H. G. Bissinger

H. G. "Buzz" Bissinger (born November 1, 1954) is an American journalist. He was born in New York City.

In 1987, while writing for "The Philadelphia Inquirer" he won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for his story on corruption in the Philadelphia court system. He is also the author of the article "Shattered Glass," featured in the magazine "Vanity Fair," where he is a contributing editor; the article was later adapted for the 2003 film of the same name. His magazine work has also appeared in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated. His most recent article for Vanity Fair, "Gone with the Wind" (August 2007) about the saga of 2006 Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro, has been optioned by Universal Pictures.

Bissinger was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, The University of Pennsylvania, where he was the sports editor and editorial page editor of the university paper, and was the recipient of a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University.

He is perhaps best known for his book "Friday Night Lights", which documents the 1988 season of the football team of Permian High School in Odessa, Texas. This work went on to become a successful film, which was released in October 2004; and a television series which debuted on NBC on October 3, 2006. It has sold nearly two million copies. In a list of the one hundred best books on sports ever, Sports Illustrated ranked Friday Night Lights fourth and the best ever on football. ESPN called Friday Night Lights the best book on sports over the past quarter century.

He has written two books in addition to "Friday Night Lights"; "A Prayer for the City" (1998), which offers insight into the urban political scene of Philadelphia during Mayor (now Governor of Pennsylvania) Ed Rendell's term in the 1990s; and the New York Times' bestselling "Three Nights in August" (2005), which chronicles a series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs through the perspective of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Bissinger has self-professed "abiding hatred" for blogs and the "blog-o-sphere", and recently launched an angry tirade against sports blogger Will Leitch on a roundtable on Bob Costas's HBO series "Costas Now". [ [http://deadspin.com/385770/bissinger-vs-leitch Costas Now: Bissinger Vs. Leitch, Deadspin.com] ] He has been widely criticized for his tactics in confronting Leitch, critics arguing his tone and language undermined any message in his rant. He has also found many new fans. Leitch and Bissinger recently appeared together "again" on CostasNow -- this time sharing pre-show hot dogs and beer. Bissinger was elected to the Deadspin Hall of Fame on August 26, 2008.

Bissinger currently writes "The Throwback" [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/opinion/26bissinger.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=The+Throwback&st=nyt&oref=slogin] ] ] online sports column for the New York Times.

Bissinger is married and has three sons. He divides his time between homes in Philadelphia and the Pacific Northwest.

Notes

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050830073630/http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/41737caf75df4?in_archive=1 Article on Bissinger's return to UPenn]
* [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writer.asp?cid=1066040&cds2Pid=2788&linkid=548836 Short biography on BarnesandNoble.com]
* [http://www.pulitzer.org/cyear/1987w.html Pulitzer Prize winners of 1987]

External links

* [http://www.buzzbissinger.com Buzz Bissinger official website]
* [http://www.fridaynightlightsbook.com Friday Night Lights official website]
* [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?userid=cC6MJTx9NR&cid=1066040#interview Interview with Buzz Bissinger]
* [http://books.aol.com/feature/_a/interview-friday-night-lights/20061003131009990001 Interview with H.G. (Buzz) Bissinger] on his book on AOL Books (2006)