The first few days of the Olympics have been rife with fail-bait. #NBCFail, to be specific. Guy Adams, a Los Angeles-based reporter for The Independent newspaper in London, wrote an article reaming NBC for its gross incompetence:
At the centre of controversy was NBC’s attempt to leverage maximum revenue from the Games, for which they paid almost a billion dollars, by foregoing live coverage of high-profile events. Instead, it intends to footage on time-delay during evening prime time, when brands will pay a premium to advertise.
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Even when they do find live sport, NBC viewers must suffer some of the most invasive advertising in the history of television: roughly 20 minutes during each hour is taken up by commercial breaks.
Critics have also rounded on the quality of NBC’s commentary, which has been riddled with basic factual errors. They ranged from a cycling host’s allegation that the Surrey countryside is full of “chateaus” to a map on NBC’s website which describes Australia as “located in central Europe, bordered to the north by Germany and the Czech Republic, [and] to the west by Switzerland”.
Adams didn’t stop there, however. He also took to Twitter to twist the knife even deeper into the network’s side:
Oh, snap.
And there’s plenty more where that came from. Apparently, NBC execs were none too pleased with the bad publicity, despite the fact that they themselves have invited the endless ridicule. But is it possible that the network pulled some strings with someone at Twitter and got Adams’ account suspended? Plenty of Twitterers, including Adams’ own colleagues, support that claim:
Just to be clear – @guyadams account has been suspended. He has been savagely critical of NBC. Whether the two are linked – can't be sure
— Rory Cellan-Jones (@ruskin147) July 30, 2012
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Twitter apparently suspends UK journalist @guyadams after NBC complained about criticism of its inept Olympics coverage. Outrageous if true
— James Chapman (@jameschappers) July 30, 2012
My colleague @guyadams' Twitter account was suspended after @NBC complained about his tweets criticising the network's #Olympics coverage
— Kevin Rawlinson (@KevinJRawlinson) July 30, 2012
Even if Twitter might also ban my account, like NBC critic @guyadams, my Tuesday column will be critical of NBC's tape-delay process.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) July 30, 2012
NBC’s apparent temper tantrum left a bad taste in many people’s mouths:
@KevinJRawlinson @guyadams @NBC so much for Freedom of Speech! is censorship now a network activity??
— Doc Peaches (@docpeaches) July 30, 2012
It is APPALLING that @nbc didn't show the 7/7 tribute and it is APPALLING that @guyadams' Twitter account as been suspended @KevinJRawlinson
— Amy (@AmyxJean) July 30, 2012
What an outrage. RT @ruskin147 Twitter has suspended the account of Indy's @guyadams after he criticised NBC's Olympics coverage..
— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 30, 2012
Adams’ defenders have started a hashtag to call attention to his suspension: #SAVEGUYADAMS.
Has anyone started #SaveGuyAdams yet? #SAVEGUYADAMS!!! (cc: @KevinJRawlinson)
— Michael Taggart (@michael_taggart) July 30, 2012
Outraged at @Twitter's suspension of @independent hack @guyadams? Good. Let them know at #SaveGuyAdams!
— Amol Rajan (@amolrajan) July 30, 2012
https://twitter.com/GerardDiTrolio/status/229989985057640448
.@guyadams is a great journalist. His work from Haiti was stellar. Better than those dorks at NBC. Shame on you Twitter & NBC. #SaveGuyAdams
— Frank (@fvdlfvdl) July 30, 2012
Among the best on @twitter in my view @guyadams – @Independent source of US west coast news and keen watcher of the absurd. #SaveGuyAdams
— Brian Nolan (@BrianNolan1974) July 30, 2012
Adams plans to address the issue in the next issue of The Independent.
There you go RT @_RichardHall Hear all about @guyadams' Twitter ban from the man himself in tomorrow's @independent. #nbc #london2012
— Neal Mann (@fieldproducer) July 30, 2012
.@guyadams will have piece on heavy-handed suspension of acct up soon. For clarity's sake, came after he mentioned NBC bod's email address.
— Archie Bland (@archiebland) July 30, 2012
The tweet in question:
If that’s the excuse NBC and Twitter are going with, it’s not a very good one.
Yeah sure, the reason that @guyadams was suspended is because he posted a publicly available NBC email address. Uh-huh. #SaveGuyAdams
— Frank (@fvdlfvdl) July 30, 2012
https://twitter.com/dangillmor/status/230021989400719361
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Updates:
In his follow-up post in The Independent, Adams confirms that his suspension was due to his tweeting Gary Zenkel’s email address. He adds:
Though I’m still banned from Twitter, so unable to personally verify this, colleagues inform me that my suspension has suddenly become a matter of public debate.
