Mass Casualty Commission - Media Accreditation and Media Briefing (March 17 at 11:00 am AT)

TRURO, NS and HALIFAX, NS, March 13, 2023 /CNW/ - Members of the media are encouraged to apply for accreditation to cover the final report of the Mass Casualty Commission ("the Commission"), which will be released on March 30, 2023 in Truro, Nova Scotia.

The media accreditation process is open to journalists (print, radio, television, film, news agencies and online media) who are on assignment to cover the work of the Commission and have not yet applied to be accredited. If you were previously accredited with the Commission, your accreditation is in effect and you do not need to reapply. 

The accreditation process will serve to register media who are covering the final report and its release. Accreditation will provide access to designated seating and media areas during the release on March 30, access to the report in advance, and a technical briefing to answer questions about the report on the morning of its release. Media who choose not to be accredited will have access to public seating during the release, real-time webcast, and the final report as it is shared with the public on the Commission website.

As part of the accreditation application, media will require a letter of assignment, on the official letterhead of their media organization, identifying the applicant as being assigned to the final report, explaining the role of the applicant at the release and signed by an authorized editor or publisher within the media organization with their contact information.

Individuals who do not work for a media organization, but rather work as independent members of the media, and therefore are unable to provide a letter of assignment, will have to provide proof of recent publications relevant to the Commission, under the applicant's byline, with reporting and content that can be readily found in the public realm.

Accredited media who would like advance access to the final report will also be required to sign a confidentiality undertaking. Media who choose not to sign the confidentially undertaking will be able to access the Commission's final report at MassCasualtyCommission.ca as it is shared with the public.   

The Commission will be holding a virtual background briefing session for media on March 17 at 11:00 am AT to discuss more details about the release of the final report. It will be an opportunity for us to hear your questions, share what to expect, and discuss next steps and collective action. We will not be able to discuss specific contents of the final report in depth, but we will share logistics, our approach, and what you can expect to see in the coming weeks. We will also further discuss the accreditation process and on-site media logistics. If you would like to attend the briefing, please confirm your attendance by sending an email to [email protected].

If you would like to get started on the accreditation process before the briefing, you can fill out the application in Schedule A of the media protocols, and email it to [email protected].

Background References:

• Calendar | Mass Casualty Commission
• Documents | Mass Casualty Commission
• Updates | Mass Casualty Commission
• Media | Mass Casualty Commission

About the Mass Casualty Commission: The Commission is the independent public inquiry created to examine the April 2020 mass casualty in Nova Scotia and to provide meaningful recommendations to help make communities safer in the future. For more information, visit MassCasualtyCommission.ca. 

If you haven't already, you can sign up for our media list by sending an email to [email protected].

SOURCE Mass Casualty Commission

Media Contact: [email protected]