Multimedia journalist Beth Androuais — who received her master’s degree from the University of Missouri May 16 — will join an international group of volunteers to work for the Olympic News Service in Beijing this summer.
The Beijing Organizing Committee recruited 300 English-speaking students from 13 universities — from Australia, the United Kingdom and five schools in the U.S. — to work media operations for the games. They’ll provide news releases, biographies, event schedules, results, statistics and quotes to the working press.
Nancy Armour of The Associated Press described the program last fall:
In the past, organizers have relied on English-speaking volunteers from their own countries. But [Sun Weijia, director of media operations for the Beijing Organizing Committee] said that wasn’t really an option for Beijing.
“China is not an English-speaking country. It is difficult for us to find the very qualified students,” Sun said. “The second thing is the quality of service we would like to ensure. At the Athens Olympic Games … there were some complaints from the international media.”
To avoid similar problems in Beijing, the International Olympic Committee suggested that BOCOG consider recruiting volunteers from English-speaking countries. Because so many Chinese universities already had exchange programs with U.S. schools, Sun said it was a natural fit.
The five U.S. universities: Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Ithaca College (N.Y.) and Emerson College (Boston, Mass). Beth says that Mizzou is sending 60 students and two faculty members: Advertising professor Larry Powell and Greg Bowers, the sports editor of The Missourian.
Beth agreed to answer some questions for us…
Q: When are you leaving for China?
A: July 1, arriving July 2
Beth at SND/Boston last fall.
Photo by yours truly.
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Q: Are they putting you up in the Olympic Village or other quarters? Have they said, yet?
A: We will be staying in the international hotel at Remnin University. We will be among the 800-some-odd international volunteers staying on the Remnin University campus. I think we might have the best lodging, since our rooms will have air conditioning and I don’t know that any of the other dorms do. We’ll also have Internet access - the other dorms will, too - although I hear it will be a little slower than we’re used to.
Q: Have they told you yet what they’ll be asking you to do? Will the ONS try to make use of your specific multimedia talents, for example? Or might you find yourself typing up stat sheets and handout quotes?
A: I have been assigned to the gymnastics competition of the Olympics, along with 17 other MU students. I’m not sure if there are students from other universities also at the National Indoor Stadium. From what I understand so far, we will be gathering statistics about the coaches and athletes before the Olympics, then interviewing them during the Olympics and combining the stats, quotes and results into press releases for journalists using the ONS. I don’t think I’ll have any opportunity to do any multimedia, but I will be keeping a blog.
National Indoor Stadium, the gymnastics venue
for the Beijing games. In the left background, you
can see National Stadium, where the opening and
closing ceremonies will be held. Read more about
“the Fan” here.
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Q: Are you a sports fan?
A: I’m a fan of the Olympics. It was always a treat to watch the Olympics when I was growing up, back when it was every four years.
Q: Does the ONS have equipment there for you to use? Or will all you students be lugging laptops and cameras with you to Beijing?
A: Well, we won’t need cameras, even those among us who are photo majors, but we will be bringing our laptops with us to do our work. I’m sure several of us will be bringing cameras, but any photos we take will not be put on ONS. Then again, we’ve been given such a small amount of information that this could be wrong by the time we begin working.
The web page of the Olympic News Service. Read more about it here.
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Q: How long will you be there? Are you working through the Paralympics?
A: The majority of students will be in China through Aug. 28, even though the Olympics end Aug. 24. A handful of students will stay to volunteer during the Paralympics, but I won’t.
The skyline of Beijing.
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Q: When I went to the Philippines last year, I got only one day to see Manila. It was only one day, but I enjoyed hell out of it. Will you get a chance to see any of Beijing or the rest of China while you’re there?
A: We’re going to be given a guided tour of Beijing on our first weekend. After that, I think we get weekends to explore, but we don’t have a schedule past July 11, so I really don’t know. I know any chance I get I’ll be walking around Beijing taking pictures and possibly video.
Q: Is this your first time outside of the U.S.?
A: No; half my family lives in France so I’ve visited there a few times. I’ve never been to Asia.
Beth tours Seattle. From her Facebook gallery.
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Q: In addition to your work for the ONS, you told me you’re planning to blog. Will this be a general travelogue thing? Or will you be covering specific topics of interest?
A: I will keep a blog for my family and friends, for anyone traveling to Beijing during the Olympics, including journalists, and for anyone who’s interested in general. The url is beth.androuais.com
Q: What kind of freedom will you have in your blog? The Chinese government doesn’t appear to be ready for close scrutiny of things they find less than positive.
A: I don’t care what the Chinese say about journalistic freedom during the Olympics, I’m not going to blog about sensitive issues. I don’t intend to put myself on the radar of the Chinese government more than I already have just by being an ONS volunteer.
Beth wrote me separately about her blog:
I think it will be enough to focus on an American’s visit (mine) to China, the flight, jet lag, adjustment to Chinese culture and views of Chinese everyday life in general (or as normal as Chinese life can be during the Olympics and pre-Olympics).
I won’t be edited at all, since I’m doing this for myself.
I’ve even considered writing it in French, too, since I am fairly fluent in French, to make it more accessible to more journalists. This is maybe the one time knowing both English and French will be useful, since those are the two official languages of the Olympic Games.
Back to the Q&A…
Q: So how can we help you get the word out — about your blog — to other journalists who plan to travel to Beijing?
A: Anyone reading this can tell journalists who will be in Beijing during the Olympics. The url, again, is beth.androuais.com.
Q: Any plans for when you get back? Any job leads?
A: Ha, Charles, nice try. I’ve got a thing or two I’m working on.
Q: Which is your favorite? (Left to right) Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying or Nini?
A: Jingjing, the mascot that’s supposed to look like a panda. He’s the cutest and I think most natural-looking.
Beth graduated earlier this month with a master’s degree in journalism with an emphasis on convergence. She’s worked as an assistant news editor and designer for The Missourian and done convergence reporting and editing for radio and TV. She interned last summer in the multimedia operation of The Des Moines Register.
Previously, Beth spent eight months as a metro design with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a year as a designer for The Daily Sun in The Villages, Fla.
A few examples of her print work:
Find more — and a sampling of her video work — on Beth’s personal web site.
Read the AP story from last fall describing the volunteer Olympics News Service operation. Read the story in which Missouri’s j-school announced the program. Ditto for Iowa.
Find the Olympic News Service web site here.
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