While 2020 presented great challenges, it was a year where I put out some work I am quite proud of. Categorized into sections, here are some of my favourite things I worked on this year.
MMA
8/3/20: Geo-Blocked Out: Broadcast Restrictions Holding Back International JMMA Fans
I spoke to fans of Japanese MMA about how the broadcasts in the sport are often hard to access.
10/23/20: UFC 254: Nurmagomedov has different opponent, same goal
A quick preview I wrote about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC Lightweight Championship bout against Justin Gaethje.
11/16/20: Interviews, Isolation and ‘Fight Island:’ Covering MMA During The COVID-19 Pandemic
I was lucky to speak to MMA Fighting’s José Youngs about what it was like to live on UFC’s “Fight Island” for five weeks. It was one of my favourite interviews this year.
12/21/20: Kyoji Horiguchi Had It All Taken Away. A Year Later, He Can Win It Back
In the most high-profile interview I’ve ever had the chance to do, I spoke to Kyoji Horiguchi before he fought Kai Asakura for the RIZIN Bantamweight Championship on New Year’s Eve. Horiguchi went on to win the belt, stopping Asakura in the first round.
Life
10/30/20: People Rediscover A Love For Cooking During Quarantine
This story was part of a three-person project at school. I handled the video report in the article, which talks about how cooking has become more prevalent in some people’s lives since quarantine. The interviews, the script, the editing and so on I did, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. My classmates did well with their written article and interactive part of the story as well!
11/16/20: A NEW TIKTOK TREND CLAIMS THE MARIO KART SOUNDTRACK CAN “TOAD-ALLY” HELP WITH YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
My first contribution to the campus website Ryerson Folio. Andrew Yang and I spoke to classmates about if Mario Kart music has helped them with work following a TikTok trend about it.
Sports
2020 KBO Lotte Giants Season Coverage
In a test of commitment to a project and the goal of improving coverage of baseball, I covered the 2020 KBO season for the Busan-based Lotte Giants. Staying up late, waking up early and having advertisements from the broadcasts ingrained in my head were all part of the experience.
Follow Me In 2021
I hope to put out even better work in 2021. If you would like to track my progress and see what I have coming, follow me on Twitter @JackWannan. My work is scattered through many sites, although it all gets shared there.
If you want to see most of my MMA work, it can be viewed at KnockdownNews.com.
JackWannan.com 