Olympic Postscript: Better late than never
The 2008 Summer Olympics are over, the medal counts are finished and the factories around Beijing have reopened and begun once again to belch pollution into the air.
Throughout the games, I've been impressed at NBC's coverage of events and depressed at NBC's repeated failure to dig into controversies, both outside and inside the various venues. The disappointment was all the more keen because I've always considered NBC host Bob Costas to be the most trustworthy of all big-time network sports anchors.
I haven't changed my opinion about NBC's strengths and failures but, based on coverage the night before the closing ceremony, I need to give the network some credit for tackling, albeit belatedly, some thorny issues.
That night, Costas interviewed IOC Ppresident Jacques Rogge on a wide range of topics, including the serious questions about the age of Chinese gymnasts and the virtual stifling of any protests during the games.
Rogge defended the IOC against charges it was soft on Chinese repression. He said that many foreign leaders had tried to get China to liberalize its policies and failed. Why would anyone expect the IOC to succeed where they failed?
Costas pressed as far as he could but the fact remains that, had Rogge called a press conference during the games to denounce China's beating of reporters and protesters, it might have gone a long way.
By the same token, had NBC's announcers spoken up louder and longer, that, too, might have had an impact.
The interview with Rogge, broken up and shown in three parts, was an important step in answering NBC's critics and asserting its journalistic integrity. What a shame it didn't come at least a week earlier.
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