What is new for Professional Registration at FanimeCon 2024?

• We recognize that the landscape of Press and Industry have changed so we have updated our rules and policies to be more current. Please read through this as you may get a rejection, if your application has missing information.
• All credentials and verification must be submitted during the application process. We will not review them during the badge pick up process.

What you need to know before applying

• The last day to apply for a FanimeCon Press or Industry badge is May 10th, 2024.
• FanimeCon determines a "professional" by work ethic (not only by the quality of work). As such, we hold our professional attendees to a higher standard. FanimeCon is a "By Fans, For Fans" convention, so our requirements for professional badges differ from other events (in some cases, they slightly differ and in other cases, greatly differ).
• You are expected to follow our Code of Conduct and other policies.
• You represent your company. Any offenses may result in appropriate actions (e.g. your company being blacklisted for the current and/or future years, at the discretion of FanimeCon staff, etc.).
• We make attempts to review our requirements and update them every year and it is not guaranteed that previously approved Press or Industry badge holders will qualify.
• Our rules may differ from other similar events - qualifying as Press or Industry at another event doesn’t automatically qualify you for as Press or Industry at FanimeCon.
• Lost Press and Industry badges that are turned in, are usually returned to the Professional Registration room by our staff. In the event that it is not, please check with our Lost and Found, Convention Operations (ConOps), and nearest hotel’s front desk to see if it has been turned in.

Application process

Applying for a Press or Industry badge is fairly straightforward. You will be filling out an application form with as much information and then submitting it. Once it is submitted, our Professional Registration staff will review and then approve, reject, or ask for more information - the latter two will be accompanied by text from our staff indicating why that status was chosen. All unfinished applications will be marked as rejected on May 11th, 2024 and we will not have any on-site Press or Industry registration.

• Go to the main Professional Registration page and start your application by creating a new account - you will be sent a confirmation email to verify the email address you used
• Fill out all of the forms on the application and add any additional people (this must be done before submitting)
  • Credentials of employment and/or works must be submitted during the application process
  • For the verification portion, if the documentation you are submitting has sensitive information (in the case of W2 or paystub, for example), please redact that information
• Please be patient while we review your application as it may take up to five days. If it’s been more than a week, please email us for an update
• Once we update your application, you will be given information if it’s approved, rejected, or if we require more information from you
  • Approval - nothing else is needed and we’ll send out housing information and interview requests (for press) at a later time
  • Rejected - you did not meet one or more of our qualifications
  • Need more info - this is usually when we require clarification to something on your application or need you to provide more information before we can review your application

Press Requirements

FanimeCon welcomes journalists that are planning to attend and cover FanimeCon for print and/or digital publications. All journalists must be on assignment and will represent the company assigning them at FanimeCon.

• Freelance journalists must be on assignment by a company - verified by a “letter of assignment”
  • The “letter of assignment” must be sent by your editor-in-chief with information that is verifiable on the website on the company domain
• Coverage must be done on non-social media mediums such as printed newspaper publications, a website, or video platform
  • We advise against hosting your website on a free host
  • We do not consider “video summaries” as appropriate coverage
• The press company you are applying on behalf of, must be at least 12 months old by the time that FanimeCon starts (the Friday of FanimeCon) with existing relevant coverage at the time of your application review
• You must be able to provide relevant coverage from other events within the last 6 months
  • Although it is preferred that your recent coverage is relevant (such as other conventions and related events), review is done on a case-by-case basis
• Coverage provided on the website by the applicant as well as the overall website must be regularly posted with some consistency (e.g. not one article every six months)
  • Coverage must be relevant and not just a link/data aggregate from other websites
• We allow one photographer and videographer to accompany a journalist (they must be on your application)
• Returning press must have sent their existing coverage to proreg@fanime.com
  • If existing coverage doesn’t exist, please email us to avoid delays in reviewing your application

Press Interview Procedures

• Closer to the convention, interview requests will be open and available to all approved press badge holders. Interview requests will be reviewed by FanimeCon staff and the Guest of Honor’s management team and submitting an interview request is not a guarantee that you will get an interview slot
  • For approved interviews, you will be sent an email to confirm dates and times. Once approved, please arrive within 5-10 minutes before your interview and check in with the Professional Registration room.
  • If you wish to send questions ahead of time, we can send that over to the Guest of Honor and their management. This may help in situations where we want to make sure that our translators can understand and better interpret the questions during the interview.
  • We will only allow those in your press group access to that interview.
  • Guests may not allow video and audio interviews - this will be noted when you receive your confirmed interview schedule.
• Interviews with non-FanimeCon staff and/or other individual(s) do not require FanimeCon staff interaction and can be done at the discretion of that individual(s). We only ask that you respect the rights and boundaries of everyone being recorded and respect anyone that wishes to not be interviewed.
  • If conducting interviews out in the open, please be mindful of the space being used and do not block traffic flow. If a staffer requests that you move the interview elsewhere, please respect their decision.
• Please use common sense when interviewing any guest. Any offensive questions may result in the interview being cut short.
• In the event that any rule is broken (set by FanimeCon, the Guest of Honor, etc.), the interview may be cut short and future interviews may be canceled.

