Lipstick on the Pig and the Olympics

The mass media can both focus attention on an important subject which is a public service while simultaneously sabotaging their duties by asking the wrong questions, causing a great disservice. This is done by lowering the common denominator and wallowing in the shallow waters of "action oriented" news. The Olympics certainly can bring out the best in young athletes and bring out the worst in international politics all the while the media paying very little attention to some of the harder questions revolving around the games. While the world watches exiting and dramatic news coverage of the police in Rio, cracking down on slum areas riddled with drug dealers, one must ask if this effort by their zealous government to "crack down on drug dealers" ever would have taken place if the Olympics where not coming to town. The Olympics, now synonymous with Bob Costas sitting around warm fire places or overlooking a sunny stadium, honoring superhuman feats of strength and agility have an uglier side that the media, almost out of courtesy for the perception of the event never tends to get involved with. 51 people have been killed in Rio, in this "clean out effort", to make the place look respectable on the international stage. All about image but at what human costs? Not once, have I read a story that asks why a modern country in which the world has bestowed a ceremonial honor by hosting the Olympics, has city sized slums run by narco- drug dealers. The framing regarding the Olympics must always sit inside a neat box of medals and heroes, never venturing beyond the Olympic village to consider whether the host country is deserving of this competitive honor. There is an actual news worthy debate begging for discussion, that of whether international attention helps to improve a countries problems or if or if countries simply put lipstick on the pig. Rio, is just another example of an opportunity missed by the media, with China now come and gone, bereft of any real debate on the topic. Was more light placed on China's human rights records or complete control of their media, or did the world walk away with a warm, fuzzy feeling because the closing ceremony was so "pretty". This is an important topic considering Rio, China and our own home town of Atlanta, dedicated millions upon millions on Olympic related structures and venues, perhaps at the expense of more sustentative projects where the money might have been better used. Again, this would be a good topic for a journalist to look at and provide the public with real, researched information on pros and cons of this showy spectacle. Should we as a viewer be cheering the heroes on the field or raising hell over things that host countries just sweep under the rug. We just don't know because the info is not available. Just another missed opportunity to raise the credibility of a disgraced medium.