Learning to Rewrite

The most interesting aspect I learned from this course is that academic writing is “Rewriting.” Reading Jeff Jarvis’ book helped me understand different styles of writing and using rhetoric to get your point across. In earlier writing classes I have used forwarding and countering without even knowing. Now that I have learned when it’s appropriate to use these two types of presenting information, my rhetoric in future will be much more clear and convincing. 

Extended Essay 2

Ben Kramer

March 05, 2012

WRIT 1133

Professor Leake

A Linderella Story

For the past six years the New York Knicks have struggled to produce a positive win/loss ratio. The team’s past lineup had potentential. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire were putting up points but needed an explosive character that could put up points and assist them. Jeremy Lin would be that player. Once a practice dummy and a player the world never knew, he suited up for his first game against the New York Jets and scored twenty-five points. The world of basketball was in shock. The Knicks had an amazing game, and basketball fans pondered the name Jeremy Lin. The story expanded. News websites, blogs, and ESPN had continuous reports on the game. And still, the world wondered who Jeremy Lin was, and what was to come of him?

                A short two days later, in a game against the Utah Jazz, number 17, Jeremy Lin was put back into the starting lineup. Lin managed to score twenty-eight points and had eight assists. After another successful game for the Knicks, reporters and bloggers wanted to know who the rookie Jeremy Lin was. ESPN that night had covered the game and unveiled to the world Jeremy Lin’s past, aided by an interview with him. He wore number 4 for Harvard University and graduated with a 3.1 GPA. Drafted to the New York Knicks in 2010, he was being paid to sit on the bench and show up to practice.  In an interview, Jeremy explained his past frustration being paid to sit on the bench, and not partaking in his passion, basketball. He considered moving overseas to play in the international leagues in Europe, but decided to stay on the team. He also explained that he didn’t think his story would catch so much attention. He thought all the hype would be over after his first game, but it was just beginning.

                Jeremy Lin went on to amaze the NBA community. The Knicks went on a seven game winning streak, and Lin scored an average of 24 points per game. Not to mention he scored 38 points against the all-star Kobe Bryant. The basketball community was stunned at Jeremy Lin’s success. Lin, coming from a rough past had finally made his debut to the world. Lin’s story as an underdog only caught more attention.  After his first interview, Jeremy Lin was exposed to the public, internet websites pertaining to blogs, news sources, and social networks followed suite. The press sphere continued to produce articles about Jeremy Lin. By his fifth game even the Chinese were huge fans of the rookie. China even tried to convince the United States that Lin was Chinese and had to play with them for the Olympics, but he is a born Vietnamese-American. Even though Jeremy could only produce a six game winning streak, his fame continued. For days on end, the New York Times sport’s web page was Jeremy Lin related. The process of Lin’s rise to fame is one and the same as Jeff Jarvis’ explanation of what he calls the “press sphere.”

                In Jeremy Lin’s first game where he scored a substantial amount of points, no sports fan knew who he was. Only until after the game through news reports and article had people started to hear the name Jeremy Lin. In Jeff Jarvis “The News becomes the News sphere” he explains that by the time an article is posted on the New York Times website, the text within the article has been discussed, brainstormed and edited by writers of the Times. This process is what Jeff Jarvis considers the old news process. Now that the news can be presented to us instantly through the internet allows stories to become a continuous process. Jeff Jarvis writes “But at some point the life of a story, a journalist (working wherever) may see the idea and then can get all kinds of new input. But the story itself- whatever medium – is merely a blip on the line, a stage in a process, for that process continues after publication” (Jarvis 3). Jarvis is trying to explain that now with the internet at our disposal, a news story can be updated as often as necessary, the story never ends until people lose interest. But who would lose interest with an underdog such as Jeremy Lin?

                As the story of Lin unfolds to the public and is exposed to the news sphere, the subject becomes more than statistics and wins. After ESPN’s interview with Lin people started to know who he was outside of basketball. Subjects within the interview included questions about the past, present, and future. Other questions that were asked were on the subject of race and ethnicity, as Lin is one of few Asian-Americans in NBA history. At one point, an ESPN reporter published a racial slur as a headline on the ESPN homepage after the Knicks’ winning streak was over. Now there are news stories covering that story. Jeremy Lin jerseys start selling out. The press and the internet have built up this story so much that people can’t get enough of it. Other than Lin’s impressive skills at point guard, he owes some of his fame to the internet. Bloggers, news websites, sports websites, and social networks all start to refer to Jeremy Lin. Since people are able to reply to articles written on the internet, many points of views and different opinions are gathered and can simply be accessed by links and search engines. The story of Jeremy Lin has become a conversation. Jeff Jarvis explains “stories and topics become molecules that attract atoms: reporters, editors, witnesses, archives, commenters, and so on, all adding different elements to a great understanding” (Jarvis 4). The internet and people’s interest enables a single story to become a conversation of rookies, race and culture, diversity, and basketball.

                The New York Times have had several stories covering Jeremy Lin since he was introduced to the basketball community. Some articles focus on the subject of Jeremy Lin’s ethnicity. Lin was quoted saying “people think I’m slow, I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I’m Asian?” Questions come up about race because Lin is extraordinary to the NBA; there have been few Asian-American players. Another news article a day later questioned the NBA’s diversity as a whole. The article explained that the NBA has a large percentage of African American players; Jeremy Lin may stand as a role model for diversity. The Times also had articles announcing new records that Lin had broken, including the most points scored in the first 5 NBA games of a new player, a huge feat. The press presents stories of Jeremy Lin in a professional manner, pulling statistics and interview questions to create an article. In the article “The Evolution of a Point Guard,” the author Howard Beck covers Jeremy Lin’s life both on the court and off the court. Beck explains the success of Lin by describing successful games and the situation he was in before the Knicks picked him up. The press presents articles regarding Jeremy Lin in a formal manner, but the internet, blogs, and social networks have taken the story in a different direction.

                Twitter, FaceBook, and blog websites have been major sources of puns and comedic commentary regarding Jeremy Lin. Some nicknames include, Linsanity, the Linderella Story, and Lintastic. Eventually, the nick names end up in the press as information is passed between one another on the internet.  YouTube producers make video blogs, highlights, and much more regarding Jeremy Lin. These videos can gain millions of views within a few days, and some of them have.

The internet and the press have both blown up the story of Jeremy Lin. The story of Lin entered the news sphere once his name was published on ESPN and the New York Times. From that point on, his name had been exposed to the world. As long as Lin continuous to astound people on the basketball court, the story of his name will continue on.

Works Cited

Jarvis, Jeff. Rewriting. Logan, Utah: Utah State UP, 2006. Print.