Re: Interesting QB article on the Web

• From: mrleaker <mrleaker_at_mrleaker.yahoo.invalid>
• Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 19:51:29 -0000
• Message-ID: <drdtk1+tblr_at_...>

Yes, this is the final product of my research. Over the past 18 months, both Playboy and then 
Details assigned and ultimately this story -- the version on The Black Table is a hybrid of the 
two. (And, um, I'm going to fix that Nov. 29 thing pronto.)

But before people start flaming me for the inevitably narrow focus on Ken Jenning, Rob 
Hentzel and NAQT, I'd just like to state for the record how astoundingly difficult it is to 
describe quiz bowl in print to someone who has never encountered it before. Playboy killed 
this story because it ultimately lacked enough sex appeal to justify the complication. I think 
the editors there expected something along the lines of Ben Mezrich's book about the MIT 
Blackjack Team -- supernerds pillage the game shows for millions! A more nuanced story 
didn't justify the space. And Details needed Ken to land a show on Comedy Central to 
guarantee a pop culture peg for the story; since that didn't happen, they weren't inclined to 
run it anytime soon. Those experiences -- the initial fascination of my editors with Ken, 
followed by their inability to grasp the culture that spawned him -- fed this version of the 
story. (I also have what amounts to a 7,000 word history of quiz bowl and 11,000 words of 
last April's ICT coverage also laying around.) That said, let the flames begin...

Thanks,

Greg