Trying times for reporters at the sharp end

We've never known it so tough - that's perhaps the strongest message from journalists across the globe as the 2010 Winter Olympics draws to close in Vancouver.

Sports reporters from all over the world have converged on the west coast Canadian city for two weeks of thrills, spills, heartache and delight, but there is an overwhelming feeling that the spiralling demands of delivering instant, high-quality journalism across an ever-widening array of platforms is making this one of the toughest times ever for the industry.

Jason Stallman, deputy sports editor at the New York Times, and their Olympics co-ordinator has worked at the paper since 2003, and told me that even papers with a global reputation are finding it a massive challenge.

Jason Stallman. Picture: The New York Times

Stallman told me: "Of course there's always a race to get the story out there, and newspapers are having to act more an more like agencies all the time. But the real challenge for us is to make sure that quality doesn't suffer - it's what we're known for, and sometimes we'll accept that we might be beaten to the story but we'll never compromise on the quality."

At the New York Times, resources allow for a 'belt and braces' coverage of major news and events: "We'll have one guy writing the in-depth story, spending time putting it together, and another guy working on the shorter versions for online and other platforms. That way we can still get the news out there without having to compromise overall quality."

And tackling the challenge of trying to haul a profit from online news, Stallman said: "The system we're going with soon will be a metred system. That might mean that you're in Scotland and have a passing interest in something we're covering. You'll be able to come in, have a look at a set number of pages then leave, but for people who are more regular browsers and who want regular access to things that would cost money to buy in print there will be a charge."

Discussions with journalists and presenters across print, online, radio and televiosn from as far afield as the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, Scandanavia and central Europe has revealed that the challenges faced by Scotland's media are familiar stories across the globe.

Reduced staff, the conundrum of free internet access versus expensive news generation, and the challenge of juggling multiple platforms are all too familiar stories - with most reporters finding that they are attempting to juggle completed print copy, running takes for onling presentation, Twitter or Facebook updates, post-match interviews, video pieces, audio pieces, blogs and reader interaction.

And indeed, reporters from Salt Lake City and Australia had very similar stories, and said: "We're both the only reporter that our outlets have at the Games, and frankly it's becoming impossible to do everything that's expected of us. Certainly it's becoming impossible to do it with any real degree of quality."

There can be no doubt that new technologies, and their hand in the rapidly changing world of journalism, are here to stay, and it will be fascinating to see what the media landscape looks like for London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.

However, it looks certain that there will be a continued split - with consumers finding it ever easier to get faster, cheaper news while reporters find it ever tougher to provide the quality of content that they hope to deliver.

* This will be my final blog from my Vancouver base, so I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who's been reading along and keeping in touch. I'll be back with more from Scotland soon. In the meantime, thanks to the British Olympic Association, Cardonald College Glasgow, University of the West of Scotland, all of the media and athletes who have helped make the trip a succes. Oh, and thank you Vancouver and Canada!

Canada waits for final fling

Vancouver's relationship with the Olympics has been a tumultuous, brightly-burning, love affair. Sure it's had a couple of rocky moments along the way but it's also had life-defining highs and as the closing moments draw ther closer it's clear that the city's already feeling that ache at the loss of something good.

Residents of the city know they only have two more days in the world's spotlight, though, so they're planning to make the post of it, and it's pretty clear that their athletes are in the mood to go out on a high too - with a day of successes seeing the hosts jump to the top of the gold medals charts.

    USA romp to the finals against Finland. Picture: Martin Boyle

The day started with a little bit of a warm-up for the evening's main event as I headed to Canada Hockey Place's Media Centre for USA's emphatic 6-1 win over Finland. For such an important match the atmosphere, and the media centre, were fairly subdued.

Indeed, it was clear that most people were waiting for the main event - Canada's 3-2 win over Slovakia, which sets up the dream North American final on Sunday.

Canada's Vancouver-based Roberto Luongo guides the hosts to the final. Picture: Martin Boyle

The reality is that just two things dominate the news agenda in Canada - gold medals for the hosts, and ice hockey.

And there's no doubt that the one thing the hosts want more than anything else, the one thing that will seal the deal and allow them to put a big red tick in the 'successful Olympics' box, is men's hockey gold.

However, with the USA on top form - they scored six goals in 12 minutes today - there may yet be one last real heartbreak to come in Canada's love affair with the 21st Winter Olympiad.

London 2012 gets connected

The London 2012 organising committee started to make their presence felt at a special party to fire the opening salvos of their plan to get tourists flooding back the Britain and to London's Olympics.

Visit Britain's event is designed to be a starting point in getting the media talking about London's Games, and Alex Budden, British Consul General, said: "As these wonderful Games in Vancouver draw to a close, we can gradually feel the spotlight of Olympic attention arcing its way round to London."

British Consul General Alex Budden. Picture: Martin Boyle

And he revealed that they are already well aware of the need to embrace new media communication channels. He said: "The Britain we know is open, dynamic and connected and there is no doubt that will be a big part of our Games."

Indeed, the 2012 team will have a fully developed social networking strategy as well as continuing to cater for traditional media, and they told me: "Beijing was the online Olympics, Vancouver has been the Twitter Olympics - London will show just how much this has all moved on and it will be central to what we do."

Also attending the event were several well-known BBC faces including Hazel Irvine, who said: "It's been a great, but frantic Games, a real success," as well as snowboarder Ed Leigh and Olympic rower Matthew Pinsent.

Marathon star and 2012 medal hopeful Paula Radcliffe was guest of honour, and she said: "2012 will be my last chance to win an Olympic medal and everything I'm doing now is geared up towards that. It's going to be great to know that everyone in the country is right behind me.

Marathon star Paula Radcliffe. Picture: Martin Boyle

"The opportunity to host the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us. Dreams will be made and realised there and it is also a chance for people to get to know the people of Britain, who love their sport so much.

"The hope is that the Olympics Games can inspire more people to take up sports. I still remember my first Commonwealth Games - it's these experiences that will never leave you."

