Skating on Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport

by Kelli Lawrence

Overview

Of all winter sports, none is so widely watched and commented upon by the media as figure skating, which is often considered the Winter Olympics' centerpiece. This critical text examines the ways in which media attention has gradually altered and affected the sport, from the early appearances of Sonja Henie, to skating's gradual audience growth via television, and to the ramifications of the scandals in the 1994 and 2002 Olympics. The topic is illuminated by more than 30 interviews with commentators, skaters, producers, directors and others. In addition to numerous photos, illustrations show the compulsory figures for which "figure skating" got its name, as well as a sample of the charted-out "camera blocking" for TV directors. Appendices include collected anecdotes from early broadcasting experiences; a profile of broadcaster Jim McKay; and commentary from Carol Heiss on her 1961 musical Snow White and the Three Stooges.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786446087
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2011
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kelli Lawrence, an award-winning freelance writer and producer, has published in Skating, PSA Magazine, and several other publications. She lives in Indianapolis.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Foreword Verne Lundquist 1

Introduction 5

1 From London 1908 to Hollywood 1948: Figure Skating Before Television 7

2 Barely a Small Screen Sport: Skating Through TV's Golden Age 17

3 Ashes to Icons: TV and Figure Skating's Alliance of the 1960s 28

4 When the Ways of Television Helped Change the Ways of the Sport (1969-73) 41

5 Skating Up Close and Personal in the 1970s 52

6 Big Deals and Bigger Personalities: Skating Meets the '80s 68

7 Leaving Figures Behind: The Road from Calgary to Albertville 85

8 The Brightest Lights for the Darkest Reasons (1994) 103

9 Here a Skater, There a Skater: The Pro Explosion (1994-98) 117

10 The Saturation Point and the Saga of "Skategate" 134

11 Televised Skating Post-2002: The Hard Fall 157

12 Fragmented, Not Broken: Figure Skating Pushes Forward 174

Afterword 199

Appendix A Profiles of Interviewees 203

Appendix B the Art of Camera Blocking Doug Wilson 208

Appendix C Tales from the Trenches 211

Appendix D the Ultimate Professional … Who Never Liked Figure Skating Jim McKay 214

Appendix E When Heiss Met Hollywood 216

Appendix F The "Nicely Done" Pool 219

Chapter Notes 221

Bibliography 227

Index 229