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By Kim Cretors
Home Box Office and the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will co-host t he premiere of the HBO Sports documentary Howard Cosell: Telling It Like It Is at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Classic Center in Athens.
Following the one-hour screening, Barry L. Sherman, director of the Peabody Awards, will lead a discussion entitled “Speaking of Sports: Howard Cosell and Modern Sports Journalism.”
Joining Sherman on the panel will be Ross Greenburg, HBO Sports executive producer and senior vice president, and UGA faculty Louise Benjamin, broadcast historian, and Conrad Fink, William Morris Professor of Newspaper Management and an expert on journalistic ethics. Dessert and coffee will be served afterwards.
Greenburg will also participate in several journalism classes on Oct. 25 and 26.
This is the fourth collaboration between HBO and the journalism college, designed to spark discussion about issues, topics, trends and personalities in journalism and broadcasting.
The documentary tells the story of the man who was named both “most liked” and “most disliked” sportscaster in a TV Guide poll in 1978. The documentary combines rare footage, archival photos and interviews with sports figures and broadcasters. It debuts on HBO on Nov. 1 at 8 p.m.
Born Howard William Cohen in 1918, Cosell left a career in law for sports journalism after he began hosting a Saturday morning ABC radio show in 1953. His brash style and distinctive voice earned him a full-time position at ABC in 1956. He was best known as one of the announcers on Monday Night Football from 1970 to 1983. Also renowned as a boxing announcer, Cosell spoke out about controversial issues facing athletes, including racism, the Vietnam War and the politicization of the Olympic Games.
Following his reign on Monday Night Football, Cosell hosted Sportsbeat, an ABC-TV magazine show, and continued working in radio on a daily sports and interview program. Battling cancer, Cosell retired in 1992 and died three years later at age 77.
“Cosell was a seminal figure in the evolution of modern sportscasting,” says Sherman. “His well-informed, opinionated reporting helped to legitimize broadcast sports journalism. Ironically, his volatile personality and unique style made him a controversial figure, sometimes inseparable from his stories. His legacy is rich for discussion with our students.”
“Everybody had an opinion on Cosell, and Cosell had an opinion on everybody,” says Greenburg. “Although he didn’t break into broadcast journalism until his late thirties, Cosell had a tremendous impact on televised sports and transcended that world through the athletes he covered, from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali. Cosell was a pioneer and lightning rod in sports journalism, never afraid to spark controversy or share his beliefs.”
Greenburg has received more than 40 major television sports awards, including two Peabodys, 21 CableACE Awards, 14 Emmys and accolades from the Chicago International Film Festival and the International Film and TV Festival of New York.
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