www.andymiah.net Presentation given at University of the West of Scotland for British Academy visit.

1. WE ARE THE MEDIA Research funded by the British Academy from 2003-2008 Professor Andy Miah University of the West of Scotland Media Freedom & Cultural Politics at the Olympic Games Co-funded with Dr Beatriz Garcia (All photography by Andy Miah as part of the research documentation )

2. Rio 2016.... the and me British Olympic Association.... International Olympic Academy.... Sydney 2000.... Lausanne 2001.... Salt Lake City 2002.,.. Athens 2004.... Torino 2006.... Beijing 2008.... Vancouver 2010.... London 2012.... Sochi 2014.... Web 2.0 organizing committee Web 1.0 Web 2.0 journalists Web 3.0 collective intelligence? British Academy

3. ATHENS 2004: The contribution of non-accredited media to the Olympics Understand the operational structure and function of the NAMC during the Olympic Games. Identify needs of local cultural groups to secure appropriate media representation during Games time. Understand how journalists and local promoters make sense of the NAMC and how better they could utilise

4. city wide disruption The olympic lane and the ‘blue’ marathon line

7. olympic billboards or left empty

8. olympic truce is in what sense is the olympics apolitical?

11. olympic activism Athens 2004, for the 23 venue construction workers who died

14. streets transformed by sponsors (the swatch street)

15. TORINO 2006: Non-accredited media, culture & the Olympic host city Advance theoretical understanding of the role of the media at the Olympics Establish a clearer model for future NAMCs. Updating empirical evidence and comparing cases (ethnographic work at Turin and Beijing) Transferring knowledge to London 2012, the International Olympic Committee and academic communities

17. street branding The Torino 2006 slogan ‘passion lives here’

18. old architecture ‘repression lives here’ a few minutes walk from athletes’ village

19. new architecture Torino 2006, athletes’ village

20. BEIJING 2008 What do the media want from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games? Understand how Beijing Olympic interest groups manage the international non-accredited journalists while also monitoring how this community of reporters articulates its expectations of the Olympic Games through their journalistic practices. Also funded by: The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland

21. Digital youth culture Media ownership/power Creative industries Media law Cultural politics Global-local Advertising/ marketing journalism IPR

22. Digital January 2007: 137m Internet users March 2008: 221m Internet users Beijing: 5m users; 30.4% Beijing: Under 30 = 72.1% Beijing: Under 30 = 72.1% 2012: 490m Internet users Overtakes USA

23. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games can be characterised, in part, as a struggle over various kinds of media politics, both domestic and global. In 2007, China instituted new, temporary legislation to enable wider freedoms to report for foreign journalists. The duration of this legislation extends to November 2008, one month after the close of the Paralympic Games. Also, Beijing’s Games are the first in history where the contracts for television broadcasting rights have been separated from the sale of Internet broadcast rights. Moreover, the Beijing Games will be the first Web 2.0 Summer Games, to the extent that users – present or absent from the Olympic city - will enjoy the capacity to broadcast their own material across wireless fidelity (wi-fi) using a range of mobile technology. The additional capacity of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) means that this material can have a wider short-term impact than the official broadcasters. This presents a case where the exclusive coverage of the Games could be diluted or fragmented by new media activists. Yet, stories of prominent Chinese bloggers being charged with subverting the state’s power, creates a dual problematic by instilling a division of contested media freedoms among domestic and international journalists. This paper discusses a range of issues presented by these circumstances, articulating various expectations of how Beijing’s Games will be reported by accredited and non-accredited media, traditional and new. It explores this in the context of discussions about citizen and networked journalism, which reflect two types of proposition on the relationship between the professions and amateur journalist. Finally, it introduces the concept of ambush media to negotiate the mundane practices of many online practitioners, alongside the expected activism that underpins prevalent expectations of new media platforms.

25. PHOTO: ROY PANAGIOTOPOULOU ambush media ‘Reporters without Borders’ at Beijing 2008 lighting ceremony

27. CITIZEN MEDIA

28. pervasive media While the BBC lost the torch in San Francisco, citizens didn’t

29. simple syndication Social media means powerful syndication and visibility

32. CURRENT PLANS

33. 2010 vancouver 60-70% Vancouverites believe is a ‘colossal waste of money’

34. 2010 vancouver 21% of Vancouverites will boycott the Games http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/3278949127/

37. counter surveillance London 2012 website removes ‘bid publications’ ?

38. ambush marketing or citizen media space?

39. ambush marketing by url appropriation

40. open media or owned media Can the IOC have its cake and eat it?

41. 1 Online Journal Culture @ the Olympics 20+ articles 3 book contracts MIT Press: A Digital Olympics Routledge: Olympic Games The Olympic Games & Cultural Policy 4+ Chapters and Articles Price & Dayan (2008) Owning the Olympics 2 PhD students Beijing 2008 Vancouver 2010 20+ invited lectures DCMS International Olympic Committee British Olympic Association London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games RESEARCH OUTCOMES

42. Thanks The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland