Media Watch -- Sochi Olympic Risks

Road to Sochi

CNNMoney reporter Alanna Petroff says many winter sports fans from the United States will stay away from the 2014 Winter Olympics, "put off by the eye-watering cost and hassle of traveling to the Russian resort."

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Nataliya Vasilyeva dub suicide bombers the "biggest Sochi Olympics risk."

Guardian writers Owen Gibson and Shaun Walker report on calls from Olympians for Russia to reconsider its gay propaganda ban. The Olympians have also criticized Games officials and sponsors for their "lack of action over Russia’s anti-gay measures."

A band from Vancouver, Canada has written a "gay rights song" for the Sochi Olympics.

The Global Post features a Sochi-bound skier from Nepal who predicts he will finish last at the 2014 Winter Games. 44-year-old Dachhiri Sherpa says he is used to "such under-achievement." Sherpa goes on to say "placing is not important" if he can "teach young people in Nepal about the Olympic spirit."

The Germany edition of The Local showcases "Sochi’s youngest hope." Fifteen-year-old ski jumper Gianina Ernst will be the youngest competitor at the Winter Games, but if she had been born "a few hours later" she would not be going to Sochi.

TheStar.com interviews a Canadian slopestyle snowboarder about to make his Olympic debut in Sochi. While Mark McMorris "likes to party, and has an MTV reality series to prove it," his father tells TheStar.com that "work comes first."

ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary short series spotlights security guard Richard Jewell in its latest installment. "Judging Jewell" revisits the scene in Atlanta where Richard Jewell, a security guard during the 1996 Summer Olympics, "lost the one thing he valued most – his honor."

The Globe and Mail features "the science of slide." To achieve the perfect shape, Nordic skis need to "literally be put through the grinder."

In Other News

CNN discusses a deadline set by FIFA over conditions for migrant workers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup. FIFA is "demanding a detailed report by February 12 with information on specific steps" being taken to improve the current situation.

Compiled byNicole Bennett

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