ABSTRACT
Dichotomies such as “fairness/unfairness”, “equitable/inequitable” and “unbiased/biased” permeate much of the literature about media production, content and effects (e.g. Higgs and Weiller, 1994; Rada, 1996; Sabo et al., 1996; Staurowsky, 1995). NBC’s Olympic telecast performs yeoman’s work in highlighting the global and diverse nature of sport; yet others claim critically that much more must be done to remedy a broken paradigm within all megasporting telecasts in the United States, with the Olympic telecasts being merely exemplars (e.g. Lenskyj, 2000; Tuggle et al., 2002). However, it has not been the intention of this book to contend that Olympic telecasts are deficient or to suggest a way to “fix” them, but, rather, to document features of their production, with particular regard to the portrayal of nationality, gender, and ethnicity. The contention that NBC’s coverage is currently imbued with identity-laden differences that could alter viewers’ perceptions of what they are watching is significant when considering the possible direction of NBC’s coverage in future sports television airings.
