Bob Costas, Face of the Olympics: ‘Where Called For, Should Have Journalism, and Judiciously Should Also Have Commentary’
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July 30, 2012Good piece today on Bob Costas at Yahoo Sports’ ThePostGame: http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/london-calling-2012/201207/bob-costas-nbc-olympics-host-syracuse-hockey-andy-macwilliams?tid=the-ticket-daily.
The article is mostly about the humble beginnings of his broadcast career in Syracuse. But I also liked this Costas quote:
“Any good broadcast — not just an Olympic broadcast — should have texture to it. It should have information, should have some history, should have something that’s offbeat, quirky, humorous, and where called for it should have journalism and judiciously it should also have commentary.”
As blog readers know, Costas and I have been acquaintances/friends for many years, which have included the inevitable disagreements. We’re fellow St. Louis sports mafia – a New York native, he made St. Louis his home base right around the same time I, a St. Louis native, was leaving.
Just imagine the impact Costas could have if – in front of his millions of NBC viewers – he would take a 90-second detour from Olympic kitsch and fill in the American public on the USA Swimming coach sex abuse scandal. As things stand, the best-kept secret in sports remains, for the most part, a secret.
Irv Muchnick
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