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People and Pop Culture

Hangin' With ... HBO 'Real Sports' Correspondent Jon Frankel

Source: HBO "Real Sports"
JON FRANKEL has been a correspondent for HBO's "Real Sports" since '06. Prior to joining the show, his journalism experience included stints with NFL Films, NBC, CBS and ABC News. In July '16, just before the start of the Rio Games, "Real Sports" aired the first single-topic episode in its 22-year history, a piece titled "The Lords of the Rings." Frankel traveled to Rio de Janeiro and reported on a number of issues plaguing the city, while host BRYANT GUMBEL took a look at the IOC, correspondent BERNARD GOLDBERG examined 2014 Winter Olympics host Sochi and correspondent DAVID SCOTT visited Beijing, the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The exposé was awarded a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Journalism in May. Frankel spoke to SBD Global about what made "The Lords of the Rings" successful, changes he hopes to see in how the Olympics are awarded and the ongoing race between Paris and L.A.

On how the story stood out from other pieces on the IOC ...
Jon Frankel: We had the timing factor. We were able to do it heading right into the Rio Games, which made it more relevant for a lot of people. We had done some background work prior. I had done a piece about the white elephant stadiums that lie in waste in the wake of many of these big international sporting events, not just the Olympics, but also the World Cup. ... We had those things going for us, and also just getting the access and getting people to talk to you is always important.

On the links between Rio, Sochi and Beijing ...
Frankel: One of the key components here was also that our executive producer, JOE PERSKIE, saw that rather than just doing a one-off here and doing our normal 13-15 minute story, we could weave a wonderful narrative and show you a pattern. Whether you want to call it a pattern of corruption -- or controversial decisions is maybe the better way to put it -- we demonstrated for people a pattern. And it wasn't just, "Here's what's going on in Rio," because that becomes a one-off. What had happened in Norway, and how they backed out, what had been demonstrated in Sochi, what was coming up again in China, they were the same issues and same behavior over and over again. And [there have been] very few places, if any, to say, "This actually ends up smelling good for you." Putting all of that together, and Joe's skill with all the producers to be able to weave that tale and bounce from one place to another and back, really is what made that successful.

On shifts he expects to see in the bidding process ...
Frankel: I think what this is all ultimately pointing to -- which is something I've advocated for a long time, not that anybody's listening to me -- is a permanent one or two homes for Summer and Winter Games. The world, as austerity creeps in in different places, is getting tired of watching the waste. It's no different than any other industry, where we were 20 years ago and where we are today. Things are leaner and trimmer than they used to be, whether out of necessity and survival or just the desire to make a greater profit. I think the days of the IOC looking for handouts and lining their pockets for the nicest hotels and the greatest gifts and all that, in order to award the Games, I think those days are done with. 

On the IOC potentially awarding the 2024 Games to Paris and the 2028 Games to L.A. in September ... 
Frankel: I know L.A. is willing to take the Games later than right away. ... If they don't give [the 2028 Olympics] to L.A. now and get L.A. to sign, they're going to lose them. I'm being a little cynical here, but I think the IOC is really concerned that if they don't get them [L.A.] to sign on the dotted line, there's nobody else bidding. So who is L.A. bidding against? And if L.A. doesn't have to bid against anybody, their bids were going to come in lower. They're not going to feel like they need to compete against anybody. The IOC might not get what it wants in terms of venues and promises and, God forbid, gifts, if that's still going on. So everything points to an incentive for the IOC to award the [2024 and 2028] Games now.

Hangin' With runs each Friday in SBD Global.

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