Chinese Officials Not Hiding, They’re Just… Busy

After Chinese officials canceled Saturday and Sunday’s daily press conferences with foreign media, people began to wonder why. Could the country be dodging questions about media rights and the occasional cameraman beatdown?

Not according to Beijing Olympics spokesperson Sun Weide, who said that since the Games were running smoothly (especially for NBC), there was no need for daily briefings. “We are always ready to take questions and we are always available at the news desk (in the Olympic media centre) or by telephone,” he told the AFP.

The International Olympic Committee repeated the company line. Giselle Davies, the organization’s spokeswoman, didn’t think difficult questions from the foreign media had anything to do with the cancellations, saying, “That’s part of the job and the questions are tough at all Games, just their content is different.”

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.