Media notebook: Majority of Church coverage has been fair
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With the 2002 Winter Olympic Games came the attention of the world to Salt Lake City. Numerous journalists visited the area, writing more than 3,000 articles about Utah, the Church and its members, and the things that make them unique.
Since the beginning of 2000, the Church's Public Affairs Department has identified articles that appeared in newspapers in Italy, Russia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan, Croatia, Denmark, South China, Hong Kong, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Hungary, Tahiti, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England, South Africa, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Fiji, Portugal, Argentina, Malta and Mexico.
In addition to television reports around the world, NBC, CNN Crossfire and PBS aired extensive reports on the Church.
Public Affairs workers have so far cataloged more than 2,200 articles from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and more than 1,000 from countries that speak a language other than English. Armed with proper information — provided by Church representatives and volunteers at the Church's Olympic Media Resource Center — the "vast majority of the publicity about the Church has been very fair," said Michael Otterson, director of media relations for the Church.
It seems President Gordon B. Hinckley's prediction to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, which aired during the network's prime time Olympic coverage, came to pass. "The Olympics will bring people here from everywhere," President Hinckley said. "I think there will be a better understanding as a result of people coming here."
USA Today dubbed Salt Lake City "The Nice Capital," the French newspaper La Monde awarded the Church a "the gold medal for public relations," and the London Evening Standard called Salt Lake City residents "heavenly hosts."
"Nobody knows yet who is going to win at these Games but it is already easy to imagine that, with their unconditional welcome and unprecedented global visibility, the Mormons cannot lose," wrote Ian Chadband of the London Evening Standard.
During past weeks the Church News has published a notebook sketch of these and other articles, listing excerpts about the Church and its members. Following is another media notebook:
"I had flown to Salt Lake many times for the skiing, but like others, I had skirted downtown as I made my way from the airport to the beautiful ski resorts nestled in the Wasatch mountains only 45 minutes away. Salt Lake, I once thought, was just a big city with a small-town mind-set, strange liquor laws and a heavy-handed religion. As I met more locals over the years, I realized that I had mistaken the stereotype for reality. On the eve of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, I returned for a closer look and discovered warm people, civic dynamism, a unique history, an active cultural life and an enviable proximity to nature."
— "The Soul of Salt Lake City," Delta's Sky Magazine, Roger Toll.
"The Olympics may have ended, but for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in many ways it is a beginning. Salt Lake City and the Mormons, as LDS members are often called, have been in the spotlight of the world for the past few weeks.
"Local members of the LDS [In Fayette County, Ga.] were excited and proud to have the eyes of the world focusing on the home of their church as they hosted the 19th Winter Olympics. Many Fayette County Mormons have strong ties to Utah."
— "Olympic spotlight illuminates Mormon faith," The Citizen News, Janet McGregor.
"The [Mormon Tabernacle] choir, famous worldwide for lifting hearts and spirits, probably could use a boost right now. The "oohs" and "ahs" they sang behind Sting and cellist Yo Yo Ma at the Olympics opening ceremony were just the high-profile beginning of a rugged February schedule.
"We're exhausted," [Choir member Karen] Jepson said. "We're running on adrenaline. But we've had such a marvelous time."
For about two months now, the choir has been in overdrive, switching from twice-weekly performances and a few hours of rehearsal to six-day workweeks. It's recorded Olympic music with composers John Williams and Michael Kamen, and it has sung virtually nonstop."
— "Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Yo Yo schedule has a Sting," Denver Post, Electa Draper.
