Conveying the Olympic Message: NBC Producer and Sportscaster Interviews Regarding the Role of Identity

Eleven producers and sportscasters who are NBC Olympic employees and/or former Olympians were interviewed concerning the role of gender, ethnicity, and nationality in producing and conveying the Olympic telecast. Interviewees tended to regulate clock-time most heavily in terms of gender equity and moderated on-air dialogue most overtly when attempting to avoid nationalistic biases. Meanwhile, ethnicity appeared to be an issue in which producers and reporters felt influenced their product to a much lesser extent, arguing that visual images informed the audience in regard to ethnicity much more than production and dialogic choices. Implications for agenda-setting and framing theories are articulated.