Press handling winning reporters over

Managing the army of international press and media that have descended on Vancouver is no simple task, and a glimpse behind the scenes reveals an operation of quite remarkable proportions.

With events happening at venues spread across all of Vancouver city, as well at Cypress Mountain, an hour from the city, and Whistler, over two hours away, an army of blue-clad 'Smurf' helpers and a fleet of buses runs around the clock to ensure that the media doesn't miss any of the action.

International Olympic Committee hosts daily information briefings. Picture: Martin Boyle

And at each Olympic venue a specialised media zone ensures that each event can be covered from facilities of undoubted quality, none more so than the Main Media Centre, right on the wharf of Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.

It's clear that events are increasingly being run to make them attractive to television audiences but also to attract media attention and make the Games an attractive event to cover. The introduction of board and ski cross is perhaps the most obvious example of this - dramatic, 'instant gratification' events which grab the attention and appeal to a new, younger audience, and which have been a big hit in Vancouver.

Indeed, journalists from several nations have noted a growing recognition of the need to inject 'drama' into some of the more established sports.

Tonight's inspirational 2-0 win for Canada's women over their USA counterparts in the ice hockey gold medal match illustrates this media-savvy strategy well.

Up-to-the-minute information is made available on the Olympics' own media web portal but a sea of helpers also bring round stats and information sheets with impressive regularity.

Canadian women celebrate winning gold against USA. Picture: Martin Boyle

Indeed, Britain's sporting PR people, particularly in the world of football, could learn a lot from the open, helpful and accomodating approach most journalists have encountered in Vancouver. Daily press conferences at the Main Media Centre ensure up-to-date information, quotes, picture and video opportunites, while the mixed zones at each venue ensures a corridor that each competitor walks down after events, while reporters can wait in the zone to grab their desired interview - far more attractive than having all outlets spoonfed one interview.

While the system has been around for a while, it does make for a wider range of stories than the 'one man for Saturdays, one man for the Sundays' approach so favoured at many Scottish events.

Team Canada's Roberto Luongo meets the press. Picture: Martin Boyle

Story-idea desks, picture suggestions, technological help and world-class facilities all play their part, but it is effective athlete access which is of most benefit to hard-pushed sports reporters - and by doing simple things like making the superstars of the men's hockey team available in an interval in the women's final, reports have far greater access - particularly given just how controlled access is around an Olympic city.

The Mixed Area in action with Team Canada hockey players. Picture: Martin Boyle

Medallist Jen Heil: We're so impressed

Athletes and fans alike have been lining up to defend the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with an overwhelming majority hailing the event as a massive success.

So much so, indeed, that one newpaper poll this week revealed that 60 per cent of Canadians believe that the Games have been one of the country's most important, defining moments.

And Canadian silver medal moguls winner Jen Heil said: "I've been so, so impressed. It's been a great Games and I think most of the athletes have been completely blown away by it.

Moguls silver medal skier Jen Heil

"Sure we've heard some of the criticism from some of the media, but it really doesn't ring with our experience or the atmosphere out on the streets with the people. It's been inspiring to see people out there genuinely enjoing it all.

"Up at Cypress we've been having a great time, and we've created a world-class venue there."

Canadian hero Alexandre Bilodeau. Picture: Martin Boyle

Heil was speaking as she announced that she is giving $25,000 to a charity designed to provide an education to young women in deprived countries, while team-mate and Canada's first home-soil gold medallist, Alexandre Bilodeau, will give $25,000 to a cerebral palsy charity.

The now-familiar sea of red which greets all Canadian competitors. Picture: Martin Boyle

Meanwhile, Vancouver's Skyline monorail, a clockwork-regular driverless transport system that has kept the city moving during the Games, has also become a great place to meet people, and one passenger told me: "It's been the best experience ever, everyone's getting involved and the Games have brought so much to the city.

"Sure there's a lot of big money and big business but we have to hope it leaves a legacy. We've got a great police force, great transport system and I'm delighted how well we've dealt with all the people.

"This has really been Vancouver's chance to sell itself to the world."

Of course, there are some doubters and critics, and it seems only right that they have been able to find a voice in the sea of red, with another big protest set for the closing day of the Games. Indeed, one Canadian told me: "To be honest, I find it really hard to be patriotic amongst all this because I look around and I see so many foreign companies setting up shop.

"What is there that we're doing that's actually Canadian? We bought furniture from Germany and even brought a team of German guys over to put it all together. You can't even buy a Canadian car these days - everything's American or it's Japanese and German.

"It's like we've been happy to give squatting rights to the whole world and forgotten how to do anything for ourselves."

But despite some voices of dissent, just how did some elements of the British press misread the mood quite so spectacularly? Anecdotally, some of the journalists aren't even in the country, while another miserly article was written after a particularly moody scribe's bus broke down.

The reality, though, is that there is an enormous challenge to find a new, fresh angle for each story. Instant messaging, social network feeds, web stories and in-depth television coverage have all served to make newspaper reporting of results all but redundant, forcing print sports journalism in new direction, and from time time pushes public and editorial opinions in different direction

Olympic burnout

Confession time. Think I might need a bit of a break tomorrow, as this Olympic lark is unbelievably tiring work.

Not that I'm complaining, I hope you understand. But six straight days of interviews, meetings, sports events and late-night finishes are starting to take their toll, resulting in me starting to look, shall we say, a little worse for wear. This may well have something to do with a stunning lack of sleep and the fact that absolutely nothing of any nutritional value whatsoever has passed my lips in the last week.

It's ironic that an event with so much sport at the heart of it can leave you feeling quite this unhealthy.

So tomorrow's time for a bit of a break and I'm hopefully heading up to Whistler to try and find some snow and get a little bit of boarding time. Oh yeah, not to mention the Team GB party tomorrow night with Paula Radcliffe et al.

So probably a bit of a blogging break tomorrow! I'll sign off with a quick update on today's events...

