Feb. 03, 2010 - Issue #746: Spine

Media Links

Olympics and new media

Vancouver's Olympics a coming out for independent media

It was a holiday gathering much like any other, until I was introduced to a fellow "media person." To my surprise and amusement, he happened to be the director of communications for the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). I had a million questions: what did he think of independent and social media? What about the resistance to the games? What does his job actually entail?

Apparently, the director of communications is primarily responsible for keeping the "rights holders" happy and making sure they get to the front of the line of any sought media moment. His job seems to be to ensure that big media maintains its gatekeeper status. As for social and indie media, he didn't have much to say—they aren't a part of his job.  When I asked him about those critical of the games, he gave me a look that read, "Yeah, there's a few people who don't like the games, and that's too bad ... " At the very least he seemed unprepared, at the worst, he’s working in a media ecology that doesn't exist anymore.

Fellow Fresh Media co-founders Kat, Vivian, Jacqueline and I have noticed an interesting development through our work with Fresh Media—there is an influx of public interest in innovative web-based media. Why? Perhaps because of the excitement and optimism people feel for the new dynamics created by the open web, and the general web practices and values that are embedding themselves across the spectrums, from electronics to medicine to public space.

With big media in a state of crisis and new independent media taking up increased amounts of market share, media, communications and society itself are in a state of flux. Canwest has lost many of its leading newspapers to creditors and Rogers has fired media workers across the country at its various CityTV operations. The Tyee’s overall traffic has increased to 3 167 783 visits in 2009.

Bloggers like newly liberated journalist-turned-blogger Frances Bula are also helping fill the void. Citizen media platforms like NowPublic, and social media tools have increasingly become go-to sources for breaking news and first-person accounts. Social media is now recognized not merely as a tool for news, but also a driver of it. Look at the 216 000 people who have now joined the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament Facebook group and the 60-plus rallies and media sensation that resulted. In terms of hard numbers, stats published by Nielsen show that social media usage has increased by 82 percent in the last year!

With new venues emerging in Vancouver that are dedicated to citizen-produced art, ideas and journalism—like W2's Media House—and with Vancouver's active social justice scene, the Olympics could be a lot more inclusive and dialogue-focused than other mega media events. With so many resources set up for Vancouver residents to get involved—as legal observers, citizen-media analysts with blog stations at W2, tweeters sharing updates with the world from the streets (see The Vancouver Observer), or protesters/participants of the Games themselves—there will be a truly awe-inspiring variety of voices and views represented both on the web and in the physical world.

All this activity doesn't necessarily mean that the overall metanarrative of the Olympics will be that different. But it does mean that everyday people have an opportunity to participate in creating a narrative around the games and that as a result, there will be more than just one story or version of the Games. It's hard to say what those stories will be, but everyday people will get to play an active role in shaping them. With social media tools in the hands of Olympic fans, and pervasive reporting by citizen journalists and bloggers, will social media have its real journalistic coming-out party this February? We'll soon find out. V

Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for the Campaign for Democratic Media. He is a contributing author of Censored 2008 and Battleground: The Media. Media Links is a monthly syndicated column on media issues supported by CommonGround, The Tyee, Rabble.ca, Vancovuer Observer and Vue Weekly.

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