Link to interview of NBC's justification for not covering Matt Mitcham's family

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http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2008/8/nbcolympiccoverage?page=0%2C0

When asked why at no point during the coverage did NBC mention Mitcham was gay or that his partner was in the stands, Hughes said, “In virtually every case, we don’t discuss an athlete’s sexual orientation.”

When it was pointed out that in fact the network does exactly that by telling viewers about Olympic athletes’ various spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and even in one case a heterosexual “love triangle” Hughes responded, “Not in every case. Not every athlete has a personal discussion. I could show you 500 athletes we didn't show. We don't show everyone. We don’t show every ceremony.”

But surely, taking into account Mticham’s stunning come-from-behind victory, the historical significance of his achievement as a gay man, and his own personal history, it seems unlikely the vast majority of those other athletes truly have as compelling a story as Mitcham. Said Hughes, “How do you know that? How do you know that someone on the rowing team doesn’t have as compelling a story?”

Pressed that it was hard to believe that there truly any other athletes with stories as compelling as Matthew’s, especially ones who single-handedly prevented the Chinese from sweeping all of the gold medals in an entire sport, Hughes would only say, “It's not possible to cover the entire personal story of every athlete regarding their performance. … It’s just not possible to single out coverage. “

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The best I can say is give me a break. There is one, count it one, openly gay male athlete at the Olympics. The one and only openly gay athlete at the Olympics wins a medal no one thought he would, doing so with the most highly scored dive in history. After the medal ceremony, the one and only openly gay athlete kissed his man, the man who got him through a major personal crisis which led him to quit diving. Now add to that the fact the diver in question came out three months ago, is a handsome and personable young man, with a handsome and personable boyfriend. This isn't ratings gold? Are you kidding me?

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1. kick

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2. one last kick

[Solon]

3. NBC is run by discriminatory assholes...

I'm not surprised at this, Gods forbid that we have a news corporation actually protray a same-sex relationship as normal and healthy. Can't have that, can we?

I'm also sorry this isn't getting more responses from other DUers, but frankly, even if the convention didn't start tonight, it probably wouldn't get more play from most DUers, they simply don't give a fuck about gay people or their struggles.

:hug:

[fishwax]

4. pretty hard to argue that his isn't a compelling story

NBC blew it. They ought stop trying to pretend otherwise.

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5. They had no problem discussing Michael Phelps' DOG, but couldn't mention Mitcham's loved ones?

And Kerri Walsh's wedding ring being temporarily lost in the sand was big news, but oh no... no mention of Matt's boyfriend.