【媒体出处】http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/13/ap/entertainment/main4256405.shtml?source=search_story
【中文翻译】erihao
【声明】本文翻译仅供Anti-CNN内部使用，谢绝转载！
【原文】
Broadcast Access To Tiananmen Still Issue
Limited Live TV Coverage From Tiananmen Square Still A Big Issue For Beijing Olympics
(AP) Broadcasters and the IOC are pushingChina to keep its promises and open up Tiananmen Square to more hoursof live coverage for the Beijing Olympics.
Unfettered access toTiananmen, site of a bloody crackdown on the 1989 democracy movement,is being used to gauge how far China's communist government will go ingranting press freedom, which it promised seven years ago to help winthe Olympic bid.
In an emergency meeting last week in Beijingwith the International Olympic Committee and broadcasters, Chineseofficials _ after months of hedging and leaving the critical questionunanswered _ decided live broadcasting from Tiananmen would be limitedto two time slots _ 6-10 a.m. and 9-11 p.m.
Chinese officialsalso finally agreed to give hundreds of satellite trucks freedom toroam around the city and report, but a list of restricted areas isexpected this week. And there are reports broadcasters will have to getpermission 24 hours before filming from a location.
This comes after promises of open coverage, which was followed months ago by a reported ban on any live coverage.
"Wehave the words, it's in writing as well. We will just have to wait andsee," said Tomoyo Igaya, senior program director for Japan's NHK Sportsand head of the Japan consortium, an Olympic pool that represents NHKand five Japanese commercial broadcasters. "People say yes, yes, yes,but will people on site be saying no, no, no?"
With 3 1/2 weeksgo before the games open Aug. 8, China's authoritarian government wantsthe Olympics to showcase the country's three decades to speedy economicprogress. But the government fears the games could be a stage foractivists set on embarrassing China over policies in Tibet and Darfur,religious and political freedom or the jailing of dissidents.
To avoid that scenario, China has cracked down on visas and security and thrown countless roadblocks in broadcasters' way.
"Chineseofficials are aware that for a lot of the world, Tiananmen Squarebrings back memories of June 4 (1989) and what in the West is sometimesknown as the Tiananmen Massacre _ or the Tiananmen incident," saidSusan Brownell, a visiting China expert from the University ofMissouri-St. Louis.
"Plus, you have Chairman Mao's (Zedong) portrait in Tiananmen, and I think that's a past they don't want in the foreground."
Butthat iconic square is exactly what every broadcaster, rights holder ornot, wants to beam around the world _ no matter what time of day.
"Whycan't we broadcast freely during the day?" asked Fernando Pardo, headof sports for the European Broadcasting Union, who attended themeeting. "Why don't we have a normal timetable as was promised in thebeginning? The Chinese didn't give a clear answer, only excuses."
Lastweek's decision leaves European broadcasters without a time slot fordelivering live coverage from Tiananmen to the all-important eveningnews audience. China is six hours ahead of most of Europe, and sevenhours ahead of Britain.
"Both slots are totally useless for us," Pardo said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Notso for rights-holder NBC, which has paid millions to air the games. Theearly morning time slot on Tiananmen suits the American network, whichwill be able to go live to its prime-time evening audience. Beijingorganizers and the IOC also moved swimming and gymnastics finals to themorning, giving NBC live evening coverage back home.
Even so, NBC, like the other broadcasters, wants more.
Abroadcast official who attended last Wednesday's meeting, who declinedto speak publicly, said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, warnedthe Chinese that limiting time from Tiananmen could set a bad precedentin regard to press freedom.
The Associated Press obtained theminutes to the July 9 meeting in Beijing, attended by Beijing ViceMayor Cai Fuchao, senior IOC member Hein Verbruggen and dozens ofrghts-holding broadcast officials, including Zenkel.
Severalbroadcasters attending confirmed senior IOC member Alex Giladyaggressively pushed Cai over the scant live air time from Tiananmen.
Gilady,a senior vice president of NBC Sports, confirmed in a telephoneinterview that he was pressing the Chinese for more time.
"Ithink as a representative of the IOC TV commission, I have to try andfollow what the broadcasters want _ and they want more time," Giladysaid. "So we have asked for more. We will to see what the Chinese comeup with."
Last week's agreement also prohibits broadcasters frombringing guests to Tiananmen Square for live interviews, allowing only"standup talent" to speak from the iconic venue. Taped interviews willbe allowed, but only when security officials give permission.
"Whyis Tiananmen limited to certain hours?" asked Sandy MacIntyre, directorof news for AP Television News. APTN is the television arm of TheAssociated Press and a non-rights holder.
"This is notacceptable and is against the spirit of the Olympics, and the spirit offree expression that China signed up to in accepting to be hosts forthe games," MacIntyre said.
Sun Weijia, the head of mediaoperations for the organizing committee, attended the July 9 meeting,along with organizing committee executive vice president Wang Wei. Itwas Wang who promised the following while leading Beijing's bid in2001: "We will give the media complete freedom to report when they cometo China."
Sun declined to explain the reasoning for thesix-hour limit at Tiananmen, referring the matter to another Beijingspokesman who did not attend the meeting.
"You know this was aninternal meeting," Sun said. "I think if you would like to have moreinformation, please contact a spokesperson from BOCOG. I was in themeeting, but I am not able to comment."
Verbruggen, who hasworked closely with Chinese officials to prepare for the games,acknowledged the country's communist government had presented specialproblems.
"It (China) is a totally different culture that we inthe Western world are not fully able to understand," Verbruggen said,according to the minutes. "It is another world, another process. Wehave known that it won't be easy. ... We have spoken about problemsthat might occur and bureaucracy was one. Another was freedom of thepress."
In the four months since deadly rioting broke out inTibet _ triggering protests on the Olympic torch relay _ China'sgovernment has used a divide-and-conquer-strategy among hundreds ofbroadcasters who'll attempt to cover the games.
It seems to begiving preference to rights-holders such as NBC. Rights-holders paymillions to broadcast from the venue, although non-rights holders alsocover the games and focus on action away from the venues.
Severalnon-rights holders, who asked not to be identified for fear ofreprisal, told of months of changing rules, police interference,repeated requests for licenses and permits and telephone calls goingunanswered at a so-called "One-Stop Service Center" set up by Beijingorganizers.
Others told of calls being answered, but only inChinese _ or calls being referred to another number, only to bereferred back to the original number. Several said the endlessbureaucratic run-around, a crackdown on visas and rising hotel costs,were discouraging many foreign journalists and sponsors from attending,which seems to be the government's intention.
Many reportershave already dubbed these the "All-China Games" due to the expectedslump in foreign visitors, or the "Killjoy Games."
And ifbroadcasters don't get what they expect, some rights-holders havehinted at seeking monetary compensation. Pardo of the EBU cited the2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he said broadcastersreceived refunds for inadequate lodging.
"We got money back inTorino because the servics provided were no existent," Pardo said. "Buthere so far we don't have any proof the services are not going to begiven. ... If we don't get the services, the reaction of thebroadcasters can be unpredictable."
[ 本帖最后由 erihao 于 2008-7-24 23:18 编辑 ] |
发表于 2008-7-24 23:16
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