'Studs' Terkel Will Be Missed

Man of the millions, legendary Pulitzer Prize winning U.S. broadcaster and author, Louis "Studs" Terkel passed away on October 31 at age 96.

Terkel became best known for his interviews chronicling some of America's hardest years, through the eyes of the working masses.

His approach of amplifying the voices of the voiceless was an essential part of his various radio shows, plays, tv shows and books including Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970) and Working (1974).

His work became so synonymous with the struggle for a better world that he drew the eyer of authorties during the McCarthyist, anti-communist witch hunts during the 1950's. NBC chose to cancel his popular, but short lived, television show, Studs' Place, after he refused to say he was duped into signing political petitions by the Communist Party.

Studs represented a kind of journalism that has become a rare commodity in today's media environment. Never afraid of his radicalism, Terkel became a man dedicated to another vision of not only his own profession, but to the world as a whole.

He will be missed.

What coverage can we expect in Beijing?

What games are the world going to see? That is the biggest question on the minds of millions across the globe in the lead-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing. As the New York Times' Brian Stelter explains in "Networks Fight Shorter Olympic Leash", this is a question that is still yet to be answered.

NBC, who has paid a record amount for the rights and expects to rake in $1 billion in advertising is set to find itself in a compromised position, when, not if, protest actions take place during the upcoming games. NBC, is owned by General Electric, a company that is continuing to deepen its investments in China. NBC has already started censuring its own journalists, in order to halt questioning over what is expected of them in Beijing.

China has been slow moving in handing out any rights to media companies. They are worried about the Tibet protesters that plagued their torch relay as well as China's underclasses which have been hit hard by the authoritarian capitalist regime. What we all want to know is whether the media will report or not report what is going on outside the stadiums and if so, whom will do the reporting? Will those that have the most to lose (like NBC) hold back and be upstaged by lesser known media outlets? Who will make the gains and who will fall by the wayside?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/sports/olympics/21nbc.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Stay Tuned...

Update 24/07/08: Chinese Authorities have declared special legalised "protest areas", that may be used for approved protest actions during the upcoming games. Similar measures have been enforced at most past games, so we'll have to wait and see how it is enforced. The IOC and Chinese authorities have been quick to point out that this allowance does not permit violations of the Olympic Charter, which forbids "political, religious or racial propaganda... in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas". More @ Huffington Post