Reflections on Journalism: The Good, the Bad, and the Meta

I recently finished reading a book that was compiled, edited, and introduced by Ira Glass of NPR fame. It's called The New Kings of Nonfiction, and it reminded me what I love most about journalism. There is such a style involved that makes each writer so unique, and I love that.

I recall being in my first journalism class at Duquesne, and this professor I had would share stories early on in the semester about his experiences. He was, in my mind, the quintessential journalist. He just knew, and he allowed us the opportunity to develop our own styles. He said that by the end of the semester, we would be able to turn our articles in and he would know who wrote which piece. He helped me hone my craft and encouraged me to try new things.

Sometimes when I write, I get attached to what writers call "darlings"-- certain lines or turns of phrase that seem to summarize everything we want to say in a poetic, perfect sense-- only to have a draft returned with the best parts cut out. I don't see much editing in a lot of my pieces, which I am thankful for, but there are occasions that certain editors have so much of my piece moved around, rephrased, or cut that I lose my entire style and personality. I had three pieces over a period of time that were adjusted in such similar ways that it failed to be effective. A choppy introduction rife with brief, staccato sentences is effective maybe once, not in every article.

Another edit I have a problem with is removing myself from the story. I have qualms with this, and I'm happy someone recognized it other than myself. Ira Glass wrote, "A lot of daily reporting just reinforces everything we already think about the world. It lacks the sense of discovery." Writers who refuse to share any sense of discovery, any of the details that make a story interesting because they result from the author actually being a part of the story, are doing a disservice to themselves and the craft as a whole. Certainly, I acknowledge that there are journalists who insert themselves so fully into the story that it's difficult to discern where the fact ends and where the opinion begins. Hunter S. Thompson is regaled as a great journalist but he was inebriated and higher than a kite (to use a cliche) most of the time. How reliable was he, anyway?

There's another bit in Ira Glass's introduction that I really dig. He says, " I have this experience when I interview someone, if it's going well and we're really talking in a serious way, and they're telling me these very personal things, I fall in love a little. Man, woman, child, any age, any background, I fall in love a little. They're sharing so much of themselves. IF you have half a heart, how can you not?" Truth. I mean, I tend to adopt a more Joan Didion approach to interviewing: notebook open, pen flying across the page as I sit silent and wide-eyed, allowing the quiet to go on until the interviewee gets so uncomfortable that they talk to fill the void.

I do fall in love a little. I learn so much about people, and we have some wonderful moments. Sometimes, those moments capture them better than any scripted answer they had canned in the back of their minds somewhere. If I can't put myself in the story and acknowledge that I am writing it, how could I share those moments and truly represent them in their most positive, realistic light? How could I be telling a story as if I were the authority on the topic if I refuse to even acknowledge that I was there?

Ziggin' and Zaggin' with the Heart of a Lion: Local MMA Fighter Prepared to Win Match July 12

Ziggin' and Zaggin' with the Heart of a Lion: 

Local MMA Fighter Prepared to Win Match July 12

by Rebecca L. Ferraro

Zach "Zig Zag" Forrester

On Steubenville Pike, bordering the line between Oakdale and Imperial, is a little MMA apparel store attached to the Fort Pitt Bar called Out of the Cage. The store, which doubles as an MMA gym, is where Zach “Zig Zag” Forrester has been training for his upcoming fight on July 12, 2014.

           On June 29, a mere two weeks before his eleventh combat competition, Zach, 26, an Imperial native, practices sparring with John Miller, Bobby “The Bug” Mader, and Out of the Cage owner and coach Drew Lyscik. Zach leaps and dances around the red gym mats, bobbing and weaving with his brother and sparring partner John Miller, 25, before giving him a taunting smile. Zach is constantly in motion, moving his feet in maze-like patterns that make it evident where the nickname “Zig Zag” comes from.

“It’s about speed, the way I move,” he grins. “I bounce around like a rabbit, I don’t know if you noticed.”

            Zach, Bobby, John, and Drew trade off between sparring and grappling with each other on the mat or sitting on the sidelines coaching. While actual fights have 3 three-minute rounds, these practice rounds run at five minutes to build endurance.

            Zach is playful in spite of the 89 degree gym and the four thermal shirts he’s wearing to shed any excess water weight. He’s turning cartwheels and somersaults in between sparring, and manages to stay humble and good-natured to the compliments and teasing that his fellow fighters pepper him with alternately.

“Hey, make sure you write down that his nose is easy to hit!” Bobby yells, turning his face away from Zach for a moment—just long enough for Zach to leap on Bobby as lithe as a spider monkey. Drew reminds Zach that nobody fights quite like Bobby, and that coupled with the extreme size advantage Bobby has will culminate in Zach being a better, more prepared fighter.

