Canadian’s victory at Whistler well covered by CTV
February 20, 2010 · 38 Comments
CTV’s coverage of the Jon Montgomery gold medal celebration was quite remarkable. It’s hard to imagine a film production company plotting a more compelling scene.
Two cameras followed Montgomery’s triumphant stroll, a jug of beer in one hand, his helmet in the other, through a wildly cheering crowd at Whistler late Friday night.
At the CTV outdoor set, Jennifer Hedger interviewed Montgomery and his parents. (Montgomery’s attractive girlfriend was also there, but Hedger ignored her.)
Dad, a retired school principal, talked about teaching his son that a job started needs to be completed. Mom recalled taking Jon to a tattoo parlour where they both had a bit of work done – a butterfly on her ankle, a maple leaf on Jon’s chest – to celebrate his grade 12 graduation. And then off they went to have a beer. How many moms would do that with their 17 year old son?
From Vancouver, anchor Brian Williams wondered if Jon, an auctioneer, could give a demonstration. So, with the over-refreshed crowd at Whistler going wild – they had previously sang, ad hoc, the Canadian anthem — Jon auctioned off, a “gold medal” jug of beer. CTV also aired a clip from a bar in Virden, Man., were a camera caught friends of Montgomery watching his skeleton run and then cheering his win. Thorough coverage. Great pictures, great story, great fun.
Where’s the Globe’s media critic?
Curiously, Bruce Dowbiggin, the sports broadcast columnist for The Globe and Mail, has not written a word of analysis about Vancouver Olympic TV coverage.
Chris Zelkovich, who writes on sports television for The Toronto Star, has been filing daily columns. I’m writing for Yahoo! Canada in addition to filing to this webpage. There seems to be interest in what CTV and NBC are doing.
But Bruce? He’s cobbling together quotes about the Winter Games from the international media. His Feb. 18 collection consisted of seven quotes from sources such as an NBC news release and newspaper stories in the United States and Britain.
Why isn’t Dowbiggin critiquing the coverage of CTV and NBC? I emailed him and asked, but he didn’t respond. So, let’s guess:
Bruce decided to take some time off and just enjoy the Games on TV. Or the Globe didn’t feel it necessary to analyze the CTV telecasts. (Saturday’s edition includes a short feature by sports writer James Christie on Brian Williams and announcer Rod Black.)
Or perhaps it was decided Bruce would be in an untenable conflict of interest by being required to critique the Olympic coverage of a network (CTV) that is owned by the company (CTVglobemedia) that also owns the Globe.
But, that can’t be the reason. After all, he writes about TSN and TSN2, which are owned by CTVglobemedia. Other media writers comment all the time on the work of outlets owned by the company for which they work. Phil Mushnick, the sports broadcasting columnist for The New York Post, comments on Fox Sports. Both Fox and the Post are owned by News Corp. Howard Kurtz writes on media for The Washington Post and regularly critiques his own newspaper. It can’t be a conflict of interest issue, can it? The mystery continues.
Kudos for Don Duguid
Speaking of Mushnick, he had some kind and accurate words in his Friday column about the work of Don Duguid, the former long-time CBC curling commentator who’s back with NBC for its Olympic curling coverage.
Mushnick wrote, “For the second straight Winter Games, NBC curling analyst Don Duguid — a 75-year-old Canadian and member of Canada’s Curling Hall of Fame — has emerged as one of our favorites, a man steeped in country-store wisdom.
“Tuesday, during U.S.-Germany on USA, he was asked how one preps for competitive curling. Duguid said it depends on the level of competition, but in most cases, ‘you pop a couple of cold ones.’
“Also, Duguid firmly and proudly declared curling to be ‘a great sport.’ Why? ‘It starts with a handshake, it ends with a handshake.’ ”
In The New York Times a few days ago, Timothy Egan, a former Times man in the Pacific Northwest, bemoaned Canadians’ “lack of self esteem.” I think he’s out of touch, invoking a stereotype that no longer exists. Here it is if you wish to have a look.
Faldo and Nantz on Tiger
This is from CBS’s coverage Saturday of the Accenture Match Play Championship, discussing Tiger Woods’ statement on Friday.
NANTZ: It is interesting Nick because everyone has to have an opinion on it and judge the way they look at it whether it was heartfelt or not. I do believe it was a bit scripted and robotic at times. But clearly remorseful, in just about every single category right down the line.
FALDO: I can’t imagine Tiger ever thought in his career he was going to have to stand up to the world and be humiliated and have to apologize.
NANTZ: I really thought that going into it there was a chance he would add some insight on when he’s coming back…I don’t think even now he even knows. I felt all along that Augusta would be in the cards. Now I don’t see anything imminent as far as his return.
FALDO: I agree with you. I already thought Augusta made sense. You can go there, the privacy the week before to prepare yourself. You have the patrons I am sure that would look after him. He would feel a little more secure because he is stepping into a new environment. An environment where he has no idea how the public are going to receive him.
FALDO: For me if you want to get back to the fairway and be a part of the family, it could be done. Personally I think he can jump on his private plane, get back out here and maybe it wouldn’t do him too much harm to come back out on tour and show everybody he’s human. Come and play, take what he gets. If he plays badly, he plays badly. He has to start all over again. But I can also understand with Tiger…his whole career he only wants to come to the golf course when he is 100% ready because all he wants to do is win.
NANTZ: Is he going to be capable of being this new Tiger? Tiger Woods the golfer when he plays again will he be motoring around the golf course with the same kind of vibe and attitude that he had before?
FALDO: I can’t imagine that would happen. To go to the golf course you have to have pretty good self-esteem. When you are standing there basically the world is looking at you. And it really was with Tiger. What he’s done off the golf course he can never erase that, that is with him for the rest of his life. So how he rebuilds everything and comes back out as a golfer he almost has to become a saint.
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Phil Mushnick actually wrote something complimentary?!?! Stop the planet!!! I'm gettin off!
What do you care what Dowbiggin is writing or saying? Many people think he has nothing worth saying anyway. Worry about your own column(s). God, you've become a miserable old fart since leaving the Globe. Lighten up, it's only sports.
Umm…it's called being a media critic. It's more than fair to wonder why Dowbiggin has not said a peep. Consortium journalists can carry the torch, but not critique the broadcasts or coverage. How curious.
Watched the 30k race live on RDS (french). That was the most memorable event for me so far in these Olympics. No podium but it was great to see 3 Canadian flags in the top 10 and 4 in the top 15. The commentators were so excited on RDS, they were talking over each other.
It's these kinds of moments I enjoy best in the Olympics – where the athletes and event are not hyped but you get a good race and suprising outcome.
Journalists criticizing journalists can't be a good thing. Obviously with CTV owning the Globe and Canwest owning Global it could be a disappearing trend. Also no one's mentioned the great job James Cybulski has been doing as the roving reporter at speed skating.
the spontaneous outburst of Oh Canada during curling was one of those great moments you see in the Olympics – the atmosphere has been electric at the venue – will be hard to watch Brier or any other curling after this Olympics.
So in Whistler, it's permitted to drink beer on the streets out of a jug, but in downtown Vancouver on Robson, they're arresting partyers for drinking out of slurpee cups…does it matter if you won a gold, I take and are being interviewed by tv? Obviously.
That's what these Olympics are about, the have and have nots. Million dollar players playing hockey in amongst the labourers.
I've been enjoying the women's hockey. I think Cassie Cambell is doing a great job. The Slovac goalie, Zuzana Tomcikova has been playing brilliantly. A shame her team isn't as good as her.
Don't even get me started about Woods. What a cold fish, reciting from some script, droning on and on. You expect me to believe that tripe? Ridiculous. Not a drop of sympathy do I have for the dick. Sorry he got caught he is. Fail.
This maybe a little off topic here but is it just me or is it the Canadian athletes that were heavily featured in the CTV Believe Olympic Commercials leading up to the games have fell short of medal expectations. Athletes that were also featured in the commercials include Patrick Chan, Bryce Davidson, Jessica Dube, Dominque Malitas, Charles Hamelin, Manny Osborrne – Paradis, Jan Hudek have fell short of medal expectations. Lets hope that Chris Del Bosco, Pierre Lueders, Christina Groves and Gilian Apps don't have the same fate. Could this be the CTV curse?? One wonders?? CTV has overhyped these athletes and they have fell short…hmmm….
CTV has taken the script of MLSE in the over hype department – I agree!!
Kate the Intern? Seriously?
So Keith Pelley … so lame … so old and tired schtick … so very lame
Brian Williams set a new Olympic Record Saturday night by using the word “I” 3 times in a 4 second span.
