Paul Farhi writes for the Washington Post:
Oh, sure, the sports fan in me likes what I’m seeing (Michael Phelps: pretty good, huh?). And yes, the pictures are gorgeous, from the steadicam flyovers of the Great Wall (all hail HD!) to the underwater shots at the swimming arena. But the journalist and human being in me isn’t quite so amused. It’s what NBC hasn’t, and probably won’t, show that gives me pause.
Political protests? Not on this channel; no sir. Beijing’s fearful pollution? Maybe, but only if a marathoner coughs up a lung or it spoils a beauty shot. Doping scandals? In passing, perhaps. Tibet? China’s role in Darfur? Now, wait just a second. . . The aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake? Why be unreasonable. . . Tiananmen? Mao’s barbarities? No, and hell no.
Okay, that’s not what the Olympics are about. The Olympics are basically a big international sports festival and global media event attached to a massive corporate marketing opportunity. I’ve got no problem with that. But they’re not not about those other things, either. Especially these Olympics, which are freighted with as much political baggage and extracurricular significance as any Olympiad since Moscow in 1980 — whether NBC wants to own up to it or not.
The closest NBC has come to addressing to any of these issues during primetime was during Bob Costas’s solid interview of President Bush on Sunday (this would be the interview in which Bush said, "First of all, I don’t see America having problems."). Costas also slipped in a couple of references during the Opening Ceremonies (he seemed particularly exercised about China’s denial of a visa to Joey Cheek, the Darfur activist and former American Olympian, but hasn’t said much about it since).
Apart from these glancing shots, however, NBC has succeeded in screening out anything unpleasant — that is, anything newsworthy — during its first five nights of coverage. Indeed, it has gone in precisely the opposite direction. NBC has depicted China as only the People’s Chamber of Commerce could, showing us a prosperous, harmonious and deeply beautiful nation, swathed in culture and garlanded by history.
