Olympics Q&A with Mara Schiavocampo

Mara:

Howdy! I'd like to see a little coverage of some of the small countries with tiny teams. Can you tell us anything about some of the teams with, say, less than ten members?

Second for jfxgillis's question above.

One of the things that's frustrating about the coverage is sometimes how little of the actual events are shown. In gymnastics, for instance, we saw almost no coverage of Germany or Japan, no coverage of any other teams, and yet even still spent about as much time watching the American and Chinese teams standing around waiting for scores as actually performing on an apparatus.

I get that gymnastics is an especially difficult event to cover because of multiple simultaneous performances occurring at once, but it does seem there must be a better way. Is this something that NBC examines going into each Olympics (i.e. how to maximize actual event coverage, even given scoring snafus like we saw at this year's Olympics)?

"The greatness of a nation, and its moral progress is measured by the way its animals are treated" - Ghandi

China has no animal welfare laws, and it is no secret what China has done to countless cats and dogs for the fur industry, and meat. For the purposes of the Olympics, the government ordered Bejing to stop eating cat and dog meat, knowing it will anger the western world. I know you won't do this, but please ask the authorities why will they not institute animal welfare laws. It will do a lot to improve relations, and win respect, with the western world. Please do this for humanity and the innocent animals that have no choice. Thank you.

It's blatantly obvious several of the Chinese gymnasts are not going to be 16 during this competition year. I understand there's no way to dispute their competition issued passports BUT ask any dentist you can't be missing any teeth and even be 15 no matter what race you are! One of their best gymnasts is missing one of her canines on her upper right side! Their age could be challenged by simple dental exams of their mouth, look for the presence of 4 fully erupted 12 y.o. molars and proceed from there.

The Chinese are cheating and not even trying to hide it! It's an insult to ALL other countries competing and China should be challenged and disqualified. How is this form of cheating any different than taking performance enhancing drugs? We have rules established by international committees and we all need to follow them! Take action! Don't be afraid to speak the TRUTH!!!

Hay Mara--

Would LOVE to see more behind the scenes, how many camera's there are, is there a "live truck" like local news teams have? Is there a set in stone schedule of what exactly you cover?

Also, I love the "Olympic Zone" Show, but how is that done? It seems like a National show tailored to my local NBC station.

Also, I don't know who did them but the graphics for the Olympics are simply amazing!!!

(Also, side question, When Natalie M. does the headlines from NYC, the screen behind her looks different, along with the desk. Is the Today Show getting a new set, or isn't she in Studio 1a? Or maybe it's just me.)

That's a lot I know, but answer as much as you can, or whatever you feel is appropriate. I love your reports, and find them very interesting.
-Mike

I was in Beijing last year and saw the five Olympics mascots EVERYWHERE, but I don't see them during the opening ceremony nor during TV coverage on NBC. Are they still valid? Is it some sort of copyright issue or something else?

Thanxs, Mara. Have fun!

In the equestrian events, are the riders hired by the owners of a horse or do the riders own the horses they are riding?

Hi Mara,

A beautiful and extremely talented Chinese dancer, Liu Yan, was paralyzed during the rehearsal for the opening ceremony. This is such a sad story. New York Times did an article on this today: But of course a video is always more powerful than a print story in a newspaper. I think the people in the world should know about this story. Can NBC send some cameras to her hospital to interview her?

Thanks!

Sorry Mara, forgot to give you the link to the NYT article. Here it is:

Thanks.

