Podcast -- Grading the Games, Part 3: Media and Ceremonies

(ATR) The Around the Ringsstaff continued their roundtable podcast to grade the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

In this installment the round table graded the media and the ceremonies at the Sochi Olympics.

Karen Rosen praised the Main Press Center and the facilities in Sochi, noting, "The working conditions were as good as any Olympics, but the mix zones were small and very chaotic."

Ed and Mark then wondered how much of the media were "looking for stories" before arriving in Sochi rather than just reporting on mistakes that happen in every Olympics.

"It’s not griping. It’s a pretty serious issue. You need to have electricity. You need to have hot water, and for our jobs you need to have wi-fi," Ed Hula III said to set the record straight.

Ultimately, the internet issues were enough to give the Media category a "B" for the Sochi Olympics.

The Around the Ringspanel concluded that the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were very nice, but were not spectacular compared to past Olympics.

"All in all, I think they were what they were supposed to be," Karen said after attending the ceremonies. She also had issues with the medal ceremonies taking place away from the venues.

"The flower ceremony isn't the same thing as seeing the athletes receive their medals and seeing the flags go up."

Ed Hula noted that Sochi 2014 said the daily medal ceremonies were attended by 20 to 25 thousand people, but a rough, unofficial estimate from the ATRstaff put the number more around 6-10,000.

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