( checked time on PVR)
Earlier He used “We”….. in an introduction to IOC head guy Jacques Rogge
Said Brian “we have both been to a lot of Olympics…..” duh
And for someone who has been to 13 Olympics ….. Brian should likely know by now it is not
Bi ath a lon ……But Biath-lon…. a word with just one A. He is not having a good night.
Has there ever been a bigger eomaniac self promoter ……in Television history ?
last night was what GREAT TV was all about – having a CTV podium in Whistler was genius as you're really getting the raw flavour of the excitement of Canadians, the walk through by Jon was simply spine-tingling, the beer pitcher will become iconic, Hedger was probably at her best so far.
Mostly true justin. The live coverage from the streets of Whistler was totally engaging and fun. Montgomery is the classic Canadian dude, self-effacing and beer chugging. Loved what he had to say about those that supported him. The auctioneering bit was hilarious. I'll suggest that hedgehair wasn't and isn't all that. She screams, constantly. One could blame her high-strung vocals because of crowd noise but she is always yelling with her manly voice.
Jennifer Hedger did an outstanding job with that interview. With a huge screaming crowd in behind and a pitcher of beer being passed around the stage, she tied it all together well. It was compelling TV and those are not very easy conditions to work in.
As a cross-country skier I've been really impressed with Beckie and Jack Sasseville. I was really worried about RJ Broadhead, but he's been great as well. Beckie can be a pretty shy girl, but has really stepped it up. Sasseville knows his stuff and know ski racing history and was pretty frank about some comments today (it's too bad he's such a dick as a ski coach in Ontario, no one outside of Hardwood Hills likes dealing with him).
I caught a bit of Todd Brooker on NBC, way better than Stemmle. I have no idea why Karen Percy-Lowe was picked with zero experience and it shows.
I agree, she's brutal. It's the old saying, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Karen Percy-Lowe is married to Kevin Lowe. He is part of Hockey Canada, he's part of the men's hockey team and he's in the NHL. CTV/TSN loves to keep people in the NHL and Hockey Canada happy. After CTV let go some of their hosts on their news channel, citing economic times, a couple of months later they hired Brian Burke's (leafs GM and USA Hockey rep) wife to work at the CTV news channel.
I watched the NBC coverage of the 30k race and the 2 commentators did a great job calling what turned out to be a fantastic race, and they gave absolute top marks to the 3 Canadians that made the top 10 (5th, 8th and 9th). Truly a banner day for the Canadian male skiers, but unfortunately will be overshadowed by all the other high-profile events, but could be one of the best team performance of the games.
On the Karen Percy-Lowe poor commentary critique, 1/2 way through the run she said that Austrian Andrea Fischbacher "looked very uncomfortable, tentative, slow and taking poor lines down the course". At that point she was well ahead and comfortably won the race by a large margin — even over Lindsey Vonn, which Percy-Lowe continually gushed over throughout the event. Like Jamie Campbell, K P-L is in way over her head and is an embarrassment for the CTV-Rogers broadcast group.
And did anyone hear Campbell and Veronica Brenner today on the woman's aerials? Campbell wanted Brenner to comment about "all the dating" that is going on between the guys and girls on the Canadian arial team. She smartly replied "let's not go there". Just another dumb and inappropriate statement by a guy who will now always be known as "that sports guy who butchered the 2010 Olympics".
How mind-boggling is it to know that Holly Horton was originally slotted in for the play-by-play at Freestyle Skiing? Just imagine how scary that would have been!
Unfortunately, the drunken sailor Jamie Campbell has replaced her.
That’s like being spared the electric chair in favor of a lethal injection.
Even worse than the electric chair and lethal injection is being locked in a cell having "this great country" piped in until expiry.
…and having to watch over and over the newest McDonald’s commercial with Campbell’s monotone voice in stereo. That would be more torturous than bamboo shoots under the nails.
CBCers should be on their hands and knees thanking McDonalds for replacing Bob Cole on their commercial. The 2002 hockey gold medal call they were using is quite possibly the worst call of his career. I think the issue lies with McDonalds.
I can’t believe the number of posters on here that for some unknown reason were unaware Campbell wasn’t very good. He wasn’t good on Sportscentral, was worse on baseball.