          Ashleigh McIvor winning Ski Cross gold for Canada. Picture: Martin Boyle

Headed back up to Cypress for the women's Ski Cross, won in some style by Canada'a Ashleigh McIvor and spent some more time in and around the Cypress press area, was interviewed for a piece in Denmark's largest national newspaper (should be in on Sunday apparently!), did some interviews of my own with international press, attended Team USA snowboard team press conference and met some of their boarders, headed round to Irish House to see a couple of bands, had another McDonald's and gave serious thought to a Morgan Spurlock handlebar moustache.

Back soon, I hope!

Curling sweeps away old image

Something very strange is happening in the world of curling. Something very strange indeed.

Traditionally the sport of, shall we say, the rather reserved upper middle classes, it has had something of a makeover, and it appears to be becoming, well, almost cool.

The Norway men's team have been turning out in tight polo shirts and funky checked trousers made by the people who supply golfer John Daly, and their outfits have been gathering them media attention across the world.

Indeed, they've been invited to present a pair of the trousers to the King of Norway on their return home, and there was a queue forming at the Irish House tonight to get pictures taken with one of the team as he danced the night away.

Meanwhile, in the women's game, a new generation of curling starlets have been grabbing all sorts of attention, and most Canadian and America fans have swapped their usual 'What the hell's curling?' for 'Wow, who's she?'

Scotland skip Eve Muirhead may have got off to a losing start in her Olympics career when the team bowed out of the competition yesterday, but she's still one of the most talked-about athletes at the Games. And at just 19 she has a string of Olympics to look forward to yet.

     Scotland's Eve Muirhead, with team mate Kelly Wood. Picture: Martin Boyle

Meanwhile Russian skip Liudmila Privivkova is proving to be another big draw at games - but it's Danish curling star Madeleine Dupont who is attracting most attention, with a remarkable number of people in and around Vancouver, and beyond, suddenly able to name the girl who plays third for Denmark in curling. Who'd have thought that before these Olympics started. Perhaps news of her appearance in a nude calendar helped.

Liudmila Privivkova is likely to be a big star when the Russian town of Sochi hosts the next Winter Olympics. Picture: Martin Boyle

But why so much media attention on the new wave or curling stars?

As Lars From, of Denmark's largest national newspaper told me: "We've all got the same press access, the same quotes, and the same sports results to report, so we all need to go out and find a new angle, something of interest to our readers.

"There's no doubt that Madeleine has been one of those stories."

Team USA snowboard Burton gear 'won't be released' to public

Team USA's charm offensive and management of Olympic hype shows no sign of halting, and it's fair to say they're winning friends wherever they go with some expert media handling.

They've got the 'creative industries' handling down to an art at these Games with quality web coverage, excellent press handling, and they've been right at the forefront of bring fashion to the heart of sport.

All Team USA gear available in the shops, and worn by the team, is made by Ralph Lauren.

But, as mentioned yesterday, it's the Burton Gore-Tex snowboarding gear that's made the biggest impact.

And content to bask in the adulation of a growing army of fans, Team USA have confirmed that they are unlikely to cash in by releasing a public version of the exclusive denim and plad outfits.

Team USA snowboarding press supremo Nick Alexakos (pictured above) said: "We've been really happy with the gear this year, those guys at Burton did a great job. It's been creating a real buzz and we're stoked at how many people are talking about it.

"The boarders love it and it's got us some extra notice which is great. It's probably not going to be released for sale though, it's a special edition and it's something for the athletes."

And it's just that attitude that shows a team fully aware of the value of good publicity and creating a surge of interest at just the right time.

Given my home college's starring performances in the world of fashion (Cardonald College Glasgow has long performed well in the area) it will be fascinating to see whether London and Glasgow are able to tap into such a rich vein of design opportunities when the Olympics and Commonwealth Games come rolling into town - but it's well worth getting the design process started now.

'Minority' sports get their moment to shine

There's no doubt that the Olympics gives a whole range of sports the chance to shine when they would normally struggle to break through into the mainstream media.

And the snowboarding and freestyle ski events are making the most of their moment in the Vancouver sun, winning over a whole new legion of fans. It's clear, though, that they're wise enough to know how to play the media game, and so it is that they are making sure they're available, visible and making the most of the their chance.

Team USA, despite running away with the overall medals standings, have still made sure they're open and helpful, taking time out to speak to journalists, and snowboarder Michelle Gorgone, from Boston, told me: "I'm a snowboard racer so let's face it, I only ever really get the chance to do a big press conference once every four year.

                 Team USA snowboarder Michelle Gorgone. Picture: Martin Boyle

"The Olympics give us the chance to get our sport out there and to raise the profile. We're all part of that. I was in Torino too, though, so I guess I'm starting to know what to expect."

And veteran snowboarder Chris Kline, 37, who has been with Team USA since the early days of the sport, said: "The Olympics is a really big thing for us and for the sport. We know exactly what it brings to snowboarding.

"I was part of the first ever Olympic snowboarding team back in '98 and that was a pretty awesome experience. I don't know what the future holds for boarding at the Games but we're just stoked to be here and be competing."

Continuing my snowboarder hunt, this time with Michelle Gorgone of USA

Canada on film - Caprica and beyond

Canada, and Vancouver in particular, are enjoying their moment of fame as television companies, newspapers and websites send memorable images of the city, and the sporting achievements it is hosting, around the world.

What is perhaps not so well known is that images of the west coast city have been commonplace in our homes and cinemas for years now, with Vancouver hosting many major films and television series. Indeed, Vancouver with its towering glass skyscrapers, down-at-heel neighbourhoods, stunning coast and islands and breathtaking moutains, is remarkably good at doubling for just about anywhere.

Locations across the city were famously home to The X Files throughout its run, and top-notch sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, and spin-off Caprica, are both filmed in the city, which doubles as Caprica City in both programmes.

