Bet at Dappled Things points out an interesting story about the International Olympic Committee and its embargo prohibiting participants from blogging their experiences.
She comments that it sounds pretty un-American to place that restriction. I would take it a little further and say it sounds very European (in the French or German meaning of the word).
I can't find many--if any--real reasons for them to do so. In fact, I think if Olympians were blogging about their experiences, they would be incredibly popular, adding to the already-overblown hype about the Games.
I would also note that the story comes from CBS News not the network (NBC) which is airing the Games.
While you might not see any athletes, coaches, or other lackeys blogging about the Olympics, you can read about some of the photojournalists covering the Olympics at Sportsshooter.com. The home page has links to blogs, photos, and other dispatches from Athens, and you might find discussion threads on the forums featuring input from the Olympic media.
So while the athletes are sequestered, the media representatives are trumping their own news organizations--at least by the IOC's thinking.
Posted by JRC at August 25, 2004 05:34 PM | TrackBack