Wolfgang at first I thought with of your lack of communication skills you were an audio guy. Now, I have to reconsider. I’m leaning toward mastercontrol operator because you seem to have that “doing nothing except watching television but have to complain about it” shtick down pat. Perhaps telecine, like you old and obsolete.
From what I have observed, Campbell along with everyone else has only one mouth. How can he possibly be in stereo? One mouth – mono. I am sure if you listen to each of your stereo speakers separately, you will hear it is the same voice, at the same level in both speakers, no separation. In case you are wondering it’s the separation that makes the stereo effect
wonder… just wonder… if the reason we heard "this great country" from campbell was part of a deal with mc donalds so that it could be used in spots… nah couldnt be that might make someone question the professionalism of the annoucer
James Cybulski brought up the dating habits amongst speed skaters and wanted to know if it was true. Rod Smith coyly asked Catriona to field the inappropriate request from Cybulski and she immediately stopped that direction of questioning. What is wrong with TSN/Sportsnet guys named James (Jamie). Do both these clowns think it is a college production they are working for?
pj broadhead has done a really good job – and I think he just does radio as his day job. Good voice, keeps the other 2 commentors engaged especially Becky Scottt since she isn't experienced.
OK, I've had it with CTV. It's Day 9 and they are constantly making factual errors. For example, Duthie and LaFlamme introduced the final jump of the large hill and they stated that Stefan Read was in 46th place and he qualified for the final run. WRONG. They just showed the 3rd jump on TSN 5 minutes earlier and the commentators kept stating that only 30 qualify for the final jump and Read did not qualify. What's with these CTV people? If they can't bother to research the day's competitions, then shouldn't people behind the scenes tell Dutchie/LaFlamme the correct info? I don't expect them to know everything about every sport – I haven't followed ski jumping since Horst Bulau in the 80s – but they should know the basics. I've never posted before, but I felt I just had to make a comment. If I belonged to facebook, I might join that group. Does anyone else feel the same way I do? I mean it's Day 9 and they're still making stupid mistakess.
And they have the media blitz underway stating how great the coverage is. Oh well, let them have their fun, after all it is their sandbox, they paid dearly for it.
Thousands if not millions feel the same. Try and tell that to all the einsteins at ctv though
There is a growing Facebook movement against the coverage of these games Bill. Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=...
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.”
Universe isn't infinite. That's why it's dark at night.
I also enjoyed how the three medal winners celebrated at the track and CTV stayed with it, there was a lot of emotion and cheering for all three medallists the crowd was really into it.
Jon and Jennifer’s Whistler celebration was Teriffic …
unfortuatley it was followed by MORE CTV LOW LITES Sat. AM
Scott Lago a U-S snowboarder got carried away in celebrating with his bronze medal by wearing his bronze medal below his belt–a woman was photographed kneeling to kiss it..
The snowboarder left the games in a hurry after the photo hit the internet.
But for some reason — the CTV Morning duo of Jessi and Dan …. showed two pictures of the embarrasing moment.
Although the female was blurred out…. it was still in very poor taste.
In a later appearance by the duo —- Jay Onrite stooped to the MTV level, in an unexplained exchange by quoting his mother’s old saying
“You can pick your friends—and you can pick your nose— but you can’t pick your friends nose“.
Hard to believe this stuff!!!!!
Yeah the morning coverage has been an embarrasment this morning they were drinking beer on the set at like 8:15 am PST, I love my drinks but that was so over the top and contrived.
Dowbiggin has been doing 5 hours of Calgary radio on FAN 960 daily during the Olympics, curiously he has not mentioned the coverage except to wildly praise NBC. I think, clearly, he has been leashed by the Globe.
I agree with the previous comment about Rob Faulds, I think he has been one of the best Play by Play guys at the Olympics. Diff Gibson and him have great chemistry.
Did anyone hear John Garrett's embarrassing performance on radio during the Canada vs Swiss shootout the other night. John…… it's radio, we can't see what is going on, let the legend Peter Maher do his job!
Also was impressed with Rob Faulds' play-play-play at the Skeleton event. Spot on about the significance of splits, etc. One of the few brighter lights.
I am sure that Super G gold medal winner Aksel Lund Svindel is thrilled about the fact that thanks to Gerry "Nil-Nil" Dobson" et al, we now all know that last year he (that is Svindel, not Nil-Nil unfortunately) suffered "anal lacerations" (y'all want fries with that?).
Message from Pelley to Nil-Nil: "If all else fails, try gore."