Monday, May 10, 1999
SPORTS ON TV - RADIO
Channel 9 coverage earns medal
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Flying Pig Marathon was for first-timers. More than 60 percent of the runners were running their first marathon. WCPO-TV fell into that category also.
The station was airing its first marathon. Like the first-time runners, Channel 9 should get credit for taking on the challenge. Like the first-time runners, 9 hit some bumps and stumbled a bit along the way.
And, like the first-time runners, 9 should be proud of what it accomplished.
The best move 9 made was the decision to stay with the race until the women's winner, Sommer Settell, finished.
“Sam Donaldson will be on again next week,” sports anchor Denny Janson said. “(General manager) Bill Fee made the right call.”
Covering a marathon is a huge task. The playing field is spread over 26.2 miles. Channel 9 used 15 cameras, a pick-up truck, motorcycle and two helicopters to shoot the marathon.
But that's only half of it. They had to get the right signal to the right place at the right time. Channel 9 didn't always pull that off flawlessly.
But, if you ever watch the Boston or New York marathons, you'll see those problems are common when covering a marathon.
Channel 9 also had some problems with its postrace interviews. The runner they told viewers was the top Cincinnati finisher, Andy Jones, wasn't Andy Jones. And the second-place wheelchair finisher, Krige Schabort, was introduced as Schabort Krige.
The Flying Pig was more of an event than a competition and Channel 9 treated it that way. The races — men's, women's and wheelchair — didn't get as much air time as the features on volunteers and the like.
One of the problems with covering the race was Channel 9 knew almost nothing about lead runner Elly Rono.
Rono was a late entrant. All 9 knew was he listed his address as Evansville, Ind. They assumed, correctly, that he was a Kenyan.
They assumed, incorrectly, that the runner chasing Rono, Jun Rudolph, was an American.
Channel 9 did know a little about Settell, the lead women's runner, but they probably should have known more considering she was the only women in the field who had broken three hours.
One thing Channel 9 ignored was split times. You never got any idea of what kind of pace the leaders were on.
The panel Channel 9 put together was a good one. George Hirsch, the publisher of Runner's World who was in the studio with John Popovich, was excellent.
While the non-experts were saying the weather was perfect, Hirsch warned it was hot and would catch up with middle of the packers. It did.
John Sence, the local runner 9 used to run the course and talk about it, did a nice job. Sence is an elite runner but related well to what 9-minute-a-milers were going through.
Some of the shots from the motorcycle cam of Settell were spectacular.
All in all, it was a good first marathon for Channel 9.
John Fay covers TV/radio sports for The Enquirer. He can be reached at 768-8445
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