Church's media center was a singular success
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Being accessible to the media while still maintaining a low profile during the Games was a delicate balancing act for the Church's Public Affairs Department.
But after assisting 1,300 journalists from around the world, who wrote thousands of articles and produced hundreds of broadcasts, the Church's News Resource Center proved to be an unqualified success.
Armed with proper information, the "vast majority of the publicity about the Church has been very fair," said Michael Otterson, director of media relations for the Church.
No one really knew how much interest the national and international media would have in the Church during the Olympics, Brother Otterson said. But given the Church's high profile, the Public Affairs Department figured curiosity would be high.
Located on the lobby level of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the News Resource Center was organized to assist journalists in gaining information about the Church in their own languages. Walking past the statue of Joseph Smith, journalists entered a room equipped with computers, personnel and a light banquet table of food.
Here media members could have simple questions answered, write stories, schedule interviews with General Authorities or organize tours of the Family History Library or Welfare Square. The most requested was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. For weeks prior to the Olympics, media film crews lined up — practically shoulder to shoulder — during Thursday night rehearsals or Sunday morning broadcasts for a glimpse of the choir.
One film crew from Romania entered the News Resource Center rather hesitantly, saying they had only half an hour to see the choir rehearsal. They thought their camera batteries probably wouldn't even last that long.
More than an hour later, the cameraman was amazed that the batteries were still functioning. "They work a long time here," he said.
During the rehearsal, the reporter who accompanied the cameraman was usually situated by himself listening to the choir. At the conclusion of the rehearsal, he said there were few assignments that he would work without pay. But covering the choir was one assignment he would do for free.
"That change of heart happened often," said William D. Price who with his wife, Sidney, hosted the media. "Everyone here in the resource center has similar experiences to tell."
While most journalists at the News Resource Center were domestic, many journalists from Japan, Austria, Russia, Canada and Germany also registered. Eleven religion editors from Korea visited Church sites several days prior to the Olympics, including a morning spent at the Missionary Training Center in Provo.
"We didn't expect so many religion editors," Brother Otterson said. "We expected sports reporters."
"Many journalists noted the good feeling they feel here," said Norm Shumway, a volunteer who assisted media from Asia. "They said that accommodations were good at the main Olympic media center, but here in the grandeur of this building, they felt something more peaceful."
Many preferred to file stories from the News Resource Center, including a Russian journalist who wrote, "In contrast to the enormous Olympic Media Center where everything costs money (a hamburger cost U.S. $4), Mormons do not take money. They have in all three computers and nine telephones, but for that there is no charge. And further, here one can eat a couple of sandwiches and drink herbal tea or a cup of hot chocolate.
"Who would you expect to most often come into this press center? Correct, Russians," he wrote, noting how he had been invited to attend one of the concerts by the Tabernacle Choir during which they were to sing a selection in Russian. "Without accent, they promise."
More than 350 volunteers, most with language abilities, were organized into shifts that began at 7 a.m. and didn't end until sometimes 11 p.m.
"Clearly, thousands of articles found the faith which established this Church," Brother Otterson said.
E-mail: shaun@desnews.com
