Presentation at "Olympic Politics and Protest", Leeds Metropolitan University, July 2008

1. AMBUSH MEDIA: dr andy miah reader in new media and bioethics university of the west of scotland fellow, foundation for art and creative technology (FACT, Liverpool) fellow, institute for ethics and emerging technologies Journalist Freedom & Media Politics at the Beijing Olympics Journalist Freedom & Media Politics at the Beijing Olympics Journalist Freedom & Media Politics at the Beijing Olympics

2. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games can be characterised, in part, as a struggle over various kinds of media politics, both domestic and global. In 2007, China instituted new, temporary legislation to enable wider freedoms to report for foreign journalists. The duration of this legislation extends to November 2008, one month after the close of the Paralympic Games. Also, Beijing’s Games are the first in history where the contracts for television broadcasting rights have been separated from the sale of Internet broadcast rights. Moreover, the Beijing Games will be the first Web 2.0 Summer Games, to the extent that users – present or absent from the Olympic city - will enjoy the capacity to broadcast their own material across wireless fidelity (wi-fi) using a range of mobile technology. The additional capacity of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) means that this material can have a wider short-term impact than the official broadcasters. This presents a case where the exclusive coverage of the Games could be diluted or fragmented by new media activists. Yet, stories of prominent Chinese bloggers being charged with subverting the state’s power, creates a dual problematic by instilling a division of contested media freedoms among domestic and international journalists. This paper discusses a range of issues presented by these circumstances, articulating various expectations of how Beijing’s Games will be reported by accredited and non-accredited media, traditional and new. It explores this in the context of discussions about citizen and networked journalism, which reflect two types of proposition on the relationship between the professions and amateur journalist. Finally, it introduces the concept of ambush media to negotiate the mundane practices of many online practitioners, alongside the expected activism that underpins prevalent expectations of new media platforms.

3. AMBUSH MEDIA

4. AMBUSH MARKETING

8. PHOTO: ROY PANAGIOTOPOULOU

10. was the lighting ceremony disrupted?

11. was the lighting ceremony disrupt ed? ion? What constitutes Olympic

12. AMBUSH MEDIA NEW

20. METHODS

21. time tube

23. AMBUSH MEDIA NON-ACCREDITED The central mechanism where local poltiics, heritage and identity is advanced is within the non-accredited media center

26. ATHENS 2004

30. Athens 2004 Olympics

40. TORINO 2006

49. HOST CITY Non-Accredited Media Centre Competing Olympic Agendas? INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE Main Press Centre International Broadcast Centre

50. what is different about Beijing 2008?

52. Digital January 2007: 137m Internet users March 2008: 221m Internet users Beijing: 5m users; 30.4% Beijing: Under 30 = 72.1% Beijing: Under 30 = 72.1% 2012: 490m Internet users Overtakes USA

53. Article 1 These Regulations are formulated to facilitate reporting activities carried out in accordance with the laws of the People's Republic of China by foreign journalists in China to advance and promote the Olympic Spirit during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory period. Article 2 These Regulations apply to reporting activities carried out by foreign journalists covering the Beijing Olympic Games and related matters in China during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory period. The Beijing Olympic Games mentioned in the Regulations refer to the 29th Olympic Games and the 13th Paralympic Games. REGULATIONS ON REPORTING ACTIVITIES IN CHINA BY FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DURING THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE PREPARATORY PERIOD

54. Article 3 Foreign journalists who intend to come to China for reporting should apply for visas at Chinese embassies, consulates or other visa-issuing institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. Foreign journalists who hold valid Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards and Paralympic Identity and Accreditation Cards are entitled to multiple entries into the territory of the People's Republic of China with visa exemption by presenting Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards, together with valid passports or other travel documents. REGULATIONS ON REPORTING ACTIVITIES IN CHINA BY FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DURING THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE PREPARATORY PERIOD

55. Article 5 For reporting needs, foreign journalists may, on a temporary basis, bring in, install and use radio communication equipment after completing the required application and approval procedures. Article 6 To interview organizations or individuals in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain their prior consent . Article 7 Foreign journalists may, through organizations providing services to foreign nationals, hire Chinese citizens to assist them in their reporting activities. REGULATIONS ON REPORTING ACTIVITIES IN CHINA BY FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DURING THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE PREPARATORY PERIOD

56. Article 8 The media guide for foreign journalists of the Beijing Olympic Games shall be formulated by the Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games in accordance with these Regulations. Article 9 These Regulations shall come into force as of 1 January 2007 and expire on 17 October 2008. REGULATIONS ON REPORTING ACTIVITIES IN CHINA BY FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DURING THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE PREPARATORY PERIOD

59. The reporters without borders retreating?

60. “ The media services especially those for the non-accredited media won high appraise for their success in promoting the new images of Greece and Athens. The Zappeion Press Center was set up to accommodate all foreign media representatives who wish to cover contemporary Greece before and during the 2004 Olympic Games, especially those not accredited to the Organizing Committee Athens 2004. It was founded and organized by the Greek Government independently from the press services organized by the IOC and the Organizing Committee Athens 2004. As indicated by the research results, the images of Greece have been greatly enhanced after the Olympic Games especially in terms of creativity, high quality of services and stability.” (BOCOG) For the first time, an Olympic host is bringing the non-accredited into the official Organizing Committee provision Journalist Freedom & Media Politics at the Beijing Olympics

63. Conclusion

65. Thanks beatriz garcia university of liverpool The British Academy See: Miah, Garcia, Zhihui (2008) ‘ We are the media’: non-accredited media and citizen journalists at the Olympic Games, In Dayan & Price ‘Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China. University of Michigan Press