(A section of the press workroom.)BOCOG (the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) hired the best and brightest Chinese to be the press managers. Many of the supervisors are successful professionals. One supervisor I spoke with is currently working on her Ph.D. These people are intelligent. There's just one catch, no one has experience working in media, nevermind sports media. There are a few people here and there who carry a background in journalism. But most of the supervisors I've spoken with just offered their time and services to BOCOG because the Olympics is something all Beijing citizens want to be a part of.
My supervisor today actually told the rest of my co-workers to direct all questions to me from now on because I'm the only one who has sports industry experience. I got a little stressed out at this point. I do have experience in print journalism and spent last summer with the WNBA...but the 35 reporters at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago just isn't the same as the 400 journalists expected to attend each volleyball match. I don't really feel I'm qualified to be giving instructions or advice on how to smoothly operate press tribunes at an Olympic event. Hopefully all will go well once August rolls around.
(Press Operations is made up of people from the UK, Italy, China, Australia and the US...as beautifully presented in a poster we made.)Thankfully, Frederico Rossi, an Italian who has worked at the three previous Olympics and the World Cup, is there to supervise all press operations. He has clarified many things for us and made everyone a little more at ease. There is also a Brazilian woman doing the same job in photo operations.
It's also very interesting to get a different view point of issues and events both in China and around the world. Everything I've ever read about China in the US I took as the complete truth. Yet, when I came here I learned that not everything is exactly how America perceives it. I'm starting to get a better understanding of how each country puts its own spin on international events. To prove my point, I read an article today on MSN.com (http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/8384022?MSNHPHCP>1=39002) that was supposed to be about two Chinese gymnasts that may be too young to compete in the Olympics. The article discussed the dispute, but at the end starting throwing some cheap shots at China. The author wrote, "The Chinese government is working feverishly to present a positive image of an open, friendly, progressive nation. But visa restrictions, toxic air pollution, freedom of the press issues and a problem-filled torch relay have presented a far different image to the world."
First of all, the word "toxic" is being misused. Toxic implies/is defined as poisonous and deadly. I'm alive and well today in the worst polluted city in China...I even went for a run this afternoon. So "toxic" is presenting an image that just isn't true. Yes, there is terrible smog in Beijing, but guess what, according to statistics Los Angeles is worse. And this "problem-filled torch relay" was really just a couple of small incidents that were handled properly and accordingly. I would definitely not qualify it as "problem-filled". And I'm not sure I believe all that about visa restrictions either. Everyday I see more and more foreigners walking the streets, clearly people are filing in for the start of the Games in 12 days.
Don't get me wrong China does have its problems, but it seems as if western powers want the country to fail. And obviously there is no bigger stage than the Olympics. I've only been here three weeks but I've met some incredible people who are generally stereotyped and misconstrued in western media. I really think the rest of the world should cut them a break during the Olympics. American journalists in particular should take note: In an Olympics rule book I read it specifically states that the Games are not a place for political, religious or inter-cultural issues. This is a sporting event that every country and person should have the right to enjoy. In my opinion, there needs to be more focus on the athletics than political quarrels and differences. I could easily ramble on for hours on this particular topic. But I'll spare you your sanity.
(A random picture to lighten the mood. A bunch of us out at Kokomo this weekend.)
In less serious news, I had a great weekend. My friend Alex's parents were in town and let us swim and use the gym at their hotel. It was a nice break from the dormitory. On Sunday I visited the Silk market. Which is basically Beijing's black market. Some stuff they sell is obviously knock-off, other things just look stolen. All I know is that I bought a Coach wallet and purse for 200 yuan...or $28 American dollars. I also bought my mom a 100 percent silk scarf for $4 after much negotiating. The woman originally tried to charge me $200 American dollars. I give all the credit to my roommate Sandie for getting the price that ridiculously low.
Happy Birthday 19th birthday to my baby sister on August 3rd (You're going to love the knock-off Dolce & Gabbana purse I got you haha)! And Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad on August 2nd!
1 comment:
This is a great post! I completely agree that the media would distort the facts so we can perceive China as "toxic" or dangerous. When dealing with the smog situation, our president gave our U.S. Olympians a mask to wear while they were over in China. Personally, I find that offensive to the Chinese culture. I feel as though we are mocking by implying that the air they live and breathe in daily isn't acceptable for American's to breathe. I find it to be quite embarrassing to our country. The Olympics is based around proving the superiority of ones country and I thoroughly believe that the image America perceives of China (a communistic country) is undoubtedly degrading and stereotypical merely to make ourselves look better. Always take what you read with a grain of salt. Secondly and most importantly I loved this post because it mentions my birthday. WHOOT WHOOT!
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