Vancouver Public Library memorably doubled as Caprica in Battlestar Galactica, but has also appeared in The Sixth Day and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Picture: Martin Boyle

Indeed, for Galactica fans, the Port Mann Power Station in Surrey, near my base just outside the city doubled as the Astral Queen, while the Waterfall Building in Vancouver was Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace's apartment in Delphi and Leoben's home in New Caprica.

The Orpheum Theatre is also the 'Opera House' while the Burnaby area of town was also Caprica, as well as doubling for cityscapes in, amongst others, Watchmen, Twilight Saga, 2012, The A Team and Juno.

     Vancouver's much filmed waterfront. Picture: Martin Boyle

I've been fortunate enough to meet a few people working in Canada's burgeoning film industry during my trip to the country. Ciaran and his friends working their special effects magic on Hollywood blockbusters from Toronto, Jim who has been working with Star Wars-creator George Lucas at Industrial Light and Magic, and representatives of CBC, CTV and NBC.

      Vancouver's Orpheum doubled as Battlestar Galactica's 'Opera House. Picture: Martin Boyle

There's no doubt that Canada is rich in creativity, and rightly proud of its place in the global media scene - with Vancouver now the third largest movie-producing city in North America, behind Los Angeles and New York. And it seems clear that Glasgow, and Scotland in general, have missed a real trick by not opening our arms to the film industry and making it easier to get projects up and running.

The Cultural Olympiad has been able to tap into a rich seam of existing creative energy, ideas and talent to energise Vancouver and the Winter Games, with streets throbbing with life constantly.

One of Glasgow's challenges, as we prepare to welcome the Commonwealth in four years time, is to breath new life into creative industries and the arts, rather than starting from scratch and reinventing a glossy two-week showcase. A real challenge when the temptation is to play it safe with tartan and shortbread, particularly when money is tight.

Are you board yet?

Rick Broadbent at The Times came up with a cracking idea the other day, and I reckon it's time to actively start lobbying the IOC.

You see, he suggested putting snowboarders in charge of the Winter Olympics.

And quite frankly, this is probably the best idea anyone's had as a long, tiring, controversial, exciting, boring, rollercoaster week one of Olympic action draws to a close.

First we had Japanese boarder and all-round dude Kazuhiro Kokubo getting up the noses of stuffy officials by wearing his official Olympic suit with shirt untucked, tie loosened and trousers riding pretty damn low. Or dressing like an, erm...snowboarding 21-year-old. None of his boarding team mates wore a tie on the plane home after Kokubo was forced to apologise.

Then it was the turn of French ace  Mathieu Crepel, who marked his big day of competition by drawing a comedy French moustache on his face to ease the tension and, well, just have a bit of a laugh really.

You see, that's the thing with boarders - they don't take things too seriously, know how to have a laugh, and even after slamming they'll pick themselves up and get on with it with a sense of camaraderie missing from so many other sports.

           Hanging out with Ski Sunday's Graham Bell and Ed Leigh. (Yes, I look like a sad fan boy and yes, I'm sunburnt at a Winter Olympics!)

While we are shaking things up, why not get Slopestyle into the Olympics, after its success at X Games, and give Britain's own Jenny Jones the chance to do her thing and win gold on the biggest stage. Chances are that it would be a better addition than the boarding PGS, adding to the big successes of Cross and Halfpipe.

I mentioned the wild popularity of Team Canada fashion the other day, and there's no doubt that Team USA have had their own success - the snowboarding team's Burton outfit has been by far the best gear in Vancouver this year, and the limited edition gear is already causing a buzz on the web as fans clamour for snowboarding giants Burton to release a commercial version of the team-only outfit.

                     

 Members of the Team USA snowboarders. Picture: Martin Boyle

Ski Sunday's snowboarding guru Ed Leigh also suggests a more exciting version of curling, where people have to stand on the stones and risk life and limb for their game.

Now if that's not reason enough to get snowboarders in charge of the Games I really don't know what is.

Canada bites back at Olympic criticism

First it was The Guardian, now it's the Daily Mail. Unlikely bedfellows you'd have thought but neither paper has been slow to declare Vancouver's Winter Olympics 2010 a flop.

The media at work in Cypress. Picture: Martin Boyle

And this hasn't gone unnoticed in Canada. Indeed, one Canadian fan, upon hearing my accent at Cypress Mountain today, demanded to know if I worked for the Daily Mail and, if I didn't, did I know where he might find a Mail reporter.

I think his first thought might have been to string the unsuspecting, but undoubtedly churlish, journo from the nearest cablecar tower.

He went on to explain: "I'd love to talk to the guy and just hear where he's getting this stuff from. We're having a great Games, everyone's loving it and we just don't understand where they're coming from or what they're trying to do.

"The Games have been a success. To most people it just looks like they've got an agenda, they're here to criticise and it looks like they're trying to make London look good for the next Olympics.

And, pointing to a sun-kissed and buzzing Cypress, he said: "You'd have to be crazy not to love this, right?

 Ski fans enjoy Cypress Mountain. Picture: Martin Boyle

"The Games have been a success. To most people it just looks like they've got an agenda, they're here to criticise and it looks like they're trying to make London look good for the next Olympics."

IOC Director of Communications Mark Adams followed a similar line, when he said he "did not recognise the Games as portrayed by the British press," adding: "You wonder which city they're reporting from. What they're saying bears absolutely no relation to what I've seen at the competitions. It's been amazing. You wonder where these people have been."

Indeed, with the notable exception of the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, most of the 'problems' (broken machinery, lost bus drivers, huge crowds, endless queues,mistakes in information and ticketing) are present at many a British football match, far less an event which spans so many variables.

                   BBC's Ed Leigh and Graham Bell interview Ski Cross gold medallist Michael Schmid of Switzerland. Picture: Martin Boyle

Having already met up with several people involved in putting together London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, perhaps one of the lessons that they need to learn is that it's the side issues rather than the sporting action which can transform the overall message presented by the media.