From left to right: Bobby Mader, Zach Forrester, Drew Lyscik, and John Miller. 

Drew, with his signature seriousness and crossed arms, shares his confidence in Zach’s ability to win the upcoming fight.

         “I have never trained nor trained with anyone who puts in more effort than Zach. He is definitely one of the toughest up and coming fighters in the city,” he said.

Zach’s been into fighting since the first UFC fight he saw piqued his interest and continued to watch them into adulthood.

“Aw man, it was way back in the day, Don Frye versus the Shamrock. Don Frye used to just go out and swing like crazy and knock people out. He wasn’t afraid and just went brawling,” he said.

After that, he spent a good portion of his childhood watching the fights and was really influenced by Jens Pulver, primarily because of the obstacles he overcame to be a fighter. Pulver had a childhood that he referred to as a living hell, primarily because of his abusive alcoholic father. The underdog story hit home with Zach, who admitted that his home life growing up wasn’t always the greatest, but adds that he and his family counted on their grandmother to brighten things up. “Being there [at her house] just made things better,” he says, his brown eyes completely sincere.

 In spite of growing up watching MMA fights, it wasn’t something Zach considered doing until Bobby encouraged him to join. Bobby, John, and Zach have been close since childhood and that’s how, in 2011, Zach found himself training as a fighter, initially just to lose weight. However, at the beginning of this year, Zach saw Drew setting up Out of the Cage and learned that it was going to be a store and a gym. “I’ll be back when you open,” he had said to Drew, and he was. Now he’s down 30 pounds to 145, and will be fighting in the Bantamweight category at 5’7”, 135 pounds.

Zach grappling with Bobby at Out of the Cage

Since he’s been at Out of the Cage, he admits that while the hardest part is making sure that he comes in every Sunday through Thursday for two hours, he’s having a positive experience training there.

“It builds confidence and it’s a good get-away. Say you’re having a bad day. You leave here smiling,” Zach says. “There are good people to help you out and believe in you. It’s always nice to have someone like that on your side. Ain’t nothing like sparring with your brothers, and I got three brothers—Bobby, Allen [Bennett], and John,” he added, referring to his brother and two fighters from OTC.

In addition to a rigorous training regime including wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, and cardio, he has been focused on eating healthy-- primarily berries, chicken breast, and lots of vegetables.

          “I’m eating healthy but when I’m not training, it’s milk and cookies all night every night. Put this down—oh my God, Oreos, chocolate chips, Nutter Butters…the peanut butter ones are my favorite!” He looks off just enough to make it apparent he’s dreaming of peanut butter cookies, then shifts his weight and gets serious.

 “I feel better than I have in a long time,” he shares. “I feel confident, not cocky, and I’ve been training harder than I ever have.” 

Bobby, Zach, Drew, and John at Out of the Cage

Zach acknowledges his opponent Cortland Woodard as a “tough kid” from the Pittsburgh Fight Club. He’s looking forward to walking out to greet his adversary to the bass-heavy Queen classic “Another One Bites the Dust” decked out in red, white, and black DuoMachy Fight Gear emblazoned with Out of the Cage and Kick ‘n’ Butts Vape Pals, his sponsors. Most likely, he’ll be sporting a red Mohawk to match his gear, similar to that of his favorite fighter Dan Hardy.

“I feel like it makes me a little tougher,” he laughs unpretentiously. “You look good, you feel good, you do good.” He adds that he is a man with the heart of a lion, completely fearless in the ring.

When asked what his best move is, Zach contemplates for a moment and then smiles sheepishly, unable to determine just one.

“I’d say my best move is my jab, left hook, or spinning heel kick."

His what?

 “Spinning heel kick. I can kick a dime in mid-air. Probably need about three tries.”

            He proceeded to demonstrate this, successfully, in three tries.

Zach and Bobby grappling at OTC

His ultimate goal as a fighter is to fight at Bellator (an MMA competition founded in 2008), something he feels “would be awesome.” Although he is a promising young fighter now, Zach already has plans for the future, when his fighting days are over. He plans to open up his own gym and wants to coach, especially kids.

His advice to any aspiring fighters? For this, he doesn’t miss a beat.

“Listen to your coach, train hard, and show up to the gym,” Zach says, smiling widely.

Tickets for Zach’s fight are available at Out of the Cage (7780 Steubenville Pike) for $40 each. The fight takes place on July 12, 2014, at 7:00pm at the South Pointe Iceoplex in Canonsburg.