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Athletes Can Blog at Olympics - with Restrictions
Hugh Pickens writes "The IOC has given athletes the right to blog at the Beijing Games this summer, a first for the Olympics. They're allowed, as long as they follow the many rules it set to protect copyright agreements, confidential information and security. The IOC said blogs by athletes 'should take the form of a diary or journal' and should not contain any interviews with other competitors at the games. They also should not write about other athletes. Still pictures are allowed as long as they do not show Olympic events. Athletes must obtain the consent of their competitors if they wish to photograph them. Also, athletes cannot use their blogs for commercial gain."
I guess they forgot to add the clause, "except when in China".
*boycots olympic games entirely*
0x or or snor perron?!
China can't just come in take athletes way to political prisons so what does the athletes have to lose?
The insane restrictions of the IOC has really killed my interest in the Olympics. And along with the timeshifting the broadcast of events ruins my enjoyment.
The pre-Disney ABC coverage of the Olympics and their Wild World of Sports was the best coverage of the Olympics and no one is ever going to be that good again. Especially with the ironfisted control by the IOC. So fuck you, International Olympics Committee.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
China can't just come in take athletes way to political prisons so what does the athletes have to lose?
No but they can sure disqualify them in a heartbeat, then how does that work?
There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
How I wish the Greek gods existed, so they'd blast China and any corporation involved with the Olympics to hell. The Olypmics used to be a free public event for the 'known world' at that time to compete for fame, honor, and glory. Now it's compete for sponsorship dollars, advertising dollars, and getting your picture on a Wheaties box.
I certainly won't be paying any attention to the Olympics, now. I'll be paying more attention to my cats in competition to see which one can get the little red dot that flies around every so often.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Olympic sport is supposed to be about human pure ability/endurance, not technical innovation. It's the same reason that steroids and such are banned.
If we go by your thinking, why can't athletes use those motorized, piston-powered leg attachments that make you run faster? I feel bad for the guy, but he does have an advantage.
I am a runner myself and running is my life, so I can see where they are coming from.
Gone!
Anyone else notice that as the Olympics has shifted from Nationalism to Commercialism it's viewership and worldwide interest has dropped dramatically? I wonder when the people who run the Olympics will notice that. My guess: once it starts losing money.
I can just picture those blogs now
When I got up, I had a cool refreshing *Pepsi* while I put on my Ultra-Performance *Nike* shoes and my *Fruit of the Loom* running uniform.
Make it one paragraph to describe every little thing and then have your blog run like 10 pages a day so that you can maximize your advertising revenue.
That sounds like the Olympics of today!
Without the athletes, the Olympics is nothing.
... ah, yes, I think we know how deep their feelings actually are.
If the athletes actually feel strongly about issues relating to China, then they can choose not to go. Sure, you'll lose out on marketing deals and fame and
Many arguments say the best way to bring China into the modern world is to integrate them despite their flaws, to expose their peoples to alternative viewpoints. If they are correct, then the Olympics will overall be a good thing despite any current issues.
Well, Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner. Apparently he fathered one or more children by one of his slaves. This can be labelled as rape, since the slave, willing or not, wasn't in a position to say "no".
A man can have the right idea about something, yet be a total son of a bitch about something else.
... nobody would start a war over an athlete. Over a political figure possibly. Besides, unless it was a US athlete they wouldn't care anyway.
I shall not be watching - so don't count my eyes when you work out what the TV rights will cost.
The IOC said blogs by athletes 'should take the form of a diary or journal and should not contain any interviews with other competitors at the games.
I see their point. They don't want their athletes using the event to springboard a journalism career. This does involve interfering with their freedom of speech though. What if they want to tell everyone about the games in a more dispassionate way? Why shouldn't they?
They also should not write about other athletes.
Privacy? A bit heavy handed.
Still pictures are allowed as long as they do not show Olympic events.
Seems the IOC has become a corporate enterprise. It used to be all about promoting sports for its own sake. It's a shame that things have gone this way.
Athletes must obtain the consent of their competitors if they wish to photograph them. Also, athletes cannot use their blogs for commercial gain."
Both of these are laudable. The first is about the privacy of the other athletes. The second is about keeping to the amateur spirit of the games.
And that said regime has, instead of improving, further cracked down on human rights and democracy activists? No disagreement from me. I can see the way this is all shaping up that the games may be a disaster for China - they thought everyone (inside & outside the country) would hush up an not make a big fuss for the sake of "the games" - quite the opposite is the case - if I were Amnesty International or any one of the other HR organisations I would be preparing for a multitude of high profile demonstrations and action around the games. Unfurling of a Free Tibet banner inside the Olympic Stadium - how will they respond? Tank Man part II would be a disaster for their "all is good in China" message. I think China hoped that everyone would just not cause any trouble, much like a family argument would be swept under the carpet if relatives come round - I can't see it happening. That being the case, the only good thing that may come out of this is that it might force wholesale reform.
Yes, and someone else we strongly dislike invented the modern idea of "highways". Does that mean highways are bad?
Not everything a dis-likable person does is wrong.
Correction: The IOC bans commercial gain for the athletes.
It has no problem signing exclusivity deals for its own commercial gain.
I don't see this ban on athletes' blogs as so much as having to do with pressure from China (I mean, why would China care whether athletes are blogging about the athletic side of the Olympics?), as having to do with pressure from the media corporations that spend oodles of money to have exclusive rights to broadcast Olympic events in their respective markets. The fact that it is in China is a mere coincidence--blogs simply weren't as big a threat two years ago.
- RG> (a.k.a. area man who doesn't have a TV and won't be following the Olympics)
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Really? And how many guns does the IOC have? 'Cause the Chinese government has *lots*.