The reality is that day 10 lived up to its 'Super Sunday' billing. The Ski Cross event showed that skiiing is learning from snowboarding, its cooler younger brother, and in its first ever appearance at an Olympics arguably produced the event of the Games so far, with man mountain Michael Schmid in unstoppable form. Canada's hockey clash with the USA, which the States won, added to a Scandanavian sell-out when Sweden met Finland, proved that sports fans are lapping up every minute.

              Michael Schmid celebrates gold. Picture: Martin Boyle

Scottish and American media links

Promising progress on the PhD development front, and a huge thanks to a few people who have already taken the time out to share their thoughts, ideas, advice and, most importantly, patience.

Many thanks to Katriona Bush for a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to the work behind the scenes with the UK and Scottish athletes, and in particular to the nuances of curling. It's just a shame that GB couldn't get one over on the USA.

   Team GB's all-Scottish curling girls in action

Huge gratitude also to Jason Stallman, editor with the New York Times for some really useful information on where the they're heading in the new media world. and to Aimee Berg, with teamusa.org for her time and patience - and really useful information.

British press criticism fails to dampen spirits

The British press and its desire to be seen as the grumpy old man of world sports appears to be gathering traction, with UK press criticism of the Games being one of the hot topics of debate.

            The Olympic Flame and the stunning North Van backdrop. Picture: Martin Boyle

A few attempts have been made to make the 'worst Games ever' tag stick, but international coverage is making it increasingly obvious that this is very much a British problem, perhaps with a view to London 2012 - the rest of the world is just getting on with it and enjoying the action.

Coverage from around the competing nations is overwhelmingly focusing on the performance of their own athletes, though some have taken time to consider the social and economic issues which inevitably attach themselves to an event of this size. A quick trip to Vancouver's poorest postcode makes it abundantly clear that much is still to be achieved in this glittering, semi-futuristic city of glass.

But it's obvious to most that The Guardian has a pre-determined line to take - big, bold, bad capitalist Olympics = bad. And when the paper was bandying about words like 'disaster' weeks in advance they've certainly got an agenda to feed here. I mean, really, is a broken zamboni a reason to throw our hands up in dispair? If that's the bar we're setting for London 2012 heaven help us.

The hope has to be that the long-term impact of the Games will be felt long after the international media has turned its attention elsewhere, that the city's east side will get the transformation it so urgently needs, and the cries for help of its citizens will be answered.

Canadian fans enjoy the Games. Picture: Martin Boyle

But in the meantime, Vancouver looks stunning, transport is immacutely hassle-free and hours-long queues and crowded trains are being seen as a chance to get to know a few new people, and friendly, smiling faces are very much in evidence.

Canada's people, as much as the sporting events, are proving to be the real stars of the show in Vancouver, with a warm welcomes, smiling faces, and a real desire to ensure that visitors enjoy their city and country. Almost every chance meeting is a pleasure - not at all like the pre-war Berlin that the Guardian would have you believe.

Creative Industries out in force

It's worth noting that the Olympic Games is pulling together a wealth of skills which fit perfectly into the remit of Cardonald College Glasgow's faculty of Creative Industries, and the opportunities for Glasgow 2014 are huge.

From journalism and television, through to PR, marketing and advertising, stopping off at design and fashion, there are real opportunites to be had.

The official Winter Olympics Main Media Centre has taken over all of Canada Place, a stunning conference centre right on the bay with remarkable views across to North Vancouver and the mountains, and it is immediately obvious that VANOC, the Vancouver Olympic Organising Committee, has spent painstaking hours ensuring that the media are happy.

A mass of blue-jacketed helpers (or Smurfs as they've been lovingly tagged) are on hand to answer every question, and media facilities at the venues are outstanding. Last night's 5-0 ice hockey win for a strong-looking Finland against Germany included  Teemu Selanne becoming the highest points scorer in Olympic history.

               Finland prepare for victory over Germany. Picture: Martin Boyle

And with television, press, online, radio and a string of agencies such as Reuters all in attendance, the media machine at Canada Hockey Place is immaculately organised.

              Media in action at Canada Hockey Place. Picture: Martin Boyle

Away from the main media centres, the creative industries are also out in full force. Any Olympic city is transformed into a marketing Disneyland, and Vancouver's no different, taking on the role of spectacular stage for official Olympic sponsors to show off their wares.

So while US snowboarding superstar Shaun White was uncharacteristically lacking in his usual Burton overload, it's hard to walk around Vancouver without getting the urge to drink Coke, use a Samsung phone and spend, spend, spend on your Visa (the offical card of the Games, rendering our Mastercard utterly worthless across the city this month).

And when it comes to fashion and design, organisers appear to have tapped into Canada's pride at the Games in perfect fashion. Almost everyone is wearing official Team Canada merchandise with mittens and Canada hoodies an absolute must-have.

                         Team Canada mittens - the must-have accessory. Picture: Martin Boyle

The Canada font on the hoodie and other items is all across the city, indeed, the country, and is very hard to miss.

Vancouver 2010 has clearly managed to grab itself a piece of the action with a clear marketing plan, clever organisation, and merchandising which has grabbed the mood.

It will be fascinating to see if London and Glasgow can live up to this success, and if they have anything as strong as Canada's bold red and maple leaf to symbolise a nation's support.

Media and nation buy into positive coverage

A quick stopover in Toronto underlines the fact that much of Canada, and not just Vancouver, has been gripped by Winter Olympics fever and that there is little sign of the week-one Games hangover which experts were predicting.


Canadians took the opportunity to voice a variety of grievances in the run-up to the Games, harking back to the Tibetan protests which grabbed so much media attention in the lead-up to the Beijing Games two years ago. A lack of perceived progress on pre-Games promises, particularly around redevelopment of poorer areas, angered many, while cultural issues surrounding the link to Canada’s indigenous groups also caused some controversy.

But the protest has not been on the same scale, nor has it achieved such clarity of purpose as the Tibetan movement in 2008.