Since I’m still trying to get to bottom of the hows and whys of my suspension, which conceivably raises various ethical issues relevant to journalism in the online era, it seems premature to comment further. Except, perhaps to say that I do not wish Mr Zenkel any harm, and to share a transcript of my most recent email to Rachel Bremer, Twitter’s head of European PR.
“I’m of course happy to abide by Twitter’s rules, now and forever,” it reads. “But I don’t see how I broke them in this case: I didn’t publish a private email address. Just a corporate one, which is widely available to anyone with access to Google, and is identical [in form] to one that all of the tens of thousands of NBC Universal employees share. It’s no more “private” than the address I’m emailing you from right now. Either way, [it’s] quite worrying that NBC, whose parent company are an Olympic sponsor, are apparently trying (and, in this case, succeeding) in shutting down the Twitter accounts of journalists who are critical of their Olympic coverage.”
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Mashable says Twitter got it wrong: “Not only was Twitter’s reaction completely disproportionate, there’s one major problem with it: [Guy Adams] didn’t actually violate Twitter’s terms of service.”
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CNN host Piers Morgan urges Twitter to reinstate Adams’ account:
I've got a better idea, Twitter – ban @Rileyy_69 and reinstate @GuyAdams . One's a disgusting slimeball, the other's a critical journalist.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 30, 2012
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Reuters has now published an article that includes Gary Zenkel’s “private” corporate email address. The article states: “NBC confirmed that it had filed a complaint with Twitter.”
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Tech journalist Dan Gillmor asks if the suspension of Guy Adams is “a defining moment for Twitter”:
What makes this a serious issue is that Twitter has partnered with NBC during the Olympics. And it was NBC’s complaint about Adams that led to the suspension.
Twitter has been exemplary in its handling of many issues over the past several years, including its (for a social network) brave stance in protecting user privacy. So I’m giving the service the benefit of the doubt for the moment, and hoping that this is just a foolish — if well-meaning — mistake by a single quick-triggered Twitter employee. If so, Twitter should apologize and reinstate Adams’ account immediately. If it does so, there’s little harm done — and the company will have learned a lesson.
If not, this is a defining moment for Twitter. It will have demonstrated that it can be bullied by its business partners into acts that damage its credibility and ultimately the reason so many of us use it as a platform. And if that’s the case, there will be much less incentive to use it.
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Related Twitchy story: Twitter bans Guy Adams, but look which social media menaces aren’t banned
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More negative reaction on Twitter:
Clear that #Twitter screwed up & should reverse @GuyAdams block. Though it would be good to know whom at #NBC called w/initial request
— TimKarr (@TimKarr) July 30, 2012
Outrageous censorship #Twitter suspends British journalist critical of NBC's Olympics coverage http://t.co/PZalvHXi via @guardian
— Bianca Jagger Nicaraguense por gracia de Dios ?? (@BiancaJagger) July 30, 2012
Twitter suspend @guyadams for publishing NBC email address.Last week an Islamist threatens to shoot me&I'm told it's freedom of speech #fail
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) July 30, 2012
#Twitter's suspension of @guyadams for tweeting a publicly available email in an NBC ruse designed to suppress criticism – gobsmacking #fail
— Dr. Julie Posetti (@julieposetti) July 30, 2012
So Twitter suspended @guyadams for mentioning an NBC exec's email. Seriously, @dickc, this is your idea of free speech? http://t.co/S78N3pw2
— Adam Banks (@adambanksdotcom) July 30, 2012
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Update: Reuters social media editor Matthew Keys interviews Guy Adams:
Just got off the phone with Guy Adams. He tells me that nobody from Twitter or NBC has reached out to him since we last spoke.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
Guy goes on to tell me that if someone at NBC Sports or Mr. Zenkel had reached out to him, he would have removed the tweet.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
Guy Adams told me by phone he was tweeting as a spectator of the Olympics, not acting as a journalist. He was frustrated by NBC's coverage.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
Guy is going to start the process of getting his account reinstated later tonight; The Independent will run a news piece tomorrow.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
Guy Adams: "I wanted to watch a major news event that the rest of the world was watching," and he says he was frustrated he couldn't.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
I asked Guy Adams if he believes a corporate email account is "private." His response: No.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
I asked Guy if he had tried to stream the events on his computer, to which he says he has a 6-foot TV and he wants to watch the games there.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
I told him about the "Save Guy Adams" campaigns brewing on Twitter. He seemed appreciative of the effort.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 30, 2012
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