What good excuse for NBC censorship of Olympic opening broadcast in U.S.?

Minneapolis, Minnesota


NBC's delayed broadcast in the United States of Friday's opening ceremonies from the 2012 Olympic Games omitted an elegiac tribute to the victims of a terrorist bombing in London, July 7, 2005, the day after the city was designated the site for the 2012 Games.

Time constraints were not at issue. The network consciously deleted "Abide With Me," featuring a vocalized hymn and interpretive dance, and substituted an inane interview with Michael Phelps, a U.S. swimming athlete.


"Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience," said NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes.


One can only speculate, then, about what aspect(s) of the six minute segment NBC thought viewers would not like or appreciate: 

1. The performance of modern dance that was not part of an insipid, televised contest?

2. A choreographer bearing a name like Akram Khan?

3. A woman of color with blonde hair, Scotland's Emeli Sandé, singing the hymn "Abide With Me"?

4. Memorialized victims numbering only 52 and most, if not all, not being U.S. citizens?

Yet, many observers continue to opine about why record numbers of consumers no longer trust the biases and decision-making of media that insist on telling them what is important, what is news, and what to think.