From: yjhbhc@dante.lbl.gov (Joe Huang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: NBC olympic coverage
Date: 29 Jul 1992 20:11:32 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley
Distribution: na
Reply-To: yjhbhc@dante.lbl.gov (Joe Huang)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.106

In article <Bs5xIK.8LH@cs.psu.edu> shen@math.psu.edu writes:
>In article 12277@athena.mit.edu, dethomas@athena.mit.edu (Drea E Thomas) writes:
>>Just another note on NBC's appalling coverage of the olympics,
>>
>>In gymnastics, the standings were Eun, Romainia, USA and China.
>>
>>Tuesday night;
>>They spent more than an 85 minutes on the first 3 countries,
>>and a grand total of a 1.5 minutes on china. They showed only
>>1 chinese gymnast, and throughout the performance they continually
>>commented on how this wasn't the chinese teams best apparatus ...

clip, clip

>> In the swimming events this pattern is just as bad. In one
>>race (womens, 200 m breaststroke??) in which a chinese athelete
>>got the silver medal, they never even showed her (in closeup)
>>I never even saw her face. The american who won the bronze medal
>>was profiled and interviewed extensively.
>>
>> When they do mention chinese athletes, they refer to them
>>as machine like, all the same, no creativity.. etc.. all the
>>usual stereotypes..
>>
>> This kind of arrogance/racism/xenophobia makes me ashamed
>>to be an american.
>>
>> If you want to complain to NBC, the number was given earlier
>>(212-664-4444).
>>
>>------------------
>>just my $.02
>>
>>	-Drae-
>
>Throughout the coverage of Olympic events these days, NBC has shown such kind of
>CHAUVINISM that it is almost unbearable for all Chinese. Despite the excellent
>performance, no positive image of a Chinese athlete has been shown on NBC, except
>the unbelievable Fu Mingxia, whom the NBC anchorman had to(maybe not willing to) acknowledge as the "invincible prodigy of China".
>
>Down to these "arrogance/racism/xenophobia" Mei(3) Guo(2) Lao(3)!

I agree that the above comments about NBC's blatantly chauvinistic 
coverage of the Olympics. I have already phoned the number given 
above to lodge my complaint, and urge others to also do so.

The Olympics are supposed to be a world competition, but NBC has
presented strictly as an "Americans at the Olympics" spectacle to
the exclusion of athletes from other countries.  

I can understand a certain amount of bias for the hometown boys and 
girls, but I find it unbelievable that even when an American losses,
NBC would focus the camera on the disappointed American and not on 
the winner. For example, when a 14-year old Japanese girl beat out 
Jenny Thompson in one event, NBC didn't not bother to show the 
Japanese swimmer even once.

NBC and the rest of the American media have prematurely built up 
the American athletes as "favorites" for so many events, and now 
panders to their dejection when they don't come in first.  This is 
unfair to both the American athletes, as well to the other athletes, 
whom I'm sure have their share of triumph and disappointment.

The most ridiculous thing is NBC's repeated showing of the victory 
ceremonies for winning American athletes.  Those ceremonies are, in
my mind, very unnewsworthy. Except for the mentally impaired who
take it as a opportunity to shout, "USA, USA", what's the point of
watching someone else watching the flag go up ?  I have yet to hear 
on NBC the national anthem for any other nation, but I've walked away
from at least four renditions of the "stars spangled banners" played
in full.

Joe Huang
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,rec.sport.olympics