(Photo from Imagethief)

BEIJING - I was fortunate last weekend to give a lecture to Olympic volunteers on how to deal with foreign media.  While the speech was only so-so (I think the volunteers were there more to hear English spoken), I had an excellent opportunity to sit down with some of BOCOG’s broadcast organizers.

I abhor not attributing names to comments*, but in this case the management person I was dealing with is a long-time friend and colleague in a senior management position with BOCOG, so I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.  This particular person had worked for years in Chinese state-run media, but also covered Olympic Games as a journalist dating back to Seoul in 1988.  He said BOCOG’s broadcast division had faced many challenges in dealing with foreign media. He said that international outlets like NBC, which have covered the Olympics for years, are well-versed in what they need and what they expect.  “But for China, this is our first time,” he said.  The implication is there have been some run-ins.

One thing that China-watchers have been waiting to observe is how the Chinese government handles the thousands of foreign, fully-accredited journalists who will be descending on the capital – many of them with no interest in covering sports results.  “There will be satellite trucks everywhere,” he said, “and many Chinese aren’t used to seeing that, not just the government.”

Perhaps China wasn’t aware of this, or at the very least, it wasn’t top-of-mind.  But it sure is now, according to a report in the CBC.  Media organizations apparently met with Olympic officials on May 29, and the meeting didn’t go well. Organizations were told there will be no live coverage from Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City:

"For us to potentially not be able to do live reports from Tiananmen — the most iconic place in China — is a disgrace," said Scott Moore, executive director of Canada's CBC Sports. "I've been told that to do business in China, you have to have patience. We don't have time to have patience. The Games have begun for us already."

Chinese police fear both areas might be venues for protests, which would be a public relations disaster if demonstrations — and possibly police crackdowns — are beamed around the world.

This blog doesn’t necessarily believe that protests in Tiananmen Square would be a “public relations disaster”.  Those disasters occur when armed and impatient police begin to panic, the truncheons come out, and images of bloody crackdowns are beamed across the world; in fact, if China allowed open protests in Tiananmen Square and showed a great deal of maturity and restraint, it would actually be a positive public relations move for the country and government. This is making lemonade from the proverbial lemons.

This is all, however, beside the point.  As part of winning the Olympic Games, China promised an open media environment.  It appears that following the Tibetan riots, Darfur protests, and torch relay fiasco, the authorities are getting a little anxious.  That’s fine when an issue is domestic in nature, but the Olympics is biggest single media event in the world, and micromanaging media coverage or trying to control the foreign press just won’t work.

"I don't know who they are or how to get to them collectively, but we must get to them," Zenkel (Gary Zenkel, President of NBC Olympics) added. "Because these Games will suffer and these problems will be presented to the world and they don't do justice to these Olympics.

"This is a big day for China and the Olympics and it may be lost if there isn't any immediate change or movement made by the government, or whoever. It has to happen. We hope the wakeup call is heard."

Some TV executives say Chinese officials are requiring that forms be filled out specifying where broadcast satellite trucks will be each day of the Games, raising concerns that TV crews won't be able to cover breaking news in a timely fashion.

The Olympics are now less than two months away.  These issues shouldn’t be coming up at this late date, and let’s hope they get resolved quickly.  Restricting the media will do far more damage to China’s reputation than allowing coverage of a potentially embarrassing protest.