 f2.8, 120-300 f2.8 and 300 f2.8/f4. Photographers shooting in the arena are required to use equipment sufficient to obtaining quality images at a respectable and safe distance from the action. (Norman/ Quantam/Lumindyne 400-watt second flash and battery pack systems with high gain reflectors or the equivalent are recommended. The TTL setting is preferred.) Those shooting behind the chutes must use only equipment that can be carried.

Commercial photography is prohibited unless it has received prior approval and the proper clearances have been made.

Any secondary noneditorial or commercial use of any picture, film or drawing of a competitor is prohibited without prior consent of the PRCA and the contestant.

All pictures must be taken at an appreciable distance, as far from the action as possible, and from angles that are not in the direct line of sight for the contestant or the judges. Most rodeos will have designated photo areas.

Photographers who do not comply fully with the above regulations may, without warning, have their credentials withdrawn for the remainder of the rodeo and may be banned by the PRCA from attending future events.