Buzz Bissinger's writings have taken him from elite magazine offices to the fields of West Texas and now have brought him back to Philadelphia.
The renowned author has penned works including Friday Night Lights and "Shattered Glass," both of which later became motion pictures.
"Shattered Glass," which Bissinger wrote as a magazine feature, focuses on an ambitious writer and Penn graduate who fabricated articles at The New Republic magazine.
Tuesday afternoon, the Pulitzer Prize-winner spoke to Penn students as part of the Fox Leadership series. The 1976 graduate did not allow his lingering cold to stop him from delivering his address.
Instead of focusing on his writing career, Bissinger tackled the topic of leadership.
"All effective leaders have a certain charisma," Bissinger said. He said that personality and internal drive are also factors that will allow a leader to succeed.
He praised Mayor-turned-Governor Ed Rendell -- who was the subject of A Prayer for the City, one of Bissinger's books -- former President Clinton and St. Louis Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa as men who exude effective leadership. He made it clear that a "psychological component" exists in success as a leader, citing La Russa as an example of someone who easily relates with and motivates his team.
Bissinger said that though these distinguished men have varying styles and contrasting personalties, they have a unique inner quality that gets "people to do what [they] want them to do."
Though Bissinger said he would never associate the word leader with his own name, some argued otherwise.
"He's a leader and has maintained his sense of self through all of his investigations and writing," family friend and Penn freshman Brittany Bonnette said.
Bissinger's writing career began at The Daily Pennsylvanian, and he refers to the experience as "amazing and wonderful. ... It defined my life at Penn."
Yet his post-graduation options in journalism were limited.
After applying to 307 newspapers, he was offered a job only at one, the Ledger-Star of Norfolk, Va.
However, his career prospects soon picked up, and he has since written three books and reported for the Chicago Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Attendees seemed interested in Bissinger's work, and many questions revolved around the film adaptations of his writings.
College junior Ann Koreisha read and enjoyed Bissinger's A Prayer for the City -- about Rendell's time as mayor of Philadelphia -- because it was a good example of "the real lives of people who live here."
Bissinger's advice to student leaders is to "have an idea that you're passionate about."
Organizer William Arbuckle, a College senior, said he was very pleased with the event.
"Bissinger is absolutely a leader," he said. "He's a pioneer who has taken vast subjects and brought them to life."
