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« The Lost Scripts
The Olympics, State Censorship, Obama, You and Me
The beginning of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics is rapidly approaching. We Americans know that most of us have access to full coverage - 3,600 hours, about 200 hours a day - available in high definition for your widescreen television.
And apparently we'll have to skip through quite a few commercials for unhealthy Big Mac's, Budweiser - the King of Belgian Beers, and Barack Obama. Yes, Obama's campaign has made a $5 million buy for ad time during the Olympics, including time on NBC plus the NBCU cable channels. This was breaking news on the Advertising Age web site.
Which leads to this question: Have we become so blase a people that the campaign staff of a Presidential candidate feels comfortable buying $5 million in air time of state censored television?
As we watch on television the American soldier body count rise in our effort to "bring democracy to the Middle East", shouldn't we be uneasy about what we as consumers of the Olympics coverage are doing? It is already clear that NBCU is bringing us coverage only as approved by the Chinese government, which in the 21st Century has become the most insidiously pervasive totalitarian state that has ever existed.
It's important to acknowledge that China has had a strong centralized government in one form or another for 6000 years. The International Olympics Committee made a decision to hold the Olympics in China. Our American Olympics team decided to participate. Our President has made a decision to support the 2008 Olympic Games by attending. In order to make alot of money, NBCU is investing nearly a billion dollars to provide us, the American people, with the best coverage of the sporting events they can, being fully aware of the political constraints and being given a monopoly. These are the facts.
What are the Olympic Games, exactly? Of course, they are a sporting event, an international sporting event. And though somewhat nationalistic in their cheering, in the past the audiences at these venues do not get violent like they do at international soccer matches. But....
There was an Olympic Games (1972) where athletes were killed for political reasons. There was an Olympic Games (1936) where one of the most important stories was a black American man sprinting past Nazis in Germany. There was an Olympic Games (1980) that America boycotted, back when we believed in democracy. The Wikipedia entry on the Olympics has full sections on Boycotts, Politics and Violence. These are the kinds of stories American TV as a mass communications medium should be able to cover with effective presentation.
But it's becoming clearer that this won't be the case. As we get closer to the opening ceremonies, news stories indicate that the limits are being established on a day-by-day basis. From a recent AP story:
Sandy MacIntyre, director of news for APTN, said "things have improved dramatically" in the last few weeks. But he said he recently received a notice from Chinese authorities saying the broadcaster would have to give 24- or 72-hour notice to move a satellite truck around Beijing.
"There shouldn't be any notice at all needed to go live," MacIntyre said. "All of these rules should never have come down to the wire like this."
Americans like sports. Americans want to support their Olympic team. But do we Americans chose to ignore the fact that the world's general news media attempting to cover the "2008 Olympics in China" - the event in context - are being censored in China and that NBCU (General Electric) is taking a hands off approach to the issue? Must we completely ignore the moral implications of the use of technology developed in this country? Must we pretend that all this technology means nothing more than a refrigerator, apparently much like General Electric does?
Are we really obligated to ignore the the phenomenon that the Olympics are still a political event at the core and that a huge, unprecedented chunk of American commercial television time in August has been committed to supporting it?
It's my television time, it's your television time, it's America's television time. It's our media system. Given the depth and scope of our media coverage, the economics carry far greater impacts than the media coverage your (great)grandparents supported in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
What does it mean when we sit and watch Olympic athletes perform, quietly ignoring the fact that our primary media source accepting censorship of broader coverage of what's going on in the host country?
And most importantly, are we really so blase a people that the campaign staff of a Presidential candidate feels comfortable buying $5 million in air time of state censored televison?
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Jul 25, 2008 2:23 AM
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Here here!
I think it is nuts that China got the bid in the first place. They have a horrible track record for human rights issues.. apprently (i read the rumor online and not so sure how true it is) that they won't allow the reports to use Tienamen square incase that 'incedent' resurfaces in the news and that as well, some reporters from certain countries aren't allowed access.
This is nuts.
Not only that.. we and everyone are sending our nations best athletes to compete in an area where they can't even breath the air due to the pollution. Is that right?
(I'm sorry I can't comment on Obama spending that money since my government here in Canada is currently run by a bunch of idiots; who yes will be at the Olympics because George Bush said he was going.. sigh...)
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Jul 25, 2008 2:18 PM
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Unfortunately we are so blase.. and I will venture to guess that your blog doesn't get a lot of notice. Many people come here to escape the serious side of life and consider this place pure entertainment. However, when a politically charged question is posed it should be noted.
I spent some time writing letters protesting the fact the Olympics were being held in the country with as many human right atrocities as Sadam Hussein ever committed. But they pick the host so early by the time I was doing so it was a done deal. I think our voices need to be heard - even if it seems to fall on deaf ears.
I am all for a boycott of the games. Not of our athletes or their dreams but of China as the host. Boycott's only work when enough people participate. I sadly don't see it happening here. People will mindlessly watch out of habit or falsely place loyalty.
As far as Obama - I doubt he's given it a thought. Those decisions are made by the people who run the "machine" that is the campaign. Are you saying McCain is not going to advertise there? I highly doubt that.
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Jul 25, 2008 3:47 PM
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