Canadians around the streets and bars of Toronto are much more eager to be seen as friendly, welcoming, and right behind Team Canada. It is interesting to note that the media and the public both reflect one clear idea – they’ve voiced their concerns, they’ve made it clear that they’re worried about the amount of money spent on the Games in trying times, but now that the action is underway it’s all about pulling together and focusing on the sport.

Call it a truce, call it an outpouring of national pride, but Canada, almost ubiquitously decked out in the red maple leaf and Olympic logo mittens that have become such a symbol of the Games, appears far more interested in sporting prowess than protest.

And it’s clear that Canadians are hungry for news about Team Canada’s progress, with mobile phones and the internet providing moment-by-moment updates while you’re never far from a big screen showing the latest action. Indeed, it would be easy to imagine that there’s nothing else available on television across the country right now. The traditional media, too, is buying into the dream, with medal news filling column inches and guaranteeing front page prominence.

Commercial channel CTV has pulled off a publicity coup and managed to get their logo everywhere by wresting main media rights away from the traditional players, and it is well worth speculating as to what Britain and Scotland’s commercial channels can learn from them in the run-up to 2012 and 2014.

In Canada’s media centre, the Toronto Sun, a picture-heavy tabloid into the wholesale and overwhelmingly positive coverage with the clear message that they’re getting right behind the team, with the clear message that anything else would be folly and turn off readers.

Indeed, an executive with the Sun told me: “It’s what people want to read about right now, That’s what they’re talking about and watching on TV, and our focus has to be on Canada’s sporting achievement.

“We’re a big sports paper, people know us for our sports coverage and we sponsor a team in Toronto so that’s always going to be our focus.”

However, there is an admission at the Sun that, despite the years of planning for the Olympics, they are not where they need to be when it comes to online and new media coverage: “If you trade on the stock market you absolutely know the one site that you’ll always go to for faithful, accurate and up-to-date information.

“That has to be the goal for us when it comes to sports coverage and it’s the thing we need to work on right now. We need to become the go-to site for sports coverage and we know that we’re not quite there yet.”

Vancouver visit: The plan so far

Olympic Schedule - The plan so far (subject to all sorts of change, meetings etc!)



Friday, February 19

7pm CURLING: Japan v UK (w) Vancouver Olympic Centre

9pm ICE HOCKEY: Germany v Finland Canada Hockey Place


Saturday, February 20

2pm CURLING: USA v Great Britain Vancouver Olympic Centre

4.15pm SPEED SKATING: 1500m final (m) Richmond Olympic Oval

6.29pm SHORT TRACK: 1000m 1/4 final (m) Pacific Coliseum

6.58pm SHORT TRACK: 1500m semi (w) Pacific Coliseum

7.28pm SHORT TRACK: 1000m semi (m) Pacific Coliseum

7.51pm SHORT TRACK: 1500m final (w) Pacific Coliseum

8.05pm SHORT TRACK: 1000m final (m) Pacific Coliseum


Sunday, February 21

12.15pm SKI CROSS: 1/8 finals (m) Cypress Mountain

12.48pm SKI CROSS: 1/4 finals (m) Cypress Mountain

1.07pm SKI CROSS: semi finals (m) Cypress Mountain

1.18pm: SKI CROSS: final (m) Cypress Mountain

9pm: ICE HOCKEY: Sweden v Finland (m) Canada Hockey Place

Monday, February 22

10am PRESS CENTRE

2pm CURLING: Great Britain v Denmark (w) Vancouver Olympic Centre


Tuesday, February 23

11am SPEED SKATING: 10,000m final (m) Richmond Olympic Oval

7pm ICE HOCKEY: Play-offs (m) Canada Hockey Place

9pm ICE HOCKEY: Play-offs (m) Canada Hockey Place


Wednesday, February 24

11am University of British Columbia meeting UBC Journalism School

4.30pm ICE HOCKEY: 1/4 final (m) Canada Hockey Place

7pm ICE HOCKEY: 1/4 final (m) Canada Hockey Place

9pm ICE HOCKEY: 1/4 final (m) Canada Hockey Place

Thursday, February 25

3.30pm ICE HOCKEY: final (w) Canada Hockey Place


Friday, February 26

10am SNOWBOARDING: PGS quals (w) Cypress Mountain

12.15pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS 1/8 finals (w) Cypress Mountain

12.51pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS 1/4 finals (w) Cypress Mountain

1.09pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS semi finals (w) Cypress Mountain

1.31pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS finals (w) Cypress Mountain

Saturday, February 27

10am SNOWBOARDING: PGS quals (m) Cypress Mountain

12.15pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS 1/8 finals (m) Cypress Mountain

12.51pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS 1/4 finals (m) Cypress Mountain

1.09pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS semi (m) Cypress Mountain

1.31pm SNOWBOARDING: PGS final (m) Cypress Mountain

3pm CURLING: Gold medal game (m) Vancouver Olympic Centre

7pm ICE HOCKEY: Bronze medal game (m) Canada Hockey Place

The Facebook and Twitter Olympics?

The winter showcase of sporting drama that is unfolding in Vancouver right now has already grabbed its fair share of headlines, despite battling through the traditional diet of Old Firm news in Scotland.

Of course, it has taken the death of Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili in a luge training session at Whistler to fully draw the world's attention to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Since, though, attention has returned to sporting achievement, with Alexandre Bilodeau's thrilling moguls win getting the host nation up and running, and also sealing their first ever gold medal on home soil, remarkably at the third time of trying, following previous events in Montreal and Calgary.

Kumaritashvili's death will rightly be remembered as a low point of these Games, starkly contrasting with Bilodeau's sparking performance which will rightly be hailed as a high point by his compatriots, and he's already vowing to make sure that medal marks the real starting point of a 'big party' for Canada.

But away from the action, it's clear that things have changed, probably beyond recognition, in the world of major sports reporting, and Vancouver may well be a watershed which lays much of the groundwork for events to come - South Africa's World Cup later this year, followed closely by the Olympics in London in 2012, then Glasgow's Commonwealth Games in 2014.

