The Buffalo Chip Campground and the media for the 2007 Sturgis Rally
Each year the Buffalo Chip gets hundreds of requests for "press passes." No place on earth is more accommodating to the press. We love having you here. Video crews from around the world, including Japan, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, French Public Broadcasting, New Zealand, Australia, England, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, MTV, ESPN, CNN, TNN, VH-1, The Travel Channel, National Geographic, EasyRiders, and many more have covered the events at the Buffalo Chip. Newspapers and magazines show up in similar numbers. Radio stations from coast-to- coast, broadcast live from the Buffalo Chip. We try to accommodate everyone.
As we have grown, so have the demands of the press and unfortunately we cannot accommodate everyone in exactly the manner they might choose. Our first consideration must always be providing the best possible experience for our campers.
That doesn't mean you won't be able to get photos or video. We'll help you get your shot. No video or still photographers will be allowed on any stage except those who have a contract with the Buffalo Chip, or who have personally been escorted to the stage by the Chip’s publicist. Credentialed photographers may get special access if they've made prior arrangements with the publicist.
ARRANGEMENTS FOR BUFFALO CHIP PRESS PASSES MUST BE MADE NOT LATER THAN ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE EVENT! Press credentials from other sources, including those obtained from Sturgis Rally & Races, Inc., the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce or the City of Sturgis will not admit you to the Buffalo Chip Campground or any of its activities.
All press people who appear at the gate without prior arrangement with The BUFFALO CHIP will be required to pay to enter the campground. No professional cameras, video or otherwise, will be allowed onto the campground without Buffalo Chip prior arrangement.
If you have made the appropriate arrangements, your Buffalo Chip passes will be at the ticket office at the front gate.
Here is how you obtain Buffalo Chip press passes:
1. Submit a letter requesting credentials on your company letterhead.
* If you are a free-lance journalist, you will need to provide a letter from the publication to which you expect to sell your photos, video or story, confirming that the publication is interested in publication of your work and that the Buffalo Chip will be provided a copy prior to any publication.
2. State how many people will be in your party, their names and their duties with regard to your press assignment.
4. Submit the letter to:
Michael Sanborn, Publicist
2102 Rio Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702
and a copy to:
Buffalo Chip Campground
P.O. Box 909
Belle Fourche, SD 57717
In the event you have made these arrangements and your passes are not at the ticket office when you arrive, you will need to contact the Chip’s publicist at the campground.
We will notify you if your request for press access is denied.
Finally, we try not to have a lot of rules at the Buffalo Chip. We want our guests to have a hassle-free good time. That goes for the press too. We do have a special understanding and rules for press, as
follows:
1. A person's campsite is private. Press people are not allowed to photograph campers in their campsite without having first obtained written permission. Credentialed photographers may photograph anything in the vendor and stage areas.
2. Our customers' rights to see a show supercede the press' privilege to photograph it.
3. The performers' rules are the Buffalo Chip's rules.
4. When people ask not to be photographed, don't photograph them.
5. Our campers are entitled to a hassle-free party. Taunting anyone is considered a hassle.
6. Chip staff members on the grounds, at the gates, and in the ticket office are hired to serve our campers. Press issues are to be handled by the publicist or the campground's owner. Press persons are not to make requests of any Chip employee and no employee is authorized to make or permit exception to any rule.
7. Three tear sheets from the print press, air checks from the radio (on CD), 1/2" video tape or DVD copies of all video stories are required in order to obtain future access.
Michael Sanborn, Publicist
605-390-3914