Luo on Linsanity, faith and ethnicity

For the next several days, Rhetoric race and Religion will post articles that focus on New York Knick sensation Jeremy Lin and the role of religion. Enjoy

by Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Get Religion

Linsanity is alive and well tonight as Jeremy Lin gave New York a nice Valentine’s Day present: a last-second three-pointer to nail the Knicks’ win over the Raptors.

As journalists are trying to capture Lin’s rise to popularity in the NBA, some might look to Poynter for tips for how to cover the phenomenon, potential pits to watch for and story ideas to consider. Naturally the organization offered some tips for covering the Linsanity phenomenom. In trying to capture the uniqueness of Lin’s story, Poynter urges journalists to avoid falling into stereotypes when covering an Asian American Harvard graduate who is a “devout Christian.”

When you think of “Ivy League grad,” what stereotypes come to mind? Brainy, elitist, arrogant? “Asian American man”– inscrutable, passive, reserved? “Devout Christian” — judgmental, moralistic, holier than thou?

There’s nothing like a “judgmental, moralistic, holier than thou” description to hammer down what journalists think of when they think “devout Christian.” Thankfully, though, the author pointed journalists to Michael Luo’s first-person narrative in the New York Times, where Luo compared his own background as an Asian American Christian who went to Harvard to give examples for why the basketball star has particularly resonated with so many people. Luo isn’t usually in first-person mode. He is an investigative reporter for the Times who has also worked at the Associated Press, Newsday and The Los Angeles Times. We looked at the piece a few days ago and saw a few pieces of background on his Twitter feed, but we thought it would be interesting to talk directly to Luo about religion and ethnicity, why he felt vulnerable writing his piece and the state of religion and the media.
Read the rest here