Michael Phelps Obsession?

So in case you've been in hibernation from TV, radio and/or Internet for the past month or so, Michael Phelps is a pretty good swimmer.

At least that's the world on the street. It also doesn't hurt to win a record-setting eight gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Apparently having a wing span (6-foot-7) that is greater than the length of your body (6-foot-4) pays off in the pool. Phelps was part of the 4x100 freestyle relay team that upset the French which some swimming analysts called it "the greatest race ever" and is a must watch. I'm pretty sure that I've never gotten up and yelled at my TV so much when watching a swimming race. (I still get goosebumps when I watch the end of that race.)

A quick Google search of the name Michael Phelps brings back about 3.59 million results in .14 seconds. Sorry Chinese gymnasts (1.18 million results in .39 seconds). With so many friend requests on Facebook, Phelps said that can't accept any more, putting his current total at 4,563.

And now after his continued international success, he's rollin' in the dough. Speedo gave Phelps a one million dollar bonus for his Olympic success. He also earns a cool five million a year in endorsements from companies such as Visa, PowerBar and Speedo. And apparently it could get even more ridiculous.

"Michael Phelps would be worth $40 or $50 million to Nike," said Howard Bloom, who teaches sports management at Algonquin College in Ottawa and has worked with several Olympic athletes. "He could literally allow them to launch a massive swimwear company, and I think you are going to see an incredible bidding war for him."

Oh by the way, he also just hosted the season premier of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Phelps had some good moments on the show, and also looked way awkward and read off the teleprompter as well.

So why does all of this matter, and what does it have to do with news editing?

How many times did we hear about or see Michael Phelps' single mother Debbie? I think it would be an understatement to say A LOT. But how often was Phelps' father mentioned or shown on the TV? Zip. I literally had no clue the background story of why he wasn't there, etc. And maybe as a member of the audience, I didn't deserve or was suppose to know. But the fact was, I was curious, as were other people.

Throughout the Olympics, Yahoo! Sports blog, Fourth-Place Medal, would always do "investigations" for Olympic related mysteries. For example, there was one question about what Phelps listens to on his iPod. Finally they looked into where his dad is and why he hasn't been mentioned. And they gave the answer to the question many people asked.

I wonder, though, if an NBC executive "edited" this type of information from the broadcasts, maybe by informing commentators not to bring up that particular subject. But ultimately, should we, the audience, be privy to that information and at what point does or should a producer/editor step in and say no?

As a viewer/reader, yes I am curious and want to know. Gossip appears to be embedded in our culture. A lot of people are obsessed with celebrities or sports figures and want to know intimate details about their lives. But from an editor's perspective, I would worry about feeding this type of information to the public, especially if the individual, in the case Michael or Debbie Phelps, is unwilling to really talk about the subject. Sometimes you have to respect that and not burn bridges.

(This blog post is dedicated to Katie O'Connell and her love of Michael Phelps.)