Just Because "It Bleeds, It Leads"...Doesn't Make It Right.

Alright, here is blog post number two about the Olympics. You could say I’m slightly obsessed, but today is the last day before the gold medal hockey game and closing ceremonies. However, it is not so much about the Olympics but an event that happened on the day of opening ceremonies that has been bothering me for quiet sometime. The event I’m referring to was the coverage of the Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death.

I first learned of the athlete’s death at 7pm on the night of the opening ceremonies on the news. The reporter of the story described what had happened and proceeded to show the video with a warning before saying it was quite graphic. When the video was shown, I was completely shocked and felt sick that they had showed the luger’s last moments on national television. After it was initially played, news stations then began showing edited versions that were not so graphic. The video was also removed from YouTube with alternate links which would not load for interested viewers.

The way the death was dealt with on television really disturbed me and I felt compelled to write about it as a blog entry. Media outlets and social media, like YouTube are constantly trying to grab attention by moving, controversial, scary or graphic stories. Publishing or uploading stories and videos of crimes, violence or deaths get people to buy news papers and the view count increase on YouTube. But what are the consequences of this?

Especially in the event of Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death, was it right to show the athlete’s death on national television? It could be argued that the video was intended to show how dangerous the sport really is, but in my opinion, I think airing the video was completely unnecessary. Obviously it is important for the world to be aware of his death and how dangerous the sport really is, but is showing his last moments a way to convey this? In my opinion showing the video showed a lack of compassion for the luger’s friends and family in this tragic and difficult time. The family now has to be faced with these images, as well as dealing with the death of a loved one.

That being said, as much as I feel that showing his death on national television was wrong, it is hard to escape these images as someone always has access to some sort of technology to capture these moments. Whether it’s a professional camera crew or simply from someone’s cell phone, it feels like someone is always watching and recording. That makes it hard to stop these images of tragic moments from appearing on sites like YouTube and even national television. But what is too far? I don’t think these images make me feel anymore compelled to read the story, instead it makes me feel like newspapers have a lack of compassion for other human beings, and simply worried about selling newspapers. How much is too much? And how much does it really add to the way you read or see a story?

GO CANADA GO!

Well, we are nearing the end of the Olympics in Vancouver and I was reflecting today on how much I really watched the Olympics this year. In the past, I've kept myself updated on Canada's medal standings and will occassionally flick on the television to watch whatever event is on. However,this year I find myself completely immersed in everything Olympic! I feel one of the major reasons for my intense viewership of the Olympics, has to do with social media and the way they have taken on the Olympics this year.

With the rise of social and interactive media, there has been an explosion of people able to participate in the Olympics, no matter where they are in the world. By using Facebook, users can now be a ‘fan’ of the Olympics and can explore and upload pictures of their experiences to the Facebook fan page. Also, athletes are using their Twitter and Facebook accounts to interact with their fans about their wins, losses and their experiences at the winter games. Another way interactive media has been explosive in the 2010 games is the way smart phones and iPhones have created applications like the cowbell application or the mobile application which allows anyone to see results of events. The mobile application is unique in the way that it uses GPS systems to find out where you are to notify you what sports events, concerts or cultural events you are close to if you are in Vancouver.

Another way people can interact with the Olympics is through Google Earth. Just for the Olympics people can actually see the half pipe, or even see the streets of the Olympic village, which people at home can feel like they are actually there. And lastly another way people can get involved in the Olympics this year is simply by watching videos live and online. There is so much coverage online, that even if you can’t watch the events live, you can catch the highlights afterwards on numerous websites!
I am absolutely amazed at how many possible ways there are to interact with the Olympics than ever before. Without even leaving your house people are able to read up on what the athletes are doing, when they are competing and even their thoughts after they compete. People can also have pictures of the Olympics without actually being there. To be able to see the streets and mountains is an experience viewers from home have never been allowed to partake in. For myself, all the ways that social media have embraced the Olympics this year has allowed me to be much more involved in all the events. Since the opening ceremonies I have used most of these social mediums to stay informed about Canadian athletes. Even though I was not lucky enough to be in Vancouver for the Olympics, I feel that my Olympic experience has improved because of all the access we have to these interactive websites and applications.

But I’m interested in seeing how many other people have had the same experience as me. Has the increase in Olympic coverage on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as Olympic applications for smart phones, increased your interaction with the Olympics this year?