News International Dropped from Olympic Program; Chef de Mission Meeting; Nationality Switch

News International Gets Olympic Boot

Rupert Murdoch’s News International will no longer have exclusive access to potential British Olympians after a phone hacking scandal related to one of the company’s top newspapers.

In January, Team 2012 and its presenting partner, Visa Europe, announced an agreement with News International that would guarantee the company’s newspapers exclusive access to 1,200 British hopefuls.

However, due to the shuttering of News of the World, Murdoch’s news empire can no longer fulfill its contractual obligations.

"As a result of the closure of News of the World the contract can no longer be fulfilled as originally envisaged" Visa Europe said in a statement.

"To help drive national support for Team 2012 we are now exploring media partnerships across a range of channels."

Visa added that it remains "totally committed to Team 2012".

News of World closed after it was revealed that the tabloid illegally hacked into mobile voicemail accounts, including the account of the missing girl Milly Dowler.

"Emergency Meeting" for Chef Elections

Reports say the Indian Olympic Association was forced to call an "emergency meeting" of its executive board to select a chef de mission for the 2012 Olympics.

IOA vice-president Tarlochan Singh and Indian Weightlifting Federation president BP Baishya are vying for the post, in a race that is the latest in a series of political problems to plague the IOA.

The IOA has been beset with political problems since its president, Suresh Kalmadi, was thrown in jail over corruption charges related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Gold Medalist May Switch Countries

Japanese gold medalist in gymnastics, Naoya Tsukahara, hopes to change nationalities and compete for Australia.

A report from Kyodo News Agency quotes 34-year-old saying "If I can represent the Australian national team, I'd like to become someone who can be a bridge between both Japan and Australia through gymnastics."

His home has been Australia since 2009, after he was part of a victorious Japanese men’s gymnastics team at the Athens Olympics. He failed to qualify for the 2008 Games.

Since his move, Tsukahara has dominated men’s competition in Australia.

ATR Newsmaker Breakfast: Changing Landscape of TV Broadcasting

Television programming from London 2012 will be a new world for broadcasters and the topic of the Around the Rings Newsmaker Breakfast July 25 in London.

The Breakfast is presented by The Concerto Group and Westfield Stratford City.

Roger Mosey, Director of Olympic Games coverage, BBC; Gary Fenton, Director of Olympic Games coverage, Australia's Nine Network, and Jackie Brock-Doyle, Head of Communications, London 2012, join ATR editor Ed Hula to discuss next year’s coverage and how it will differ from previous Games.

Topics of conversation will include how factors are involved in the decision to carry events live and which platforms are most suitable for specific events.

Two tickets to the Hadleigh Farm Mountain Bike International in Essex on July 31 will be awarded to a member of the audience. (Must be present to win).

For more information or to RSVP, click here.

Media Watch

Jacques Rogge tells South Korea’s Joong-ang Daily he was "surprised" by the PyeongChang decision, and discusses other topics.

The Financial Times’ blog, Beyond Brics, says there may not be as big an Olympic economic boom for South Korea as predicted.

Financial news agency Bloomberg also looks at the economic impact and sees some positive growth in Korea.

Creative marketing news outlet The Drum has a Q&A with designers of the 2014 Commonwealth Games pictograms.

Written by Ed Hula III.