In advance of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, 27 Canadian broadcasters and journalists deemed their forthcoming coverage as an insufficient professional pursuit. They must do more to get into the Olympic spirit, they said. Thanks to the beneficence of CTV, the television rightsholder to the Olympics, these broadcasters and journalists are now torchbearers for the Canadian leg of the torch relay to Vancouver. It is their great fortune that some can run a few hundred metres, report about their Olympic experience and disseminate their insights to the Canadian public. Alas, their benighted colleagues in the Canadian media are unimpressed by this noble endeavor. They gently suggest that Sandie Rinaldo, CTV News’ weekend anchor, and Brian Williams, CTV’s prime time Olympic anchor, are trapped in a conflict of interest. So too are Globe and Mail torchbearers/columnists Stephen Brunt, Roy MacGregor and Gary Mason. William Houston, a former Globe and Mail columnist, identified the blatant hypocrisy.

Did these people have a procedure involving the brain that went badly wrong? Or are they just naturally soft? They’re supposed to be journalists. They will be at the Olympics as reporters and commentators. They’re expected to be objective and independent. They are not supposed to be part of the Olympic cheerleading torch procession. Nevertheless, over the next few months, off they’ll go, boosting the International Olympic Committee and VANOC as they prance across the country, torch in hand. How are we to take Williams seriously as an independent Olympic host and analyst after this?

The torch relay involves about 12,000 Canadians who were selected, but the 27 broadcasters and journalists moved to the front of the line. The relay starts this weekend in Victoria, British Columbia and ends on Feb. 12, 2010 in Vancouver. Alison Korn, an Olympic rower who is now an amateur sports columnist for Sun Media, asked an obvious question of the media torchbearers.

By cozying up to RBC and the Olympic torch relay, how likely are these media to scrutinize RBC or other Olympic sponsors, or probe any unsavoury Olympic issues that may be in the public interest? Not very, I believe. And who is paying for their travel to their torch-bearing locations across the country? Athlete torchbearers are supposed to cover their own costs. That I know. “Staff will be running in local hometowns or while on assignment, so cost of travel is not an issue,” Rick Brace, president of revenue, business planning and sports for CTV, said in a statement.

Actually, the issue is increasing CTV’s exposure for its networks and platforms. Brace said CTV’s acquisition of the Olympic television rights came with a unique opportunity to participate in the torch relay, and the network’s top priority was to have its staff from across the country get involved. One can argue that CTV is allowed to be shameless since it spent private money on its investment. However, there is a decidedly limp connection to the Olympic spirit by having two of CTV’s Toronto news anchors carry the torch through Oshawa.

Credit the Toronto Star, among others, for condemning CTV’s crass commercialization of its journalists and personalities. If participation is so important to convey meaning, as CTV says, then Sandie Rinaldo should compete in the luge. Now that would be local television worth watching.

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