This is quickly becoming the Olympics that will be underpinned by a global conversation, led mainly by social networking sites and tools like Facebook and Twitter.

Almost all of the sporting action, as well as events going on behind the scenes, is being jetted around the globe instantly, with fans, organisers, sponsors and observers tapping into the power of the internet to share their messages.

The official Vancouver Facebook page is attracting hundreds of comments for every post and picture, and has already been a recognisable draw for national pride and celebration, while sports companies are getting in on the act, making base in Vancouver and spreading the word online.

Even traditional media is following the new wave, with The Telegraph hosting an exclusive blog from Team UK snowboarder Zoe Gillings.

It's quickly becoming clear that while the major players and broadcast rights holders like the BBC continue to dominate with comprehensive television and online coverage, the conversation and messages are more diverse than ever, and Twitter and Facebook are getting the news out to a whole new audience in growing numbers. 

Winter Olympics set to begin

February 12, 2010 - a big day for winter sports fans around the world as the Vancouver Winter Olympics get underway, and what's everyone talking about?

Yes, it's the fact that one or two simple stats (first Winter Olympics at sea level, warmest host city etc) are coming back to haunt the organising committee because there's...no snow.

Indeed, Canada's weather reporters are quickly becoming national celebrities as a nation and hundreds of athletes hope for a cold snap. Truck-loads of imported snow as well as a healthy dump of the manufactured stuff are being relied on to ensure that the show goes ahead.

But away from a nation's obsession with the weather, why is the 2010 Winter Olympics so important to  the UK and Scotland?

Well, in the first instance we have a small but proud record to uphold - our women's curling team's gold medal exploits are well known, and 19-year-old skip Eve Muirhead, the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Championships, has been grabbing headlines as a medal hopeful.

And Shelley Rudman (pictured), a silver medallist in the skeleton in 2006, will carry the UK flag at tonight's opening ceremony with some hope that it's not her final high-profile moment of the Games. She'll also act as team captain in Whistler, while Vancouver captain will be men's curling skip, 31-year-old David Murdoch from Lockerbie.

Shelly Rudman hoping for glory. Picture: Getty Images

Elsewhere, Britain will have 52 athletes competing across six sports and 11 disciplines at the Winter Olympics.

And it's also a relevant event because both the UK and Scotland have major competitions of their own to look forward to on the horizon. London 2012 and Glasgow 2014's teams will both be casting an eye towards Vancouver and hoping to learn some clear lessons about organisation, logisitics, handling the media, dealing with ever-changing new media demands, as well as evolving doping and technological conundrums.

But one thing's for sure, there's no doubt that both London and Glasgow will be breathing a relieved sigh that they don't have to hope for snow when it's their turn to grab the international sporting limelight.

 Getty Images: Cypress Mountain's non-competitive runs. Picture: Getty Images

Herald and Times training scheme working well

The developing partnership with the Herald and Times in Glasgow moved on apace this week, with a group of second-year HND Practical Journalism students getting the chance to visit the company's city centre offices.

Editor-in-chief Donald Martin, who is also chairman of the Society of Editors and on the board of the NCTJ, met with the students, while they also met with Evening Times editor Tony Carlin, training chief Charles Fletcher and community and online's Helen Smith.

It's a real credit to five of the course's students - Lesley Quinn, Rosie Lowne, Victoria Irvine, Iain Smith and Claire Brunton - that they've all been chosen to progress to the next stage of our partnership training scheme, where they'll be right at the heart of production of the Evening Times, Herald and Sunday Herald.

NCTJ journalism conference looks to the future

The opportunity to bring the NCTJ’s annual Journalism Skills Conference to Scotland in December was a timely chance to highlight the fact that many challenges, but just as many opportunities, exist for Scottish journalism.

Representatives of outlets from across the media spectrum - as well as journalism courses across Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales - tackled the challenge of ensuring that trainees are ready to tackle an ever-changing media landscape, with two days of discussion at BBC Scotland and Hampden Park, the first time such a major event has been held north of the border.

Of course, the current media climate has thrown up many difficulties for everyone - from students scrambling for a 'foot in the door' to bosses battling to balance the books.

It is good, therefore, to see both Westminster and the Scottish Parliament continue to make encouraging noises about protecting the future of Scottish journalism, with a growing recognition that pressure on local and regional news throws up the danger of a democracy deficit and the very real prospect of towns and regions losing the collective memory which journalism has provided.

These are the vital services that the journalism students of today and tomorrow will inherit, so it is incumbent on their trainers, irrespective of level, to ensure that they are fully trained and prepared to meet the ever-growing challenges of the modern newsroom. There aren’t hoards of bloggers and citizen journalists at local council meetings and courts, and, while they will have a place in the media landscape, it is our responsibility to provide a different level of quality journalism and journalists.

While courses rush to embrace new technologies we must always remember that each student is entering the ground floor of this industry - and, more than ever, they need the basic tools of the trade that set them apart: the ability to recognise a story, follow it up and tell it in a clear, accurate and safe fashion. Throw in a healthy dose of shorthand for good measure and that is where the central core of the NCTJ examinations succeeds.

Of course, beyond that, the trainees that we provide to newsrooms up and down the country must know how to successfully handle stories for the web, audio, video, stills and mobile phones, delivering the story in multiple formats to suit, with an eye on everything from search engine optimisation to video editing.

At Cardonald College Glasgow, we believe that the college sector is ideally placed to meet those training demands of industry, providing a practical straightforward approach, designed to train and prepare the journalists for the newsroom.

According to broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, last year, on average, people now spend around 12 hours a week online, and the amount of time 16-to-24 year-olds spend online at home has increased by 50 per cent in two years, and 20 per cent of people say the internet is the one medium they couldn’t live without.

So there’s no doubt we’re past the time when we get hung-up on ‘old’ media and ‘new’ media, and the current environment has to be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. Call it 'multi-media' if you will. I prefer to simply call it 'journalism'.