response to keith 420785-I live in Lanzhou, a city in China about 800 miles from Beijing. As far as the Olympic mascots are concerned, they may not have been shown during the Olympics Opening Ceremony, but they are certainly shown everywhere else. I've seen them on Chinese T.V. (that's how I've been watching the Olympics, since there are no international channels in my area) all over the place, and the Olympics store in Lanzhou definitely still has them in stock. As for the animals, I completely understand your viewpoint, c_etude. I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, which is thankfully respected by most folks in my area, but not everywhere. Since I am out west, there are a lot of Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists, who have their own dietary restrictions, so even though I've been mistaken for a Buddhist many times, I can at least get my food served without meat. When I head to the eastern sections of China though, I rarely have an easy time getting a vegetarian meal. Due to the widespread starvation during the Cultural Revolution (and the seemingly endless commercials nowadays toting the idea that eating beef is sexy) the Chinese see eating meat as a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and have a hard time understanding why someone would ever voluntarily choose to give it up. They haven't really had access to meat as a nation for long enough to question how to gets to their tables and where it comes from. Many of my students are poor and come from the countryside. They are very aware of what true hunger feels like, so convincing them to pay extra for meat that has been raised cruelty-free, or give up meat entirely, is not likely to be very effective.

Do you know of any Chinese Christian persecution by the Chinese gov't during the Olympic Games? According to the Voice of the Martyrs, just two days before the Games began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band. Also, President Bush recently met with Chinese Freedom Activists at the White House concerning human rights violations and religious persecution by the Chinese gov't (for more info., visit the Voice of the Martyrs' website (persecution.com) or the White House's official website).

follow the rules, change the rules, have age groups under 16, over 16, ... they are all women or girls, but maybe girls until maybe 18, puberty, or until emancipation. i've read puberty is now starting as young as 8(?).

they like dogs & cats. we like pigs, cows, snakes, turtles, crocks, bear, buffalo, chickens, snails, crabs, octopus, lobster, fish, sharks, tuna fish, eggs (ok, maybe not a living thing-

I was watching the women gymnastics last night (all around competition) and notice in the chalk box for the participants there looked like what was a plastic bottle on honey in the chalk box. Is this true and if so what is it's purpose?

I have really enjoyed the equestrian events. I am sure these beautiful horses arrive via air and was wondering how much time are the horses giving to settle down and get accustomed to their surroundings before practice and the actual events.

Do you have any information regarding the accommodations in the Olympic Village? In New Zealand news outlets, there has been talk of some NZ rowers complaining about the food a bit, one coming down sick for unknown reasons. I'm curious as to whether this might be a systemic shortcoming in the Village, or simply a rare and unfortunate coincidence.

Further, what is your personal opinion regarding pollution and air quality in Beijing? There've been different reports of some feeling that it's choking, while others -- even a couple of asthmatic athletes -- seem fine with the air.

Thank you very much.

Hay Mara, thanks for responding to my questions.

An AP writer by the name of FRAZIER MOORE wrote a very witty article about the Olympic coverage, it rain in my local news paper, very interesting.

Here's a Link:

Also, the "AP video" went behind the scenes, it's called "Olympics '08: Behind the Scenes at NBC" , you can find it here:

Thanks for talking with all of us!
Mike

I LIKE WATCH BEACH VOLLEY BALL AND SWIMMING

do you have any information on the magnitude or kinds of changes that china has had to make to its industrial infrastructure to accommodate the games? i read this article about factories nearby the rowing course being shut down. i'm wondering how this has impacted china's manufacturing production, and/or if these are permanent changes or just temporary shutdowns. surely the factory referenced in the article cant be the only one affected.

I noticed while watching the men's baseball team that on their right sleeve the US flag is backwards. What is going on?

• Laurence Horn reported on Wednesday: "Just now on NBC's Nightly News, a report on the Olympics-based ad campaigns mentioned both commercial products and the two presidential campaigns all seeking to appeal to the 30 million or so nightly viewers, then concluded: 'That's a lot of eyeballs they won't have another bite at.'" From World Wide Words.

Mara: Thanks for your report on the Olympic Superstore that aired before prime time on 8/13!

I have a question about music performances at the Olympics. During the Torino 2006 Winter Games, there were regular nightly music performances in the Olympic Village. Are similar performances occurring during the Beijing Games?

If musical performances are indeed occurring at the Games, it would be great to see them covered!

Thanks so much for your hard work!

-Sven

Is Israel a participent in the 2008 Bejing Olympics ?

Thank You

Is Israel a participent in the 2008 Olympics?

Thank You