Page 29 - ARUBA TODAY

A29
PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 20 February 2018
NBC searches for Olympic clips to go viral

By DAVID BAUDER off the Connecticut Turn-
AP Media Writer pike, and for each Olym-
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — pics it is increasing its do-
In a room lined with com- mestic workforce, said Tim
puter terminals buzzing all Canary, vice president of
night during the Olympics, engineering.
an intern raises a hand. The curling and cross-coun-
He’s spotted an amusing try competitions are called
piece of film footage of a by announcers working in
dropped walkie-talkie skit- booths in Connecticut, not
tering down a mountain South Korea. The popu-
closed to competition be- lar online “Olympic Zone”
cause of bad weather, show is fully staffed here,
eluding the grasp of a cou- and the office opened in
ple of skiers trying to stop it. 2012 is the nexus for every-
A producer edits the film thing its cameras collect.
into a brief clip and sends Then there are the sleep-
it electronically to a room deprived staffers of the
down the hall, where a Highlight Factory, who are
social media team posts responsible for combing
it on NBC’s Olympic web- through and catalogu-
site, Facebook, Twitter and ing every piece of foot- Red Gerard, of the United States, jumps during the men’s slopestyle final at Phoenix Snow Park at
other social media destina- age shot by NBC and the the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018.
tions. Within a few days, it Olympic-run feed for other Associated Press
has been seen more than broadcasters. There are duce the typical clips of their nails in the stands and halfpipe, the slopestyle
1.6 million times. some 778 hours of live com- game-winning goals and family members who have races — display some of
Welcome to NBC’s High- petition in the games, said gold-medal runs down the followed loved ones across the best camaraderie and
lights Factory, responsible Eric Hamilton, director of mountain. A recent 12-hour the globe. At the figure sportsmanship at the Olym-
for culling the best and digital video production. shift that ended at 8 a.m. skating rink, cameras go pics. Hamilton never would
oddest moments of the Py- “Pretty much every mo- produced some 130 videos into the workout room and have predicted that 6 mil-
eongchang Olympics and ment is the most important for dissemination online. the booth where competi- lion people would watch
blanketing the world with moment in somebody’s “We train the interns to tors wait for scores. They a video from the 2016 Rio
them. life, some athlete’s life,” he note not only the obvious catch final conversations de Janeiro Games of an
The network, which paid said. “It’s the moment that stuff, but to see through between coaches and athlete trying to drink out of
$963 million for the rights to they’ve prepared for for things that are hidden in athletes. the wrong side of a water
show the Olympics in the years, and they have just plain sight,” Hamilton said. Through these backstage bottle. Those are the mo-
United States, has built a a few seconds in which to Cameras catch the com- moments, Hamilton has ments that make the Olym-
facility for some 2,500 staff do it. Our job is to draw the petition, but also the mo- found that the young ath- pics become more than a
members in Pyeongchang. curtain back on that and ments before they start letes competing in the ex- sporting event and a part
But it also has around 1,000 let everyone see it.” and when they’re over. treme sports that made of culture, upon which
people working in an office The staff members pro- They follow coaches biting traditionalists wince — the NBC’s business depends.q

Bill Paxton family sues hospital,

doctor for wrongful death

By ANDREW DALTON Khoynezhad, tended to “The surgeon’s actions re-
Associated Press “engage in maverick sur- sulted in this tragic and
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The geries and show subopti- preventable death.”
family of Bill Paxton has mal judgment.” Paxton’s widow, Louise,
filed a wrongful death law- The misguided treatment and children, James and
suit against a Los Angeles caused Paxton to suffer Lydia, brought the law-
hospital and the surgeon excessive bleeding, car- suit. It seeks unspecified
who performed the ac- diogenic shock and a damages and reserves
tor’s heart surgery shortly compromised coronary the right to add more de-
before he died. artery, the suit alleges. fendants who work for the
The suit filed Friday against Paxton’s death certificate hospital as their roles and
Cedars-Sinai Medical says he died Feb. 25, 2017, names become clear. In this May 31, 2015 file photo, Bill Paxton arrives at the Critics’
Center alleges the sur- from a stroke, 11 days af- Cedars-Sinai said it could Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly
geon, used a “high risk ter surgery to replace a not offer public comment Hills, Calif.
and unconventional surgi- heart valve and repair about Paxton’s case. Associated Press
cal approach” that was aorta damage. He was 61. “State and federal privacy of our patients. These re- tinue to provide the high-
unnecessary and that he “Bill Paxton and his family laws prevent us from com- main our top priorities. est quality care.”
lacked the experience trusted the physicians and menting about patient One of the reasons for Khoynezhad has since left
to perform, and that he staff at this medical facility care without written au- our high quality is that we Cedars-Sinai for another
downplayed the proce- but instead Cedars-Sinai thorization,” a statement thoroughly review con- hospital. An after-hours
dure’s risks. betrayed their trust,” the said. “Nothing is more im- cerns about any patient’s message left seeking com-
And it alleges the hospital family’s attorney Bruce portant to Cedars-Sinai medical care. This process ment from him was not im-
knew the surgeon, Dr. Ali Broillet said in a statement. than the health and safety ensures that we can con- mediately returned.q