But delivering high quality, effective media in the digital age is still new ground for many. Almost all students, in my experience, read and view their news online and on an iPhone, and it is here that the industry’s new frontiers will continue to lie. Whether it’s subsidies for new start-ups, news subscriptions for the young or subscriptions, more and more new ideas and models continue to emerge, but one way or another paying for quality journalism has to be as simple as buying a single on iTunes or downloading an app to my iPhone.

Channel 4’s 4ip public service broadcasting fund has already thrown up a few groundbreaking initiatives that traditional outlets can learn from - the Audio Boo iPhone app allows people to record and post three-minute sound files quickly and easily to Facebook and Twitter.

And the Battlefront project is perhaps also a template that traditional media can follow - it asked groups of teens to plan their own campaign, and then gave them the tools, using the web, social networking and mobile phone technology, to grab the headlines. This is perhaps a method which would allow other media to identify the genuine concerns of their audience and allow them to interact and generate content in a completely new way, while also dragging back young readers.

A quick look at how Channel 4 has managed to make its programme, Skins, so successful online is also relevant. A massive 45 per cent of people who watch the show also interact about it online – it’s normally nearer to one per cent for most shows.

This does highlight that the young audience that so many outlets and advertisers covet are still out there - they‘re just interacting with the media in a completely new way and waiting for us to catch up with them.

However, one thing that is arguably missing from the internet is the serendipity of flicking through a newspaper on the train or stumbling across an unexpected article in a magazine.

The internet has failed, so far, to deliver that, but the most positive aspect of all is that the student journalists of today are right at the cutting edge of the debate on where the media is heading. And to their credit they’re doing that while fitting in a full-time course, work placements stints, one or two jobs, and the odd Christmas party along the way.

Selling the industry short?

Newspapers are dying – all hail the generation of the citizen journalist who’s just too darn busy on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to worry about those pesky, old-school skills like learning shorthand and media law. That’s the mantra of a vocal group who are convinced it is time to assign that knowledge to the past.


But are they selling future journalists short?

In asking that question it’s probably only right that I declare an interest of my own. As a print journalist who still shudders at those 9am shorthand classes, I now run the journalism courses at Cardonald College Glasgow and I’m also on the NCTJ’s journalism qualifications board. We’re proud to be the longest continually-accredited course in Scotland and to have produced several generations of NCTJ-trained journalists who’re now making a living in print, online, on television and radio across the UK.

Shorthand is, and will remain, a big part of what we do, and if nothing else I’m quite happy to resign myself to a future where I sit in pubs, drink in hand, brimming with evangelical zeal and defending shorthand’s crucial place near the heart of quality journalism.

But why? There’s no doubt we’d save a lot of money and enjoy rocketing pass rates if we weren’t willing to draw a line and protect the skills that journalists need, not just the ones they’ll find on Google.

It’s no secret that these are tough times for all sectors of the journalism industry, the spectre of redundancy has returned, and every single student who makes the transition across the increasingly gaping gulf between academia and industry is going to have to make their CV stand out from the crowd of journalism and media graduates like never before – and for me that means industry-standard qualifications, a practical grounding in real skills and shorthand. Get 100 words per minute on your CV alongside NCTJ passes and plenty editors are telling me you’ve got their attention.

Indeed, plenty editors are in a position to pick and choose like never before, so while there are thousands of good journalists who’ve never studied shorthand or passed an NCTJ who can claim it never did them any harm, I wonder if it ever did them any good? Who’s to say they would have even made the shortlist nowadays, when editors can afford to use shorthand speed or NCTJ passes as one of their very first shortlisting criteria. The times they are changing indeed.

Nothing wrong with dangling the name Andrew Gilligan here either. I think everyone gets the point, and it’s incumbent upon anyone sending their fledgling reporters out there in search of truth to arm them with every skill possible to get the message across. Digital recorders and Google will always get you so far, just cross your fingers and hope that you’re not expected to cut it in court or parliament or to phone in a last-minute breaking exclusive on deadline.

I doubt you’ll get much argument from anyone that good journalism is about being able to spot a good story and report in an accurate, engaging manner which gets the information across and holds the consumers’ attention – ideally making them want to come back for more, day after day to keep the accountants breathing easy.

Any decent course will do just that. And inclusion of vital skills like shorthand and media law doesn’t mean that other aspects drop off the end. In reality, they’re tied together so that prospective journalists are expected to identify stories, get the relevant information accurately (be that shorthand or camera) and present it in the best way for the audience in question. Shorthand and a sound knowledge of the law, though, means that they’ll be able to get the information faster, safer, and will be able to knock out the story without giving their news editor palpitations.

At Cardonald we expect our students to leave with knowledge of blogging, Avid, cameras, and convergent journalism. But, equally, they’ll also leave with shorthand, law, public affairs and core news writing skills too.

Of course, the shorthand naysayers will cloud the debate with a string of buzzwords. Naturally, Twitter will be top of the list as flavour of the month (I highly recommend it, makes you look terribly switched on in meetings), but you can also expect a name check for Facebook, Bebo (if you’re a wee bit younger and don’t really like David Cameron), blogs, multi-platform, user-generated content and YouTube.

All hail the amateur journalist then? Absolutely! And if they play a part in making information sharing, freedom of speech and human rights better around the globe then it’s well worth celebrating. But is journalism training really about expanding the number of citizen journalists and introducing people to the wonders of this month’s favourite social networking site?

The internet might make it easier for anyone to write, opine and share their views (that you’re reading this is living proof) but should we be using a tough time in the industry to shrug our shoulders and say that the lines between professional and amateur are blurring?

As a trainer of journalists, first and foremost, I say ‘no’ every single time. Instead, I reckon now’s the time to make sure the professionals are as good as they can possibly be, that they stand out from the crowd, that they can spot a story and tell it like very few others, that they're not tied irrevocably to Google, and that they’re most definitely not amateurs.

That professional’s CV needs to stand out from the crowd, more now than ever – and that CV looks all the stronger when adorned with shorthand, law and the letters NCTJ.