Op Ed: Media Role for Olympic Bids - Respect, Reform, No Spies

(ATR) After visits to all four cities in the race for the 2016 Olympics, we think it's time for some changes in the way the media fit into the selection of a host city.

First, no more accredited spies.

The incident with a British pr agent working for Madrid caught-out in Rio de Janeiro this month exposes a serious breach in accreditation security for bid city visits that has existed for years.

Olympic bid press teams may not have the time or resources to sufficiently vet applications from media, domestic or international. So it's easy for "freelancers" to slip in and sit alongside the working press while hiding behind a media credential.

We say better to just drop any pretenses and allow all competitors to receive observer status at the IOC tour - and be properly identified. Violations could be seen as a test of the integrity - or lack of - for a future Olympic city.

Media Need Place in Evaluation

Among the members of the commission reviewing the 2016 bids, there's a place for most of the major stakeholders for the Olympic Games. Athletes, sports federations, national Olympic committees and of course, the IOC, all have a place at the table.

Who better than an athlete to review the Olympic Village or the federation representative to examine plans for the impact on sport? They have experience at the coalface with these elements of the Games.

But when the IOC review turns to facilities for the press at the Games, who is there to offer a point of view grounded in the same hands-on experience as other members of the commission?

Nobody.

Despite the great importance the media is supposed to play in the operation of the Games, not once has there been an expert with media operations assigned to join the evaluation commission, as is the case with environment, Paralympics or transport.

An organizing committee's investment in media services is substantial. It ranges from the bricks and mortar of the Main Press Centre and International Broadcast Centre, to transport, to seats at the Games. In the case of 2016 cities Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, housing or hotels specific for media use are part of the plan. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, some input from the people who will use these facilities would seem like a good thing.

This would help assure bid cities that their idea of what the press needs squares with reality. And maybe we have some ideas on cost savings, as well.

The IOC Press Commission is an obvious talent pool, consisting of professionals who are actively involved in media operations at the Games. The Association of International Sports Press (AIPS) could provide a member. Retired journalists who have covered the Games are another source. Or from within the IOC headquarters staff, the department of communications could be another source of expertise.

Care and Feeding of Media Crucial First Impression

How the media covering the visits of the IOC Evaluation Commission are handled shows a real need for fine-tuning by the IOC in its rules and the way the bid cities execute their press operations.

Rio de Janeiro's press operations supposedly suffered by a strict interpretation of IOC rules that resulted in the initial location of the press conference venue a mile away from the IOC hotel. By the end of the week, Rio was holding all its press conferences at the IOC hotel. Madrid, meanwhile, had no qualms about setting up a marquee attached to the IOC hotel, literally steps away from the room where the commission met to hear from Madrid.

Venue tours seem to be a necessary part of the IOC visit, but the cities can't seem to strike the right balance between staging a grueling day-long series of photo ops and a truly informative journey for the media. This time around, only Rio was able to deliver. Accumulate the time spent by reporters and photographers waiting for the IOC commission to appear for photo ops and the cost soon reaches into thousands of hours.

While the bid cities brag about their standards of perfection in handling the IOC commission, we would like to hear them crow as loudly about services for the media during the visit. Keeping the press happy would seem to be up there with keeping the IOC happy.

The IOC commission report isn't published until September. But the media have the power to deliver instantaneous reactions to the flubs and flaws of a bid.

First impressions count.

Where is the IOC?

The IOC needs to tune in, too. Arguably, the visit of the IOC commission to a bid city brings a spike in local interest for the Olympics that for a few days may rival the Games themselves. The IOC is in high profile -- but no one from Lausanne is available for media contact.

Bid cities spend tens of thousands of dollars for staff and consultants to work with the press during the commission visit. The media, on the other hand, appears to be not important enough for the IOC to spend a single Swiss franc for someone to represent the Lausanne angle.

Written by Ed Hula

Op Ed is a weekly column of opinion and ideas from Around the Rings. Comments, as well as guest columns are welcomed: comment@aroundtherings.com