Coverage of Athletes’ Health Concerns Increases As Coverage of Tibet Wanes

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

When the Olympic torch began its official journey from Mt. Olympus to Beijing three months ago, the relay was a lightning rod for protesters at several stops along the route. In European and U.S. cities, activists came out to voice their opposition to China’s policies regarding Tibet. As a result, Tibet was a major topic in the media coverage of the Olympics in April, during the early days of the torch relay. Of the 47,440 mentions of Tibet in traditional and social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight during the period April 1 through July 1, nearly 30%, or 14,020, were seen during the week of April 7-13, when the protests were at their height.

Since then, as protests have died down, so has the media coverage, down to 804 mentions, or about 2%, during the week of June 9-15. Coverage doubled the following week, June 16-22, to 1,664 mentions, or 4%, coinciding with the torch’s brief visit to Tibet. Coverage dropped off again the week of June 23-30, to 997 mentions, or 2%.

In contrast, coverage of concerns over athletes’ health and how it may be affected by Beijing’s pollution and poor air quality has increased as the Games have drawn closer. Athlete health issues were a popular topic in mid-April, when the Games were drawing a lot of negative coverage over a range of issues. Of the 2,315 total mentions in traditional and social media sources tracked by Dow Jones Insight, 391, or 17%, occurred from April 14-20. Coverage then dropped off, with only 75 mentions, or 3%, during the week of June 9-15.

Media mentions of athlete health issues spiked again the week of June 16-22, to 342 mentions, or 15%. This increase coincided with China’s announcement of measures designed to reduce pollution and improve air quality in Beijing during the Olympic Games. The government announced a ban on all construction and industrial projects between July and September. Drivers will be allowed to drive on alternate days only, based on an odd-even system. And some drivers will be given financial incentives to keep their cars off the Beijing streets for the entire period.

Olympic Sponsors Can’t Avoid Controversies in Beijing

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

For the 12 global sponsors of the Beijing Olympics, attaching their names means sharing in the glory and the positive images of the Games, but it can also associate their names with some of the more negative topics as well. Three of the sponsors – Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo – received a significant amount of coverage, much of it unflattering, during the past month. Most of this coverage centered on the three companies’ sponsorship of the Olympic Torch Relay, which was targeted for protest by Free Tibet activists. Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo were specifically targeted by the protesters for their perceived tolerance of China’s relationship with Tibet.

Of Coca-Cola’s 293 mentions in traditional and social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight, 185, or 63%, were related to the issue of Tibet. Similarly, 103 of Lenovo’s total mentions, or 66%, and 89 of Samsung’s 126 mentions, or 71%, were related to Tibet. For Lenovo, all of its mentions occurred in the press, while Coca-Cola and Samsung each had most of their mentions in traditional media and a small number of mentions in social media. French company Atos Origin also garnered significant coverage related to Tibet, with 92 of its 184 total mentions, or 50%, relating to Tibet.

Most of the coverage for General Electric and McDonald’s, on the other hand, was associated with general human rights issues. Forty of McDonald’s 78 total mentions, or 51%, concerned human rights issues, including 29 mentions in social media and only 11 in the press. Of GE’s 87 total mentions, 40, or 46%, were related to human rights issues. More of these mentions appeared in social media than in the press, 23 versus 17.

Methodology: Analysis includes 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.