Industry Requirements

FanimeCon welcomes professionals working on projects that are related to FanimeCon programming that wish to attend FanimeCon on official business. These industries include but are not limited to: video game companies, companies that produce anime and manga, and some trade good companies.

• Industry badges will not be given to non-relevant industries, store owners/resellers, students, cosplayers, or support staff. Support staff includes and are not limited to: administrative assistants attending by themselves, QA, IT, or lower level convention volunteers.
  • Other conventions that apply must not be run by a single individual or school club and be a non-profit or have a parent company that is a non-profit
  • Content creators and cosplayers will only be considered if they are representing a qualified company and working on official business - they will need to have those companies contact us and submit on your behalf
• Industry professionals are broken into two main sections for the purposes of our professional registration qualifications:
  • Part of the creation process - design, creation, high level production, etc.
  • Part of the business side - executives, marketing, business development, sales, etc.
• Industry companies working on anime and manga styles will not be considered unless they are directly working with licensed/copyrighted IP.
  • “Anime-like” or projects that are inspired by Anime do not qualify.
• Industry professionals must have recently (within the last 12 months) or be currently working on projects relevant to anime, manga, or Japanese content.
  • Credible sources of submitted works must be a non-publicly editable website (IMDb, MobyGames, etc.) while private websites/portfolios and community websites that are publicly editable (Wikipedia, etc.) are not accepted.
• All projects must be released and widely available on major platforms
• Convention personnel are required to have a verifiable website for the event and must not use a personal email address.

Additional Access and Information for Press and Industry

These are subject to and may change due to circumstances that may arise during the convention.

• A valid Press or Industry badge grants you full admission to FanimeCon (same as the attendee “Full Weekend” badge)
• Being approved for a Press or Industry badge in prior years or at other events does not guarantee approval for the current or future years at FanimeCon
• There is a limited room block for approved Press and Industry individuals. It is advised to book early as these rooms may fill up with little or no notice. The link and instructions are usually sent out up to five business days after you’ve been approved
  • It is first come, first serve and may fill up/close without notice
  • If the room block is filled up, it is highly recommended that you contact CMR to get added to a hotel’s waitlist. Most individuals on the waitlist are able to get a hotel room within our hotel block
• You represent your company and must behave in a professional manner at all times
• Approved Press and Industry badge holders may register and participate in hosting a panel. These panels will be listed under “Industry Panels” on our website and programming materials.
• Is it not guaranteed that previously approved attendees will have their application approved if it doesn’t meet the guidelines
• Press and Industry badge holders are not allowed to own, operate, work, or assist at any Artist Alley or Dealers table without prior authorization

Additional Access and Information for Press Only

These benefits are subject to and may change due to circumstances that may arise during the convention.

• Press members may sit in the press section during Masquerade (first two rows of seats in the middle section). You will need to show your Press badge to the house ushers and FanimeCon staff. Please fill the rows closest to the stage (first row, then second row, etc).
• Press badge holders are not allowed in The Cosplayer Hangout during non-competition hours unless approved by the Cosplay Gatherings department management team.
• Press badge holders are allowed into Guest of Honor panels 5-10 minutes before general seating starts. You are not allowed to reserve seats for anyone, including other Press badge holders.
  • Please stay in your seat at all times and be mindful that your equipment isn’t blocking others' views. FanimeCon staff may ask that you relocate or reposition your equipment if it is blocking others views.

Post-approval

When your account gets approved, each individual on your application is considered to be approved.

Badge pick up process

Press and Industry badges can be picked up in Room 114 on the first floor of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center (on the San Jose Marriott side) during the following hours.

What if I lose my badge?

If you lose your badge, please check the closest hotel as well as the FanimeCon Lost and Found room to see if your badge has been turned in. If you require a reprint, you will need to pay an amount equal to the general attendee registration price for the badge.

Where do I go for parking?

• The San Jose Downtown Association maintains ParkSJ - a website that displays live parking availability at the various parking garages in downtown San Jose
• For guests staying at a hotel, please contact them for information and availability during FanimeCon weekend

What is required to pick up your badge?

• Government issued identification (no school IDs, press credentials from other events, business cards, etc. are accepted in place of this)
• W2/1099/paystub issued by your company (if this was not submitted beforehand - please verify that this is allowed when applying for your badge)

If something isn't answered here, whom can I e-mail?

If there are any questions, please email proreg@fanime.com. Note that leading up to FanimeCon, responses may be delayed.

Where is the link to apply for Professional Registration?

Professional Registration is now available on our website