Information

B a c k g r o u n dThe Information Division underwent severalorganisational changes between 1990 and 1993.This was partly due to LOOC’s organisationalchanges in connection with the transition fromfirst three, then four, and finally, one company,and partly due to the need for certain sections towork closer together during the staging of theGames.The idea behind the final organisational structure of thePress and Information Division was that LOOC’s overall pressactivities should be organised in one unit. Thus, the divisionwas divided into three sections:1.Media Contact dealt with the daily contact with the mediaand was responsible for organising 700 media tours withalmost 5 000 visitors. This section was also responsible forLOOC’s spokesperson function and all informationdistributed to LOOC employees and Team ‘94 members.2. Press Centres were established at the Main Press Centre,the sports arenas and the Olympic Villages. This sectionwas also responsible for the photographers.3. Publishing/Information Systems was responsible for allLOOC printed material and production of articles for themedia. This section was also responsible for developing theelectronic information system – INFO ‘94. The LanguageService which translated into English, French and Germanwas an integral part of the section. During the WinterGames, this section became the Lillehammer Olympic NewsAgency (LONA). LONA was the Lillehammer Games’ newscentral and communicated information through thefollowing channels: Olympic Radio, INFO ‘94, multimediaterminals for the public and two daily newspapers.The information director’s staff included a secretary, aconsultant responsible for the users of LOOC’s media facilitiesand a consultant responsible for coordinating between thevarious departments in LOOC. In the autumn1993, this consultant became press chief atBirkebeineren Ski Stadium, while the other twostaff members were responsible for informationactivities at the Main Press Centre (MPC) and atthe International Broadcasting Centre (IBC).During the Games, the same basicorganisational model was maintained, with theexception that the section dealing with media information wassplit up. Four persons went to various arenas to work withpress/information functions, while the others became part ofthe technical staff for the information director at the MainOperations Centre.