IOC offers website for media to lodge complaints on Rio treatment

It’s no secret that the Rio Olympic Games are going to display, for all the world to see, the seamier side of international athletic competition. From political turmoil to health crises to official corruption to crumbling infrastructure to criminal activity to economic devastation to widespread doping, these Olympics present a full Vegas buffet of human sins.

So it’s no surprise that many connected with the Olympics would seek to shade coverage in a favorable light, influencing, restricting, altering, or outright blocking media coverage. In anticipation of this, the International Olympic Committee has created a website for journalists to report restrictions on press freedom, from major crackdowns to minor inconveniences like athletes refusing to speak at prescribed times. (It’s worth noting that the IOC is guilty, either directly or indirectly, of several of the sins noted above; you wouldn’t be wrong if you started thinking in the direction of foxes and hen houses.)

The Committee to Protect Journalists praised the creation of the reporting tool, noting the press abuses that took place when reporters sought to report on less-savory topics from Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2008. “Journalists are integral to the success of all international sporting events, and the IOC charter affirms that the IOC must take ‘all necessary steps to ensure the fullest coverage’ of the games,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement.

Yes, yes, bashing the media for bias or sensationalism or whatever is a fun and easy and, in some cases, very accurate pursuit. But here’s the deal: the Olympics are the most-covered event in the world; networks and websites and news organizations, Yahoo included, dedicate immense resources to bring stories from the games to the masses. Those stories can be uplifting or they can be soul-crushing, but we believe you’d agree that bringing readers the truth is a far higher aim than perpetuating a fairy tale.

(Via Awful Announcing)
Yahoo Sports’ Greg Wyshynski reports live from the streets of Rio:

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.