Olympics to Ban Athlete Blogs?

According to AFP, the International Olympic Committee is “examining what to do about blogs posted by athletes during the Olympic Games, amid fears that it could lead to scurrilous rumours being broadcast on the Internet.”

Under the Olympic charter, competing athletes are not allowed to double up as journalists during the Games, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said on Wednesday.

But blogs -- effectively a personal web-based diary that can easily be augmented by pictures and video -- fall into a grey area that does not appear to be covered by the current rulebook, Davies explained.

Bubka said blogs raised questions of privacy and potential conflicts with media or television rights, which could be governed by a code of conduct for Olympic athletes.

Here we go again. Dust off the tired blogger vs. journalist meme so it can be soundly beaten into the ground. Again.

But adding to the political complexity of the discussion is that the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing. China’s human rights record will certainly fuel more than a few Olympic discussions.

Olympics 2008 in 1000 days uploaded by www.nataliebehring.com

tags | media | blog | consumer-generated media | International Olympic Committee | Olympics | 2008 Olympics