The way Olympic medals are reported among media outlets is inconsistent throughout the world.

Some countries count only gold medals when reporting, but the US lumps gold, silver and bronze medals all into one number.

Senior associate dean for Undergraduate Studies at the UNC School of Media and Journalism Charlie Tuggle wrote an article published to CNN about a new method developed to report winners with more accuracy.

“Either you’re going to go the way that most of the rest of the world goes and its only gold, which I think really shortchanges the second or third best athlete in that sport the world, or you’re going to with what you are doing, which is just lumping everything together,” Tuggle said. “And to me that doesn’t make any sense.”

According to Tuggle’s article, this inconsistency in reporting has led to more than one country reporting victories over each other in the past.

Tuggle says reports do not delineate between gold, silver and bronze, and he has helped develop a system at UNC that does just that.

The system is known as Medal Premium Calculations, or MPC, and allocates points based on the color of the medal, using a ratio of 5 to 3 to 2.

“You have to determine, well if it’s a ratio, what’s the proper ratio? I don’t know if 5-3-2 is the best or not, but it is based off at least some logic,” said Tuggle. “And it is that the USA pays its athletes $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000 for medals. So, the USOC has said, in a sense, that the ration is 5 to 3 to 2.”

Tuggle says an added benefit to this new system is that the numbers will allow for more statistics to be done to determine different measurements.

“All the big countries are sending 400, 500 athletes to the summer games, where some of the smaller countries send like 30 or 40. Well, that 40 cannot possibly compete with the 500, but in terms of, again, efficiency, then we can compare the big countries to the small countries.”

Tuggle says he hopes that at least one major outlet begins reporting Olympic medal counts in this way.

“Maybe it’s CNN, because CNN has now run this article, or maybe it’s NBC or maybe it’s USA Today, or the Associated Press. But that someone looks at this and says, ‘You know what? That’s very logical.’ And for me things have to be logical. And the two other systems, after looking at them, I’ve determined are not very logical,” said Tuggle.

Related Stories
‹
Broadcaster Jim Lampley Talks About the Luck, Timing and Moments that Led to Book, 'It Happened!'
Sports broadcaster Jim Lampley joined 97.9 The Hill to discuss how his first book "It Happened!" came together and themes throughout it.
On Air Today: Wade Sutton and Tracey Williams-Johnson on Handball Futures' Tryouts
Wade Sutton and Tracey Williams-Johnson join 97.9 The Hill News Director Brighton McConnell on Thursday, April 3 to discuss an upcoming handball team tryout in Chapel Hill.
The Darker Side of the Rise of Women’s Sports: With More Visibility Comes More Online Harassment
Female athletes and fans of women’s sports have come to recognize: With the increased and sought-after visibility also comes added scrutiny — as well as harassment and online abuse toward some players.
Athletes Speak Their Fears: Climate Change Threatens Their Sports and Their Health
Written by DORANY PINEDA and MICHAEL PHILLIS BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Pragnya Mohan has been a professional triathlete for nearly a decade, but summers in her native India are now so hot that she can’t train there anymore. She escaped the heat to train in the United Kingdom, but worries about a day when a warming world […]
UNC Professor Takes Olympics History Class Across the Pond
Matthew Andrews, a UNC history professor, took a cohort of students to London and Paris this summer as part of his Olympics history course.
UNC’s Kevin Best Manages Broadcasters at the Olympic Games
UNC Senior Director of Media Relations Kevin Best just finished working his 13th Olympics at the Paris Summer Games.
UNC Student's Horse Competes in Equestrian Competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Carly Rein, who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May, traveled to Paris to cheer on her family and their horse in the Olympics.
At the Paris Olympics, Cities and Countries Were Discreetly Making Their Case to Host in 2036
In Paris, interested parties discreetly made their case for hosting the Olympics in a process run by the IOC that is now more discreet.
Olympic Swimmer Patrick Hussey Will Carry His Olympic Experience Back to UNC
Patrick Hussey is the first UNC swimmer to compete in the Olympics since 2004. He represented Team Canada in the 4x200 freestyle relay.
Stroman on Sports: Noah Lyles, USA Basketball and Closing Olympics Observations
Dr. Deborah Stroman joins 97.9 The Hill News Director Brighton McConnell on the air on Friday, August 9 as the 2024 Olympics begin to wrap up.
›