UCI Spitting their dummy.

[Mrs John Murphy]

<Swearing removed> Explains why most of the media is too *****whipped to ask serious question.

Asking too many questions about doping means you get excluded. If I were ARD I'd wear it as a badge of honour.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-wont-grant-interviews-to-german-television

Straight out of the Armstrong playbook of excluding anyone who doesn't sing from the correct hymsheet.

 

[D-Queued]

------------------- Explains why most of the media is too *****whipped to ask serious question.

Asking too many questions about doping means you get excluded. If I were ARD I'd wear it as a badge of honour.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-wont-grant-interviews-to-german-television

Straight out of the Armstrong playbook of excluding anyone who doesn't sing from the correct hymsheet.

And here the Germans probably thought that they were just being 'on message' since all the UCI has produced consistently since Festina is 'doping, doping, and more doping'.

The UCI indicated that it was tired of the German networks' one-sided coverage. “Every year the German networks' agenda is the same: doping, doping and more doping,” UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani said.

(Note that I have added the original post to the 'UCI is putting their foot in it' thread for obvious reasons)

Dave.

 

[BullsFan22]

Not surprised by any of this. Not surprised by the Germans, they have been exceptionally consistent on their stance, really since Ullrich was implicated in the 2006 Puerto case and especially during the 2007 Tour (they actually stopped broadcasting in the middle of the tour!). I am also not surprised by McQuaid. He's been consistent as well, for all the wrong reasons, but we have come to know him this way. He might as well take over from Bruyneel or become Bruyneel's sidekick on RadioShack, or vice versa, have Bruyneel become the next president of the UCI. What a joke. Is it sad that the Germans are gonna stop broadcasting one of the world's biggest events? Sure, but they have every right and have set an obvious, strong, positive tone for the better, in hopes of showing that doping is indeed ruining the sport, something that McQuaid obviously hasn't noticed. I wonder how much of an influence LA has on McQuaid still.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Just as a note, as I assume most of you don't watch ARD and ZDF: their coverage the last few years has been 95% doping talk, and perhaps five minutes of race coverage.

Susan

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Just as a note, as I assume most of you don't watch ARD and ZDF: their coverage the last few years has been 95% doping talk, and perhaps five minutes of race coverage.

Susan

Ironically enough, those percentages seem to be fairly close to dirty vs. clean in the peloton. Coincidence, or good old fashion German efficiency?

 

[nevada]

Just as a note, as I assume most of you don't watch ARD and ZDF: their coverage the last few years has been 95% doping talk, and perhaps five minutes of race coverage.

Susan

About the right ratio.h

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

That may be, but when people turn on the tv for an hour's broadcast of a cycling race, they expect to actually see a race.

ARD/ZDF broadcast very little of that race, so viewers stop watching, so ARD/ZDF say, "see? no one is watching."

Fortunately Eurosport has extensive coverage, so we can actually see the race.

Susan

Note: I am not trying to defend or attack either side, merely trying to present the picture as it is here.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Understood. I actually have family in Germany. I'm just being a smart-*ss.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

I should actually have remembered that more people are more interested in being smart *** than in hearing and discussing the facts.

Susan

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Ouch! Watch the personal attacks, or Susan might get ya! Oh, wait a minute...

 

[hfer07]

Just as a note, as I assume most of you don't watch ARD and ZDF: their coverage the last few years has been 95% doping talk, and perhaps five minutes of race coverage.

Susan

wow- I never thought that attitude towards the sport in Germany was on such radical level-so in that case agree for the first time ever(and probably last) with the UCI. If they want to make a mockery out of the sport-then don't do it while broadcasting the race....

 

[Zerak-Tul]

Ouch! Watch the personal attacks, or Susan might get ya! Oh, wait a minute...

Classic....

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Oh, forgot, I need to watch out for her, I hear she has absolutely NO sense of humour......

Susan

 

[ElChingon]

Maybe, just maybe we can get a German speaker/writer to post the daily transcripts over on the Clinic from those German TV shows! They sound like Clinic masterpieces!

