On Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 12:57 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > A second, even more limited criticism has to do with transparency. Costas > did, at least the first day of coverage) explain that none of the events > that he shows during primetime would be live, and he usually introduces > events by saying something like “Phelps made his attempt at gold earlier > today, and we will show you that after this commercial”. However in general > NBC does not make it clear when they have edited tape for time or interest – > sometimes they go from one heat or event to the next in the space of a few > minutes or less, even though in real time they cut out 10 to 30 minutes, or > more. This was relevant when the young US swimmer the other day had like 10 > minutes between races, and it was important for the viewer to understand > that we were watching things in real time, with no edits or time cuts. I > find NBC also lacks transparency regarding the location of their announcers. > I am pretty convinced that the announcers for events like shooting, archery > and badminton are not onsite, and maybe not even in country. I suspect the > same is true of events like water polo, field hockey and handball. There may > be legitimate reasons for this, but I think the viewer has a right to know. > Sometimes this becomes explicitly relevant – I was watching one badminton > match when there was a discussion of how air conditioning currents can > sometimes effect the shuttlecock in the air – but it was clear the > announcers were not in a position to report what the conditions were > actually like in the arena. I could cite several other examples like this.
The late Tom Snyder used to say the minute you try to fool the viewer, you cease to be a reporter. If we consider the Olympics to be entertainment, they are free to say what they want wherever and whenever they want. But if you feel otherwise, NBC is violating several rules of journalism. Granted, this is just sports, but the rules matter regardless of subject material. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
