Withdrawal of media coverage at Rio Olympics

School of Journalism senior lecturer Dr Catherine Strong says it’s “disheartening” that the NZ Herald and Fairfax Media have had to withdraw their reporting teams, including photographers and videographers, from on site coverage of the Rio Olympics due to what they believe are restrictive conditions on event coverage imposed by SKY TV.

Dr Strong says the restrictions, including on the limited use of Games footage on newspaper websites, and subsequent withdrawal, is a loss to the journalism sector at an already challenging time time for the industry beset by a fragmented market and fewer resources.

It is is an unfortunate "new reality" of converged media she says, where there is a blurring of lines between broadcast television and newspapers’ online videos.

The withdrawal of coverage could potentially affect the reporting of individual athletes’ stories at the Games too, she says. A total of 43% of all New Zealand Olympic athletes participating at the Rio Olympics study at, or are graduates from, Massey University.

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