 

[spalco]

Just as a note, as I assume most of you don't watch ARD and ZDF: their coverage the last few years has been 95% doping talk, and perhaps five minutes of race coverage.

Susan

That's an exaggeration, but they've certainly been very negative and depressing to the point where it just wasn't any fun watching it on ARD/ZDF, and probably deliberately so, that much I agree with.

 

[brianf7]

The UCI the Union is suposed cyclists rights that is what they are doinh in this case.
Sick of all the fuss and media on doping lets get on with the race and see who wins.
instead of promoting WADA and drug companes and others trying to make political and media from our sport

Who cares is Germany dont get TV coverage they can get euro sport if they want it enough. or they can get it on internet

 

[spalco]

It's not meaningless. Sure, people who are already interested in cycling can watch it in a different way, but ARD/ZDF are far more mainstream than Eurosport could ever hope to be and I'm sure many people who would watch Tour de France occasionally on ARD/ZDF won't watch it on Eurosport.

 

[GJB123]

What is really irritating about ATD/ZDF's stance is the utter hypocrisy of it. They only do it on cycling, but you don't ear a peep out of them when you watch biathlon or cross country skiing where it well known that for example EPO-doping is very widespread. Cycling is the easy scapegoat in Germany.

By the way, did anyone hear a peep out of the German authorities on the Athleteics wordl chamionships in berlin. Naturally not, since we all know athltics is clean as a whistle.

Regards
GJ

 

[frenchfry]

That may be, but when people turn on the tv for an hour's broadcast of a cycling race, they expect to actually see a race.

ARD/ZDF broadcast very little of that race, so viewers stop watching, so ARD/ZDF say, "see? no one is watching."

Fortunately Eurosport has extensive coverage, so we can actually see the race.

Susan

Note: I am not trying to defend or attack either side, merely trying to present the picture as it is here.

Which is worse, German television's approach (which I haven't seen) that apparently tackles the subject of doping head-on or the approach taken by French Télévisions where the subject of doping is almost totally sidestepped and Thierry Adam was fawning all over Armstrong on the Tourmalet despite having stated previously in an interview that he has direct proof of his doping.

Not a rhetoric question.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Neither is good, but at least the French show the race.

Susan

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

What is really irritating about ATD/ZDF's stance is the utter hypocrisy of it. They only do it on cycling, but you don't ear a peep out of them when you watch biathlon or cross country skiing where it well known that for example EPO-doping is very widespread. Cycling is the easy scapegoat in Germany.

This.

Susan

 

[skippythepinhead]

I should actually have remembered that more people are more interested in being smart *** than in hearing and discussing the facts.

Susan

Perhaps if other cycling media did their jobs as journalists, the German media could dedicate more time to cheerleading.

 

[andy1234]

Which is worse, German television's approach (which I haven't seen) that apparently tackles the subject of doping head-on or the approach taken by French Télévisions where the subject of doping is almost totally sidestepped and Thierry Adam was fawning all over Armstrong on the Tourmalet despite having stated previously in an interview that he has direct proof of his doping.

Not a rhetoric question.

If, when you to go to the theatre, you don't mind people criticising the show all the way through, its acceptable.
If you are there to watch the show and make your own mind up, it's not.

Regardless of the validity of the criticism, it makes the show redundant.

 

[Chef_Vodnik]

Perhaps if other cycling media did their jobs as journalists, the German media could dedicate more time to cheerleading.

Thing is, while some of the research that is done is done well and is (of course) good and necessary, most of the media in Germany are just in it for the sensationalism and don't give a rats **** about the sport. Most of them don't want to "cheerlead", they're just looking for an easy way to appease the public view on cycling which, in Germany, is really bad. Hell, that's all you hear from the german riders, isn't it?

Some men just want to see view numbers increase, and if all it takes is a bit of "HERF DERF LUK CYKLING IS TEH BAD ROFL DEM BE AL DOPERS YEP NOTHING TO SEE IN FOOTBALL OUR HOLY COW DURPADURPADOO", then they gladly accept.

 

[roundabout]

All this talk makes me want to find an ARD stream. Preferably covering a mountain stage.