Around the globe three billion people tuned in to watch the
Sochi Olympics opening ceremony. But, the 43 million living in Russia saw a
different ceremony. As the famous Olympic rings were turning from snowflakes
into circles a missed cue from a stage manager caused one snow flake to not
transform (image below).
When the malfunction was aware of the Russian media cut away
from the real footage to show a rehearsal where all the rings fully developed. This
is not the only incident where the media was skewed to show only a positive
image to Russian citizens during the games. According to an article “Obstructed view: how Russia
distorts the Olympics” by Amar Toor of The Verge, a writer wrote three
articles and sent them to her editor in Moscow (One of a journalist being
arrested, another of poor water facilities at a complex for evicted residents,
and one about worrisome weather). All three were turned down because it did not
portray Russia positively.
In opposition to Russia’s portrayal of everything great,
NBC has been criticized for editing its footage to highlight all of the
negative happenings at the games.
The games have always had controversy surrounding them but
changing the ‘raw footage’ for what people base their opinions on sets a biased
standard. Whether the edited footage is to have a positive or negative effect, one is still manipulating someone else without them knowing.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin was questioned about the media's approach he continued to support the decision claiming that it was and still is in best interest for the nation. Reversely western media emphasizing the Olympic's mishaps to portray Russia as an inadequate country mimics the political issues during and following the Olympics.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin was questioned about the media's approach he continued to support the decision claiming that it was and still is in best interest for the nation. Reversely western media emphasizing the Olympic's mishaps to portray Russia as an inadequate country mimics the political issues during and following the Olympics.
Fact is this blog post could go on and on why both
parties have done what they have done. But
instead, this will discuss how this influences views objectively and subjectively.
Objectivity is when something is viewed
with a unbiased perspective, and subjectivity is when something is influenced
by a person’s beliefs.
In this case viewers around the globe believe what they were watching was objective, especially considering most of the footage is live. The footage itself may be objective but the reporter's audio, and clips chosen are what add a subjective layer. By editing the feed on-demand of the Opening Ceremonies for Russian viewers, it changes what Russian's know as the truth. They now pride themselves thinking the opening ceremonies were incredible without even one flaw - not knowing that they have been lied to. Telling selected portions of a story is biased because it is only telling one view. This is the same for the Olympics. Russia chose to only show the glorified view, and NBC a negative one.
The extreme step the Russian media took in hiding their struggles to their own citizens caused them to be the first Olympic hosts to clip away from the live footage to recorded during the opening ceremonies.
In this case viewers around the globe believe what they were watching was objective, especially considering most of the footage is live. The footage itself may be objective but the reporter's audio, and clips chosen are what add a subjective layer. By editing the feed on-demand of the Opening Ceremonies for Russian viewers, it changes what Russian's know as the truth. They now pride themselves thinking the opening ceremonies were incredible without even one flaw - not knowing that they have been lied to. Telling selected portions of a story is biased because it is only telling one view. This is the same for the Olympics. Russia chose to only show the glorified view, and NBC a negative one.
The extreme step the Russian media took in hiding their struggles to their own citizens caused them to be the first Olympic hosts to clip away from the live footage to recorded during the opening ceremonies.
Sources:
Interesting interactive media highlighting all the negative steps Russia took to prepare for the Olympics: http://sochi.fbk.info/en/
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