For tv broadcasters worldwide, the parade of countries throughout the opening of the Olympics might be an train in diplomacy and international consciousness, with media shops resorting to trivia nuggets, athlete profiles and geopolitical musings to fill airtime.
However one South Korean broadcaster has apologized for its selection of “inappropriate” photos that appeared subsequent to the names of a number of international locations on Friday throughout its protection of the opening ceremony.
The photographs drew criticism from viewers, who stated they have been offensive or had perpetuated stereotypes.
Because the contingent of Olympic athletes from Italy entered Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium for the parade of countries, the broadcaster, MBC, aired a photograph of a pizza.
For Norway? A bit of salmon.
Then there was Ukraine, which the broadcaster reminded viewers was the place the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe occurred in 1986, full with a photograph of the doomed energy station.
“The photographs and captions are supposed to make it simpler for the viewers to know the coming into international locations shortly throughout the opening ceremony,” MBC stated in a press release in English, revealed Saturday on Twitter. “Nevertheless, we admit there was a scarcity of consideration for the international locations involved, and inspection was not thorough sufficient. It’s an inexcusable mistake.”
Raphael Rashid, a contract journalist based mostly in Seoul, drew attention to the images on Twitter.
“When Haitian athletes entered the stadium, an on-screen rationalization stated, ‘the political state of affairs is fogged by the assassination of the president,’” Mr. Rashid wrote. “When Syrian athletes entered, it stated ‘wealthy underground assets; a civil struggle that has been occurring for 10 years.’”
For Romania, the broadcaster used a picture of Rely Dracula. And for the Marshall Islands, it famous that it had as soon as been a nuclear take a look at website for america.
When it was Malaysia’s flip within the parade of countries, MBC confirmed a graphic with that nation’s coronavirus vaccination fee, together with its gross home product.
In its assertion, MBC stated that it could examine the method of how the photographs, and the captions that accompanied them, had been chosen and vetted.
“Moreover, we are going to basically re-examine the manufacturing system of sports activities packages to keep away from any related accidents sooner or later,” the broadcaster stated.
The Korea Herald reported that this was not the primary time that MBC had made a misstep throughout the Olympics.
In 2008, the information web site stated, the broadcaster was penalized by the Korea Communications Fee for disparaging international locations taking part within the Beijing Olympics with its captions. The broadcaster described Sudan as an unstable nation with an extended civil struggle and Zimbabwe as a rustic with lethal inflation.