One of the biggest problems with the NBC coverage of the Olympics has been NBC itself.  From odd camera transitions to poor announcers, NBC has been a disaster area when it comes to how they have handled the Olympics telecast for the London games.  One of the biggest critics of NBC’s flaw-riddled coverage has been Guy Adams, the Los Angeles-based reporter for London newspaper The Independent.  He has been a frequent, vocal critic of NBC on Twitter, and has encouraged his followers to actually email NBC head honcho Gary Zenkel to complain.  That’s where he apparently crossed a line.  NBC Universal got journalist Guy Adams banned from Twitter to silence his criticism; apparently, publishing someone’e email address (that is easily available on NBC’s website or via Google search) is enough to get you banned from Twitter if someone wants you banned.

“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 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,” wrote an angry Adams to Twitter in an email asking about his ban.  “Either way, [it’s] quite worrying that NBC, whose parent company is an Olympic sponsor, is apparently trying (and, in this case, succeeding) in shutting down the Twitter accounts of journalists who are critical of their Olympic coverage.”

The main criticism of NBC is, of course, its lack of live coverage.  When you’ve got a dozen channels, including a dedicated sports network, you should offer some more live events, rather than saving everything for primetime television some 6 hours after the fact to increase broadcast ratings.  Why not show it live, then show it taped?

Image:  Deadspin

Tags: the independent, london, england, los angeles, guy adams, guy adams banned on twitter, twitter, nbc, nbc universal, nbc critic banned on twitter, twitter bans nbc critic, olympic coverage criticism gets journalist banned on twitter, guy adams banned, twitter bans the independent journalist, censorship, television, broadcasting, gary zenkel

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