For the Media

• Media vehicles must be parked legally.
• Equipment must not damage University property.
• Equipment, vehicles and personnel must not restrict traffic or access to buildings and fire lanes.
• Additional restrictions on the use of television cameras, still cameras, flash photography, and other special lighting and audio equipment may be implemented on a case-by-case basis to minimize disruption or protect safety or security. If security is an issue, these items may be subject to inspection.

Parking rules are routinely enforced on campus. It is also important that traffic flow, sidewalks, driveways, fire lanes, disability access and the like are not blocked. Media vehicles must be parked legally. The University will not pay for parking tickets on media vehicles.

• Please follow these guidelines when parking on campus:
• If possible, park in a visitor spot in the North Parking Lot. Directions and parking information
• When the University schedules a news conference, or expects heavy media traffic on campus, we will notify parking enforcement dispatch and include parking information in a media advisory.
• Reporters with heavy equipment who need to park near a particular building for a limited amount of time must call Public Relations to arrange parking in advance.

The media are generally permitted to film or otherwise have access to spaces on campus that are open to the public, subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. This includes access during regular operating hours to any building or portion of a building that is open to the public.

• All campus outdoor sidewalks, green spaces, and parking lots are open to the media.
• Campus events, such as lectures and forums, that are free and open to the public are open to the media. Restrictions may be placed on cameras, lights, flash photography and other equipment to minimize disruption and/or fulfill contractual agreements. Advance notice or credentials may be required.
• Corridors and common areas within University laboratory and classroom buildings are open to the media.
• Common areas within the Student Center are open to the media; individual offices are not. If a reporter or photojournalist wishes to enter a private office, they must get permission from the person who works in that office. Members of the media are encouraged to notify public relations to facilitate the visit and to ensure that disruptions to activities, events, and reserved spaces in the Student Center are kept to a minimum.
• Faculty, staff, and student offices and laboratories are not public. Permission to enter must be granted by the person or persons who work in that office or laboratory.
• Classrooms are open to the media if not occupied. If a class is in session, permission for media access must be granted by the person teaching the class in advance. Contact Public Relations to arrange access.

Media are allowed in the following locations only with express permission from an administrative authority and only with an officially designated University escort:

• Residential areas
• Any secured area or laboratory
• Intercollegiate athletics venues
• Recreational sports facilities
• The offices or research laboratories of faculty, staff, or student employees
• Inside Briggs Library and the Edward J. and Helen Jane Morrison Gallery or other areas where quiet study is enforced and/or where collections may be endangered by media activity or equipment
• Inside any venue charging admission, unless the individual is a paid ticket holder. In these cases, members of the media must abide by the policies applicable to all ticket holders.
• Inside private functions that are not open to the public
• Inside any University facility that is not open to the public, including utility operations, waste facilities, maintenance and repair facilities, and public safety facilities
• Any marked construction area, crime scene, or hazardous or unsafe location

Media Access to Residence Halls

Permission is required for media to access University of Minnesota housing, including campus residence halls and apartments. Media must be escorted by Housing and Residential Life or Public Relations staff or a resident at all times while in University housing facilities. Unescorted media will be asked to leave.

Escorted media may film in, or report from, the common areas (lounges, dining areas, corridors) of residence halls, with approval of University officials.

Media must have permission from the occupant of individual living quarters to enter, report from or film that space.

Media may film or solicit interviews on the public sidewalks or common areas outside of residence halls and apartments. In some special situations, media access to these areas may be limited to protect privacy, health or safety.

To obtain permission to enter a residence hall, contact us during business hours, Monday–Friday.