Media agencies from around the globe have descended on beautiful Cancun, Mexico, this week to cover the two-day summit of the International Energy Forum, which began Monday. Cancun has been a wonderful host, and reporters are enjoying their time at the lovely Moon Palace resort, hard against the Caribbean Sea.
The IEF's treatment of the media here leaves much to be desired, however.
When the proceedings kicked off at 8:30 local time this morning, it was with the understanding no media would be allowed in the main conference room. Not a great arrangement, but reporters would at least be able to watch the sessions on the two large-screen television sets hanging from a wall in the press room.
Not quite. While a picture of the opening session appeared on the screens, there was no sound. When reporters asked for the sound, IEF workers in the press room sprang into action -- and promptly turned the monitors to black. After several minutes, we were told by workers all sessions in the formal meeting hall over the next two days were "privado" -- private. We protested, so far to no avail.
Reporters here are stunned. Why would the IEF invite scores of reporters -- reporters whose agencies have spent thousands of dollars to get us here -- from around the world to Cancun, only to tell us once we arrived the sessions were private?
Incredible, really. And unprecedented. Some reporters in the press room are now openly discussing the possibility of boycotting the IEF's closing press conference on Tuesday to protest the lack of access.
But when you think about it, it's more than a lack of access. It's a lack of respect as well.
The TV monitors in the press room are back on now....with CNN showing.
Couldn't have agreed more with Kevin. Like him, I too flew several thousand miles to attend IEF. What was most disappointing was the way IEF treated journalists. I have been to conferences where certain sessions are out of bound for journalists. And these are informed well in advance. We don't mind some sessions being held in privacy but the entire conference????
Also, IEF in first place did not say it will place restrictions on journalists. The press invites did not say a single word of any session or let alone the entire event being out of bound for journalists. Rather they kept updating the confirmed participants at the two-day event.
With not a single word on the conference not open to journalist, one would presume media will be allowed to attend. But it did not turn out to be.
IEF displayed the most unprofessional approach to the event. Least they could have done was let the press invites say the event would not be open for press. They did not.
Ammar Zaidi