The Authors

Andrew C. Billings is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting and Executive Director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama. He has published and/or edited 15 books, including Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television (Routledge, 2008) and The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games within Games (Routledge, 2014), as well as over 140 academic journal articles and book chapters mostly focusing on the intersecting roles of media, sport, and identity. He has also delivered a TEDX Talk on the importance of sports in society and appeared on ESPN’s Outside The Lines. You can follow Andy Billings on Twitter @andrewcbillings.

James R. Angelini is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware. He has published 29 articles in outlets such as the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Sport in Society, and the Journal of Language and Social Psychology. He also edited and contributed to the book Sex and Violence in the Media. His research interests include the cognitive processing of media with a focus on mediated sports and identity.

Paul J. MacArthur is a Professor of Public Relations and Journalism in the Communication and Media Department at Utica University (formerly known as Utica College). His research interests include the Olympics, mediated sport, cable television, media law, media history, sports history, winter sports and professional wrestling. A veteran of the cable television and radio industries and an accomplished freelance writer, MacArthur’s writings have appeared in multiple publications including Smithsonian.com, Down Beat, The Houston Press, VERMONT Magazine, Northwest Airlines WorldTraveler, and Skiing Heritage: The Journal of the International Skiing History Association. He is a co-author of The Speech: A Guide to Effective Speaking, published in 1993, contributed more than 40 entries to MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide, published in 1998, and is the co-founder of Wrestling Perspective. He has also co-authored more than a dozen refereed articles focusing on television presentation of the Olympic Games. You can follow Paul MacArthur on Twitter @PaulMacArthur.