By Allison Manley
Originally published on The Manleywoman Skatecast
December 22, 2013

An interview with Doug Wilson, the ABC Producer and Director that I interviewed in 2008 on SkateCast #16. He contacted me again to talk about his new book,“The World Was Our Stage: Spanning the Globe with ABC Sports.” It’s full of wonderful stories of not only his coverage of figure skating, but so many sports and sports moments that are ingrained in our culture and memory. He talks about the changing role of female commentators, being able to talk with Irina Rodnina after the Iron Curtain fell, and why we should all listen to Carol Heiss. 
1 hour, 06 minutes, 37 seconds.

Read more/listen to the podcast...

Originally published in The Wall Street Journal
December 13, 2013

If you remember the phrase "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat," you will revel in these stories, from the terror of the Munich Olympics to the delight of Muhammad Ali.

Diana Nyad
Journalist and World Record Long-Distance Swimmer

Book Review by Neal Reid
Originally published in Skating magazine
December 2013

To read Doug Wilson's book The World Was Our Stage: Spanning the Globe with ABC Sports is to take a step inside the realm of sports television production as never before, to learn the secrets that helped make the network's Wide World of Sports program a revolutionary hit on a global scale.... Reading the book becomes a pleasure from the first page, and Wilson's behind-the-scenes accounts of some of the most transformative events in the history of sports make it a tough one to put down.

By Alina Adams
Originally published on Soap Opera 451

It's the Cyber Monday prior to a Winter Olympics! That means every skating fan's virtual basket should be filling up with books dedicated to their favorite sport, including veteran ABC Sports director Doug Wilson's The World Was Our Stage (see the Buy link at the bottom of this post).

And enjoy Part #5 - The Scandal Edition, below:

Wilson reveals, "There's a no-man's land between center ice and the corner, where we have no camera. Very often, great skaters -- because when they skate in arenas they want to cover the whole audience--will stand in that position, making eye-contact with the audience. And all I see is an ear. They're looking away. What they want to do to the audience of 1,000 people in front of them, they're not doing to the TV audience that's ten million people watching center-ice.  If they're about to present themselves to the world, it's better if we see their faces."

Read more...