Recruiting Leslie Jones May Have Been a Cynical Move for NBC, But Damn Is She Making Their Coverage Better; Slate, 8/18/16

David Canfield, Slate; Recruiting Leslie Jones May Have Been a Cynical Move for NBC, But Damn Is She Making Their Coverage Better:

"In 2016, regular contributors on NBC’s Olympics team have shown little interest in departing from the network’s standard narratives. Inadvertently or not, their default styles of commentary have sometimes marginalized the accomplishments of American women, people of color, and LGBTQ people...

Jones, meanwhile, fixates on Biles’ pure athleticism. “She is … BAD,” she said, awestruck, after watching Biles win a gold medal. “Whew! She’s a flipper.” (She also shrieked at full force during one of Biles’ routines.) And she has similarly applauded the skills of Gabby Douglas—Biles’ Gold Medal-winning predecessor. Her enthusiasm is boundless: “Michael Phelps is a BEAST!” she yelled after seeing Phelps take gold. Amid a lineup of cookie-cutter correspondents in Rio, her passion is contagious, her style uniquely candid. She’s a perfect proxy for the rest of us watching the games at home. Since arriving in Rio, she has been delivering NBC’s messages with the kind of authenticity and energy that the network had been otherwise unable to muster. She relays genuine interest in every event. She gives “harmless nationalism” some spike."