Media Coverage Olympics

Within and outside of the U.S., there was concern generated over the Olympic media coverage because of the terrorist attacks. Many were worried that the games would become the American Games or that the red, white, and blue deluge of patriotism would overshadow the real significance of the games – the athletes and competitions. As columnist for the Toronto Sun Steve Buffery wrote, “Throw in the fact that U.S. television is going to try to tie in every American triumph with Sept 11 and you’ve got a sure-fire recipe for nausea” (Hannigan C8).

Those in the American media have a different feeling about the games. Many point out the fact that no matter which country hosts the games, it is almost impossible to remain value-neutral when your country’s flags are waving and the sense of national pride increases. Mike Moran is the spokesman for the United States Olympics Committee (USOC). According to Moran, the criticism that the U.S. is biased in its 2002 Olympics coverage is so much complaining without merit. As Moran notes, “The

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ls to promote what should be an international and value-neutral event, “We have to be careful not to focus too much on the U.S….the world expects an international event that honors winter sport. People in the international community, they view things differently” (What 1). People in the international community and media certainly do view things differently if we compare American media coverage of the games with that of international media coverage. Canada’s The Toronto Sun did not take it likely that U.S. Hockey Coach Herb Brooks compared his match-up against Germany as “World War III” (Garrioch 32). As the Sun reported, “A lot of people didn’t think it was funny” (Garrioch 32). The Russians, always the first to criticize and seemingly the first to err, found America’s coverage of the Olympics a thinly disguised political ploy. The Russian media felt the West was using the Olympics to bias the International community in favor of the U.S. and its politics. Speaking in the Russian daily newspaper Sport Express, Alexander Prosvetov argued, “The American mass media, they still think by the principles of the Cold War. They speak of a Soviet Bloc of Eastern countries judging events. If there are any relations among the judges,
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Some common words found in the essay are:
American Network/cable, Don Mischer, Belarus Hockeys, Madison Avenue, III Garrioch, Paul Campos, Olympic Games, Shipley D01, Winter Olympics, Leonid Tyagachev, media coverage, sept 11, american media, red white blue, white blue, coverage olympics, red white, olympic games, essence sports, 2002 olympics, 8 2002, feb 8 2002, country hosts games, ottawa sun feb, sept 11 2001,
Approximate Word count = 1777
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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