Yes, I realize that probably everyone is writing about the same thing here, but I feel as if I offer a unique perspective to the situation, being so close to the UGA swim team and being at the Olympics.
We all know the story, Ryan Lochte and friends celebrate a little too much after the swimming portion of the Olympics conclude, Lochte rips down a poster at a gas station, lies about the situation….and here we are: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/20/sport/us-olympics-swimmers-reported-robbery-future/?sr=twnewday082216us-olympics-swimmers-reported-robbery-future1104AMVODtopLink&linkId=27902532.
I am by no means surprised by how this whole story spiraled out of control. Michael Phelps’ 23rd gold medal and retirement might as well have been a year ago and who is Lilly King again? The drunk actions of a few American swimmers absolutely took over all Olympic news feed. Everything.
Journalists were lacking anything juicy at the Olympic Games. Personally, I didn’t see a single mosquito during my time in Rio. Nobody really saw any mosquitoes. And what about the water? Yeah, that was fine too. The Lochte story was the first REAL thing that journalists had to cling to to prove themselves right about all the predictions they made about the Games. But that’s still not the surprising part.
What did shock me is how quiet nearly all media members became as the TRUE facts came out. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger both released statements giving their versions of the story, which have held up to be true. People who were calling for the swimmer’s heads all of a sudden fell silent. Christine Brennan led the charge for a lifetime Lochte suspension, but made NO mention of either of the swimmers statements once the truth came out.
To me, this just proves that journalism is moving more and more towards clicks. I worry that the profession is losing its integrity and journalists are spending more time presenting their own commentary, as either absurd or accurate as it may be, than chasing facts. And that’s what is surprising.