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Key Facts
- National overview: ABA states that media credentials are available to reporters, editors working as reporters, producers, video camera operators, and still photographers who present valid press identification.
- National overview: ABA states that exceptions to its media-credential standards must be approved by the Director of ABA Communications.
- National overview: ABA states that if there is limited space for media at an event, it may limit the number of credentials it issues.
- National overview: ABA states that media representatives who violate coverage guidelines for an ABA event, whether written or oral, may have their credentials withdrawn.
- National overview: ABA states that all media credentials must be requested at least three days in advance.
- National overview: ABA states that bloggers and other citizen journalists without formal press credentials must authenticate their status by providing links to their blogs or media outlets.
- National overview: ABA states that media credentials are not available to staff of media advertising, marketing, public relations, or management departments or firms.
- National overview: ABA states there will be no CLE credit available to anyone admitted to an ABA event with media credentials.
- National overview: This archive recovery could not retrieve the legacy 2012 “Guidelines for coverage” text tied to the Scalia coverage post, so this article does not quote or accurately summarize missing 2012 rules.
Last reviewed: May 2026. Legal rules, forms, deadlines, and procedures can change by jurisdiction, agency, and court system.
- Why this archive recovery looks different
- The ABA Midyear Meeting context from 2012
- Why media credential guidance mattered for Supreme Court event coverage
- What ABA says about who receives media credentials
- Space limits, withdrawal of credentials, and content boundaries
- Timing and media relations routing
- Archival vs current what can’t be proven from the missing 2012 guidelines
- How to interpret this kind of policy history
- Sources
Why this archive recovery looks different
The target legacy post on abanow.org—“Guidelines for coverage of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans”—could not be retrieved in this run, so the specific 2012 guideline text cannot be quoted or accurately summarized from the missing page content (legacy ABA Now guidelines post).
The ABA Midyear Meeting context from 2012
Even though the specific 2012 guideline text remains unavailable here, ABA’s contemporaneous Midyear Meeting write-up provides event context. The ABA reported that when the House of Delegates gathered in New Orleans on Feb. 6 during the association’s Midyear Meeting, delegates adopted new policies on a wide range of issues that impact the legal profession. The same write-up also described a featured “Conversation with Justice Antonin Scalia,” in which Scalia shared his experiences and perspectives from “25 years” on the Supreme Court (Delegates Adopt Range of Policies at Association’s 2012 Midyear Meeting).
Why media credential guidance mattered for Supreme Court event coverage
For Supreme Court-related event reporting during ABA programming, media credentials function as an organizational tool. They help event organizers manage access, including who is admitted to particular event areas and how the media is treated compared with other attendees. ABA’s current media-credential policy reflects this practical role for ABA events and supplies a clearer baseline for how ABA may manage media access for its own sponsored programming (ABA “Media Credentials”).
What ABA says about who receives media credentials
ABA’s “Media Credentials” policy states that media credentials are available to reporters, editors working as reporters, producers, video camera operators, and still photographers who present valid press identification (ABA “Media Credentials”). The policy also addresses exceptions by stating that exceptions to its media-credential standards must be approved by the Director of ABA Communications (ABA “Media Credentials”).
Space limits, withdrawal of credentials, and content boundaries
ABA’s policy treats event access as capacity- and compliance-managed. It states that if there is limited space for media at an event, ABA reserves the right to limit the number of credentials it issues (ABA “Media Credentials”). The policy also ties credential status to guideline compliance, stating that media representatives who violate guidelines for coverage of an ABA event, whether written or oral, may have their credentials withdrawn (ABA “Media Credentials”).
The policy also draws boundaries around credential eligibility and related benefits. It states that media credentials are not available to staff of media advertising, marketing, public relations, or management departments or firms (ABA “Media Credentials”). It further states that bloggers and other citizen journalists who lack formal press credentials must authenticate their status by providing links to their blogs or media outlets (ABA “Media Credentials”). Finally, ABA states that there will be no CLE credit available to anyone admitted to an ABA event with media credentials (ABA “Media Credentials”).
Timing and media relations routing
ABA’s policy includes a timing rule for credentials. It states that all media credentials must be requested at least three days in advance (ABA “Media Credentials”). The policy also routes media inquiries through ABA Media Relations: ABA states that to obtain media credentials, media must email ABA Media Relations and specify the event to be covered, and the Media Relations contact page lists an email and phone number (Contact Media Relations).
Archival vs current what can’t be proven from the missing 2012 guidelines
Because the legacy “Scalia coverage” guideline page could not be retrieved here, this article cannot verify the specific scope of the missing 2012 rules (for example, which coverage activities were addressed). That missing-text limitation matters for interpreting the topic responsibly.
| Topic area | What the missing 2012 guideline text provides | What can be verified from ABA sources in this archive recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Exact 2012 coverage instructions | Not retrievable in this run, so specific wording and scope can’t be quoted | Not reproduced in this article; instead, ABA’s current “Media Credentials” policy provides general organizational credential rules for ABA events (ABA “Media Credentials”) |
| Event framing for the 2012 Midyear Meeting | Not available from the specific legacy guideline post | ABA’s Midyear Meeting write-up provides event context, including a Feb. 6 New Orleans House of Delegates gathering and a “Conversation with Justice Antonin Scalia” about his “25 years” on the Supreme Court (Delegates Adopt Range of Policies at Association’s 2012 Midyear Meeting) |
| Whether current policy supersedes the 2012 Scalia guidelines | Not evidenced in retrieved materials | Not claimed here; the article describes current ABA media-credential policy as its own document, not as a documented replacement for the missing 2012 text (ABA “Media Credentials”) |
How to interpret this kind of policy history
This archive recovery stays anchored to what the retrieved sources actually establish: (1) ABA’s 2012 event write-up provides context for the Midyear Meeting and the featured Scalia conversation, and (2) ABA’s current media-credential policy describes organizational credential rules for ABA events. It does not treat ABA event credential standards as a substitute for Supreme Court rules, federal law, or any other binding legal right—because the retrieved documents are organizational policies about ABA-sponsored media access rather than court directives (ABA “Media Credentials”).
For another example of TheFirstFile’s Supreme Court–adjacent archive coverage tied to ABA leadership programming, readers can review Justice Anthony Kennedy’s ABA annual meeting speech (archive).
