Coverage of Special Olympics - Where Were the Major Television Networks?

Posted on 5:02 PM by TaimoorShaikh

I guess the major network television media didn't think that the Special Olympics were special nor really Olympics.

Katie Couric didn't have a little blip about one of the contestants even though her sympathetic style would dictate that she do so. There are always plenty of stories at the Special Olympics.

The Vice President of the United States was ignored as if he wasn't here in Idaho cheering on these special people. The contestants were thrilled by his visit. The national television media was not.

The local television channels asked, "Where is the national coverage?

People in China complained that they had competing athletes but there was no coverage. Well, that was true of Idaho. We had no coverage here to speak of. Well, some.

Even PBS had little or no interest.

U.S. Vice President Announces Appointment of Special Assistant for Disabilities Policy

Vice President Biden said that President Obama was concerned about the Olympics. During his visit to the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, on 12 February, he announced that Kareem Dale has been named the special assistant to the president for disabilities policy. Dale's appointment marked the first time a U.S. president has had a special assistant focused exclusively on disability policy.

Biden said, "The commitment that the President and I have to Special Olympics and people with disabilities is deep and abiding. And we are backing up those words with real action at the White House," said Biden. "This is our first step to ensure that we have a strong advocate for people with disabilities at the highest levels of our administration." The nation needs policy changes that will ensure Americans with disabilities can get and keep fulfilling jobs without worrying about losing government-funded health insurance or other assistance, he added. "This is a civil rights movement," Biden said. "There's a need to have changes in policy."

But this was not important to the national media. Why should they mention such trivia? Kareem Dale is partially blind but not as blind as the national media.

Biden watched ice skating. Five pairs competed: Jose Visiconty and Brenda Monreal, Special Olympics Mexico; Tobias Werner and Cristin Ziebe, Special Olympics Germany; and three pairs from Special Olympics Chinese Taipei - I Han Pan and I Ju Wang; Keng Shan Chang and Sung Chien Sung; and Kuei Ying Lin and Fang Ting Hung.

Biden awarded medals to the pairs, and Kwan gave them bouquets. Read the story at the Special Olympic web site.

So, over 2000 athletes come from all the world to Idaho to compete in the Special Olympics and the national media could not find one damned story?

Well, there were over 2000 stories.

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John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired college professor and business executive, former editor of an international engineering magazine. Writer, novelist, painter of landscapes. Lots of grand-kids.

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