Introduction
This presentation will focus on how three different news sources report on the Olympics 2022 in Beijing. The three articles were published in Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and CNN. The focus of the three pieces is on the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, which took place in Beijing. The Olympic games are a major event in sports on the global level because it allows athletes from many different states to compete and showcase their skills and potential. Therefore, by reviewing this event and how different news sources write about it, one can compare the different approaches to reporting and varying political and social positions.
The first news source is Sports Illustrated, and the article is titled “How to Watch Winter Olympic Closing Ceremony: Live Stream, TV Channel, Start Time” and written by Carter (2022). In this article, the author writes about the Olympics’ clothing ceremony with a focus on the American athletes who have won medals and will be present at this ceremony. Also, the author provides some details regarding the time of streaming and the news channels where one will be able to watch the ceremony. This article is focused on glorifying the American team and on emphasizing the winners, such as Elana Meyers Taylor.
The second article covering the topic of the Winter Olympics closing ceremony is the one published by ESPN. The author is Hamilton (2022), and the title of this article is “Winter Olympics 2022: Highlights from the closing ceremony in Beijing.” This article mainly focuses on social media’s reaction to the games and their closing ceremony, which is shown in Picture 1. Hamilton (2022) also mentioned the controversy surrounding these games due to the ongoing pandemic that continues to affect people’s lives. Hence, this article is more complex when compared to the first one and covers a broader range of topics, including the social and political factors linked to the Olympic Games 2022.
The final news source that also reported on the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games 2022 is CNN. This article is written by the CNN team and contains little text and a plethora of images that describe the final ceremony. The title of this article is “In pictures: The Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing” (2022), which explains the focus on the photographs as opposed to the text. An example of this is shown in Picture 3 above. Before showcasing the pictures, the authors briefly discuss what the Olympic games are, their purpose, the previous Olympics that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and other background information.
Statistics
The statistics support several features that are associated with both the Olympics and globalization. The 2022 Olympics occurred in the three regions of Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou with 12 competition venues. This introduced viewers and athletes to several locations and cultural heritage spots of which they were likely previously unaware. The events were widely broadcast with as many as 24 official rights-holding broadcasting companies present throughout the Olympics. More than 300 sublicensees were also able to depict and discuss the event which allowed for the variety of reporting and news releases throughout the sources we observed. Over 1952 accredited press staff members were present, with 1491 of which were from non-domestic organizations. 520 news outlets, and 602 photographers operated during the events. As such, the statistics illustrate the extent to which globalization has been ingrained in the reporting of such massive global events as the Olympics. While news outlets have specific needs and views and report regarding their nations, they are still entwined and involved in the overall progression of the event.
2022 Olympics Closing Ceremony
The video “Closing Ceremony Highlights | Beijing 2022” is an example depiction of new outlets with an international focus (Olympics, 2022). The video does not have any voiceovers and primarily depicts the closing events on a large scale by making references to cultural intricacies and the milestones at the event, such as Australia’s presence and the count of medals. Emotional highlights and records are also shown throughout the video in the form of clips. The video concludes with the handing over of the Olympic flag to the city that will host in 2026, Milano Cortina. After this, the speech of the EOC president establishes that the ceremony is closed. Though the video is conducted in English, it has an international appeal without sacrificing the details of the local culture. This form of reporting is especially important in the Olympics to maintain the unification and cooperation it establishes.
Summary
The topic of today’s presentation is linked to the class’ content since the Olympic games are an example of globalization. These games aim to unify the nations and allow them to showcase their best talent while also promoting communication and cooperation between states. Moreover, the Olympics take place in different states and cities each time, which also promotes globalization, since the athletes or viewers who have never heard of these countries get a chance to familiarize themselves with the culture and history. Hence, the Olympics are an example of the modern technological, interconnected, and continuously changing world.
Similarities
The main similarity is the focus on the American athletes who participated in the games and won medals. For example, Hamilton (2020) mentioned “Mikaela Shiffrin, River Radamus, Paula Moltzan, and Tommy Ford” among the athletes who have received medals in this year’s games (para. 2). Similarly, Carter (2022) began his article by discussing the American gold medalist Taylor. Hence, these articles aim to emphasize the contribution of American athletes.
Differences
This analysis shows how different news outlets and reporters approach the topic of reporting. The Winter Olympics in 2022 has been controversial, and because this is a global event, some of the reporters have focused on social and political issues, such as China’s foreign policy, while others emphasized the fact that the games still took place during the pandemic. However, still, all of the reporters recognized the contribution of the athletes representing their state and praised their achievements. After that, the authors took different approaches; some focused on social media’s reactions to the games, while others discussed the specific events that took place during the opening ceremony.
Globalization 1
All the articles express some effects of globalization but each does it in a unique approach and with differing intensity. The article by Carter for Sports Illustrated is dominated by the American presence at the Olympics. The references are focused on medals achieved by American athletes and the success of the nation at the event. Despite this, the article still highlights the value of the closing ceremony for the Olympics community and the world as an extension. The second article focus on social media which automatically allows people worldwide to share their opinions.
Globalization 2
The reaction of the audience is not often taken into consideration by news outlets, but the accessibility and ease of social media allow readers to view the events of the Olympics from a new perspective. Here, globalization is utilized directly through the transmission of reactions via the article. The third is informative and largely picture-focused. The image is perhaps the most symbolically vital element of globalization as it doesn’t require the use of language or translation. As such, the CNN and Hamilton articles are possibly the most concerned or affected by the process of globalization.
Globalization 3
Even the more America-centric Sports Illustrated article discusses the component of the Olympics that are relevant internationally. As such, globalization is not promoted purely by the inherently global nature of the Olympics but also by the improvements in technology that allow news outlets to gather extensive content. The sharing of opinions, especially related to international events, has become especially accessible and effective with the implementation of social media and news reporting presence on the internet. Regards to that, globalization is present in the lives of those that follow the events at the Olympics.
Conclusion
In summary, this presentation attempted to take a highlighted topic that the news sources have been discussing recently and connect it to the class content. The topic is the Winter Olympics closing ceremony, and the class topic is globalization. The three articles were written by Hamilton (2022), Carter (2022), and CNN (2022). All three authors disclose their topic differently; for instance, Hamilton (2022) mainly reports on social media’s reaction to the closing ceremony. CNN (2022) primarily published photos of the event, while Carter (2022) praised the American athletes who have won medals. The topic of the Winter Olympics is linked to globalization since this event connects states from all over the world and allows them to showcase their best talents.
References
Carter, J. (2022). How to watch Winter Olympic closing ceremony. Web.
CNN. (2022). In pictures: The Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing. Web.
Hamilton, C. Winter Olympics 2022 — Highlights from the closing ceremony in Beijing. Web.
Olympics. (2022). Closing ceremony highlights | Beijing 2022 [Video]. YouTube. Web.