Primetime Debate to be Held on Saturday, January 7, 2012 in Manchester, New Hampshire

ABC News, Yahoo! News, and WMUR-TV, ABC's Hearst-owned affiliate in Manchester, NH, are joining forces to host a Republican presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire on Saturday, January 7, 2012.  The debate occurs at a critical moment in the Republican nomination process - just four days after the Iowa caucuses and three days before the Granite State's first in the nation primary. It will be the only broadcast network debate in primetime before the primary airing from 9:00-11:00pm/ET ( 6:00-8:00pm/PT) from Saint Anselm College. The debate will air live nationally on the ABC Television Network, locally on WMUR-TV and will be moderated by ABC's Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos; they will be joined by WMUR-TV anchor Josh McElveen.

PRESS CREDENTIALS

The credentialing deadline was Tuesday, January 3. A Press/Media credential will grant journalists access to the filing center, not the debate hall. A "Press/Media" credential will grant access to the press filing center only.  A "Spin/Media" will grant access to both the press filing center and the spin room.

PRESS CREDENTIAL PICK-UP

Journalists may pick up their credentials in the vestibule area at the entrance of the Carr Center (identified in green on the attached map) on Saturday, January 7 beginning at 10 a.m.  Media will be required to present photo identification (passport, state ID, or driver's license) AND a company ID upon check-in at the press file center on the day of the debates.

Freelancers may provide a signed letter on company letterhead in lieu of a media company ID. Journalists must wear their credential so that it is visible at all times.

PRESS FILING CENTER & SPIN ROOM

• The press filing center is located in the Carr Activities Center at Saint Anselm College and will be open to credentialed journalists beginning at 10 a.m. on January 7 (identified in light blue on the attached map);
• The media Spin Room is located in the nearby Stoutenburgh Gym (identified in yellow on the attached map) and will open to credentialed media at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday - this excludes ABC NewsOne clients;
• The filing center will remain open until 12:30 a.m. ET for press wishing to file on site following the debate;

• There will be several monitors in the filing center for debate viewing;
• Wi-fi will be available for free in the filing center;
• Cell phones and blackberries generally work inside the filing center and spin room;
• Radio reporters who requested phone lines must provide their own handsets.

STILL PHOTOGRAPHY INSIDE THE DEBATE HALL

ABC News will provide complete photo coverage of the debate. If you would like to be added to the photo distribution list, please email michelle.m.levi@abc.com prior to the debate.

Due to very limited space, there will be a tight pool of photographers chosen by ABC News and the debate sponsors to photograph the candidates. There will be limited access for photographers to the cover the debate while it is in progress. Details regarding members of the photo pool and site specific logistics will be announced in advance and on site in Manchester, NH.

NOTE : As noted in the initial request document, a press credential request does NOT guarantee a place in the photo pool.

PHONE LINES & WIRED ETHERNET

The deadline for ordering hard phone lines has passed.  Only those who indicated they needed a hard line on the request form will have one provided.

INTERVIEWS

Media outlets wishing to request interviews ABC News anchors or correspondents should contact David Ford ( david.ford@abc.com).

CATERING

• ABC News will provide food on Saturday, January 7 beginning at 5:30 p.m., ET.

SATELLITE TRUCK PARKING

• There will be no assigned satellite truck parking, and it will be on a first-come, first-served basis;
• Satellite and microwave truck parking will be available on the south side of Stoutenburgh Gym and Carr Activities Center along Rundlett Hill Road (identified in pink on the attached map).  Media may begin parking their trucks at 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 7.
• Only transmission vehicles (satellite and microwave trucks) will be allowed to park in the area identified in pink on the map. All other media vehicles must be parked in the media parking lots identified on the map in blue.
• Media groups planning on bringing trucks should be sure to have noted so on the request document.  For questions please contact David Ford ( david.ford@abc.com).
• NOTE :  Cable run to Press Filing Center is approximately 500 feet.

GENERAL MEDIA PARKING

Parking for media will be available on the south east side of the press filing center off of Rundlett Hill Road on Saint Anselm College's campus (identified in blue on the attached map). Signs for media parking will be posted on campus directing news organizations to the media parking area.

You must present a company issued ID when parking on campus. If you are a freelance journalist and do not have a company issued ID, your ABC-issued credential may be used in its place.

REPORTING FROM THE SPIN ROOM

• Media must have a spin room credential in order to gain access to the Stoutenburgh Gym;
• Media will not being able to report live from the Spin Room inside Stoutenburgh Gym, unless they are a client of ABC NewsOne;
• Media organizations who wish to do live hits are responsible for finding their own stand-up locations. There will not be risers in the spin room;

RADIO OUTLETS

• Radio stations may broadcast live from a designated radio area inside the filing center;
• ABC News will distribute audio to a mult-box on site, ABC News will provide the mult-box;

PHOTO DISTRIBUTION

ABC News photography plans to electronically distribute photographs of the debates several times throughout the night. Please email   michelle.m.levi@abc.com if you would like to be added to the photo distribution list.

USAGE GUIDELINES

Beginning at 11:00 p.m., ET on Saturday, January 7, 2012 , non-ABC News outlets, including Internet media, may excerpt up to 3:00 minutes of material from the debate for their regularly scheduled news programs with appropriate credit (outlined below) to ABC News.

Beginning at 5:00 a.m., ET (Sunday, January 8, 2012), non-ABC News outlets, including Internet media, may make use of additional clips of the debate with appropriate credit (outlined below) to ABC News.  Clips cannot exceed 5:00 minutes in length. Media outlets may use clips of the debate through the end of the 2012 election cycle, but may not rebroadcast the debate in its entirety unless granted permission by ABC News.

Media outlets should record ABC News' over-the-air signal.

Mandatory credit is required as follows:

• Television: verbal credit and onscreen credit reading "ABC News" must appear during each excerpt and remain onscreen for the duration of all excerpts.
• Radio: each excerpt must be introduced with an audio credit to ABC News.
• Internet: excerpts must stream with an "ABC News" credit as described above, or a link to ABCNEWS.com.
• One 3:00 minute debate excerpt may be used in regularly scheduled news programs beginning at 11:00 p.m., ET on Saturday, January 7. Additional excerpts may not be used until 5:00 a.m., ET on Sunday, January 8.

Please note: footage from the debates may not be used for any commercial purpose, including fundraising, advertisements, promotions, or marketing of any kind.

ABC News reserves all of its rights and remedies in the event of any violation of its rights.