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

Skating on Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport by Kelli Lawrence (with Foreword by Verne Lundquist)

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. Skating on Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport examines the ways in which media attention has gradually altered and affected the sport, from the early appearances of Sonja Henie, skating’s gradual audience growth via television, and 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 on Carol Heiss’ 1961 musical Snow White and the Three Stooges. Order your copy here!

Kelli Lawrence, a freelance writer and producer, has published widely on skating and lives in Indianapolis. She is also the author of the skating blog State of the Skate.

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Doesn't this sound like a great book? I don't think I've ever read anything in-depth that examined skating from a broadcasting perspective. I did a little Q&A with Kelli and here's what she said...

What was the most surprising thing that you discovered about skating while writing Skating On Air?

Kelli (photo at right): I’d probably narrow it down to two things. The first “surprise” came in realizing how connected many of the top skaters are with those involved on the production side of TV. I’d be talking to retired executive Dennis Lewin from ABC and when I mentioned that I’d be interviewing Scott Hamilton in a few days, Mr. Lewin would say “Oh, how’s he doing? Would you tell him I said hello?” Then I’d pass that message on to Scott and he’d say “Oh! I haven’t talked to Denny in years! What’s he up to now?” And so on, over and over again. I felt like a personal message exchange board for half the skating and broadcasting community, which was great fun… and also spoke volumes about how tight those relationships can get. It takes time—for many skaters that make it to Nationals and beyond, the cameras and lights and other intrusions simply cast broadcasters as “one of THEM”… but if the skater sticks around long enough, they stick around the broadcasting folks quite a while as well, and become a sort of extended family.

Probably for that very reason came my second “surprise”: how truly invested the broadcasters and crew are when it comes to skating. Occasionally it’s because they were skaters themselves earlier in life… but more often than not, they are sports-based producers, directors, etc. who quickly came to love skating once they were assigned to it. I talked to a director whose decision to shift from one network to another had a lot to do with the “new” network’s willingness to let him direct figure skating events. I spoke with programming executives who can readily recall their favorite World Championship, where it was, and who won. There’s a videographer who has Olympic skaters (and their coaches) begging to borrow the good luck charm that he first loaned to Oksana Baiul in 1994… and the crew that was involved in the Sergei Grinkov tribute (which aired on CBS shortly after his passing) recount that emotional event in ways that are not to be missed. Overall, just countless examples of the effect this sport can have on those who get closest to it.

While researching for your book, who did you enjoy speaking with the most and why?

Kelli: The one I spoke with the most, bar none, was Doug Wilson…he was involved with skating for ABC from the time they first acquired the rights to Nationals (1964) till the time of his retirement in 2008. As a producer, but especially as a director, he played a massive role in the way ABC presented skating through the years—and he happens to be a delightful man to talk to with an endless supply of stories. He was fun to speak to for those reasons, but as someone who has directed for TV myself, I was especially interested in his “camera blocking” technique—in essence, choreographing the camera movement in advance to maximize the attributes of a given skater’s program. It hasn’t been adopted by all directors, but it’s been passed down, you might say, to a new generation of talent.

Then there was the opportunity to speak with so many easily recognizable names, which I treasure greatly. Janet Lynn was a complete gamble for me, as I knew she was a very private person who hasn’t ventured into the spotlight very often over the past few decades. But as it happened, she really liked the concept of my book and seemed happy to be able to contribute to it. Scott Hamilton, I’d heard, was generally slow to respond to requests, if only because he gets so many of them. But then one day his assistant calls, we book a couple hours… and, thankfully, Scott and I were able to cover numerous topics during our interview. Suffice to say he has a lot of insight to share!  Oh, and Verne Lundquist (Scott’s on-air partner throughout the CBS days) was a treat too. He was one of the people I contacted by writing their home address when I couldn’t locate an email address, so I worried that the letter would get buried on his desk and I’d never hear from him. But being several years removed from the sport now, he misses it greatly—and gave me not only a great interview, but wrote a lovely foreword for the book.

Honorable mention has to go to Kurt Browning. When I first contacted him it was in the dead of summer and he wrote back saying “Sure, here’s my number, I’m just staining a door today so give me a call and tell me more.” (For some reason I found that hilarious.) Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to do a full interview with him he was getting swamped with performances, and travel, and I think Battle of the Blades was just getting started up in Canada… we tried to set up a phone interview for a few weeks before deciding it would probably be best to try it by email instead. It took a while, and was probably completed in a manner that was polar opposite of Scott, but we got it done!

Comments

[Stephanie]

I LOVE Verne Lundquist!!!! He's my favorite skating commentator! And I'm happy to hear he likes figure skating. Any chance his forward is on CD? i just love his voice. :)

[Kelli Lawrence]

Stephanie, Kelli here (the author)-- I hear you!! Verne's voice is perfect for broadcasting, and I've always got my ears open for him whenever CBS sports is on in my house. I'm sorry to say that I do not have his foreword on CD-- his interviews were by phone, and then he wrote the foreword at a later date. But when I get word to him about the book's release-- which should be in the next month-- I'll try to remember to mention your request. Hope you like the book!

[Ann]

I'm looking forward to reading your book. I love figure skating and especially love watching it on TV.

[Kelli Lawrence]

Thank you Ann! (First time I'm seeing your comment!) Hope you have your copy by now... and that you enjoy it! If you do, tell a friend!
(commenting on Amazon doesn't hurt either!)

[Coach Outlet Online]

That sounds good!!