News’ Olympics team set to light up Paris
Memorable Olympic moments ‘light a fire under you’, says Fox Sports presenter Matty Johns, who will host a daily podcast during the Paris Games.
Matty Johns can still remember exactly where he was when 17-year-old Australian Jon Sieben won a gold medal in the 200m butterfly at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I was a young bloke and I’m sitting at a mate’s house, watching Sieben up against the great swimmer of the time, Michael Gross,” Johns recalls.
“And to see Sieben win, it was just the biggest upset. It was unbelievable.
“I’ll never forget that race. It’s those kind of Olympic moments that stay with you – they light a fire under you.
“Ever since that day – even though it’s 40 years ago now – Jon Sieben has been my favourite Olympian of all time.
“And of course, I’m told he was a bit of a scallywag, and that made me like him even more.”
Johns, one of Fox Sports’ star presenters who fronts the network’s flagship rugby league show and hosts his own podcast, will spearhead News Corp’s most ambitious Olympics coverage to date when the Paris Games kick off later this month.
Johns will be part of the company’s 45-strong team travelling to France, and will co-host a daily podcast with former swimmer James Magnussen to wrap up the key Olympic stories and talking points arising from the various competitions.
“Like everyone, I’m looking forward to the big events like swimming, athletics, and basketball, but I also can’t wait to have a look at the breakdancing and the skateboarding.
“The Olympics is really pivoting to the younger demographic, which is smart because sport itself is changing so much.
“And I’ll be starting by covering the Matildas’ first match in Marseilles, which is going to be fantastic.”
Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley, who will act as News Corp’s Olympic director in Paris, says the company is taking a “holistic approach” to the Games.
“We’re taking 45 people from across News Corp’s newspaper mastheads, as well as from Sky News, Fox Sports, news.com.au and Vogue,” Crawley says.
“Not all of the people who are going have worked on sport so it’s a serious look at the future of media.
“We’re in a unique position at News to be able to draw people from so many different arms of the business. It’s exciting, and a little bit intimidating.”
Mick Carroll, News Corp’s Olympic editor, says while Covid played havoc with the media’s coverage of the Tokyo Games, the Paris event promises to be “pretty spectacular”.
“We’re aiming to make people feel like they’re there. It’s such an aesthetically pleasing city, and it will be on display — you’ll have the beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the equestrian events at the Palace of Versailles … it will be amazing.
“Our job is to bring it to life.”
Across the two-week span of the Games, News Corp will produce a daily, 24-page digital magazine which will go live at 8am to coincide with the conclusion of the finals of the swimming and athletics events.
Print titles will also run an 8-12 page daily wrap of the Games.
The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to August 11.
News Corp is the publisher of The Australian.
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