Call me naïve but many moons ago I actually believed that the mainstream Western media was on the whole balanced and professional in its reporting. Sure, accusations have long been flying around that the corporate media is in the pocket of governments but in the past television and networks were more circumspect or subtle than they appear to be nowadays.
For instance, I’ve been appalled to witness how big guns such as the BBC, CNN, the New York Times and the Guardian, have ganged up against Egypt’s transition when the country is battling terrorists, insurgents and violent protests, accusing the government of Mubarak-style authoritarianism, while at the same time leaving NATO-member and EU-candidate, Turkey, that’s cracking down on free expression, virtually off the hook. But the most shocking and unmistakable display of media vitriol has been the targeting of the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Russians were ecstatic to have won the 2014 Olympic bid and the government was keen to ensure it was the best ever. Over $51 billion was invested in new hotels, infrastructure, transport and measures to keep athletes and visitors safe. Years of planning and hard work were steeped in this enterprise, which should have been respected. The Olympic spirit is all about bringing people together through sport to build bridges and to nurture the feeling that we are all brothers and sisters under the sun. This was Russia’s opportunity to shine and no effort was spared. But in the run-up to the games, the media went out of its way to dampen enthusiasm to the extent one would be forgiven for believing the Cold War still existed.
The vindictive coverage of preparations to give Sochi a makeover kicked-off subsequent to the introduction of a Russian law banning homosexual propaganda aimed at minors. The western media leapt into frenzied action.
Members of the Pussy Riot band, earlier sentenced to prison for “hooliganism” in a cathedral who were freed under a presidential amnesty, got in on the act, encouraging international politicians traveling to Sochi to criticize “human rights abuses” in Russia and were given a heads-up by not only American newspapers and networks but also by the US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Powers. She met with members of the band in New York to discuss “the disturbing trend in Russia of legislation, prosecutions and government actions aimed at suppressing dissent…”
Responding to a sarcastic riposte from Russia’s ambassador to the UN who asked “Hasn’t she joined the band?” she Tweeted “I can’t sing but if Pussy Riot will have me, Ambassador Churkin, I say our first concert should be for Russia’s political prisoners.” Another example of American hypocrisy, double standards and interference! If Powers is so concerned about political prisoners, why doesn’t she sing out for the thousands of Palestinians behind bars in Israel or, closer to home for those still incarcerated in Guantanamo even though most have been deemed innocent?
Moreover, this “happy occasion” provided a platform for Circassian activists who voiced their objections to the games being held on the hallowed ground of Sochi and called for a boycott on the grounds they were driven out of the region by Czar’s armies during the 1860s. Al-Jazeera chose to air a documentary titled “2014: Winter of Discontent” highlighting the plight of Circassians and their objections to the Sochi Olympics “150 years after being expelled from their homeland.”
CNN and BBC World did little to elicit global excitement prior to the games; they rather focused on environmental issues caused by construction with segments dedicated to an elderly man miffed about a new train track running at the end of his garden. “Sochi got the gold, bypassed village got dust” was a headline in the New York Times. Gleeful CNN reporters complained about yellowish colored water flowing from the taps of their hotel rooms, as well as a collapsed curtain rail and stray dogs, sounding more like disgruntled package tourists than veteran TV journalists.
The US Department of Homeland Security further poisoned the atmosphere by issuing a warning, just days before the games were scheduled to begin, to the effect terrorists may be winging their way to Russia secreting explosives inside tubes of toothpaste, a statement geared toward giving travelers to Sochi second thoughts.
This column isn’t aimed at discussing the arguments of gay activists, Circassian exiles, Pussy Riot’s human rights concerns or environmental issues. My point is that such matters should be divorced from an international sporting occasion attended by people who often travel thousands of miles to witness human endeavor at its finest. The success of Sochi is no thanks to western politicians or their sycophants in the media who’ve bent over backwards to dim the light of the Olympic torch over Russia at a time when Russian-US relations are strained over Syria, Ukraine and Edward Snowden; a coordinated slight that Moscow may not be disposed to forget.
