The press at Tokyo 2020
The news media play an important role at the Olympic Games by sharing the remarkable athletic performances and inspiring displays of the Olympic values with a global audience. Reporters and photographers from print, digital and non-rights-holding news outlets from around the world and throughout Japan covered every aspect of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, providing results and analysis of the competition, moving feature stories about the competitors, and insights into the culture and cuisine of the host city and nation. As with all other stakeholder groups, the Olympic news media felt the impact of COVID-19, resulting in a smaller presence, rigid testing requirements and restricted movements.
Here’s a rundown of the Tokyo 2020 press corps, showing the number on site in each category, followed by the gender breakdown by percentage of men and women in that order:
- Total Tokyo 2020 press corps: 4,187 – about 1,800 fewer than normal (80%-20%)
- Number of news organisations represented: 1,244 (N/A)
- Number of international journalists: 2,114 (77% 23%)
- Number of sport-specific journalists: 183 (70% 30%)
- Number of news photographers: 1,042 (88% 12%)
- Number of sport-specific news photographers: 182 (80% 20%)
- Number of local journalists: 144 (88% 12%)
- Number of local news photographers: 94 (93% 7%)
- Number of non-rights-holding broadcasters: 246 (70% 30%)
- Number of technicians and support staff: 182 (81% 19%)