Game Journalism - Unfit for purpose?

[Damariel]

I detect too much self-proclaimed semi-gods.

 

[Veleda.980]

You guys want more about GameJournoPros? Looks like Milo got everyone covered:

Don't think there's anything new here except the full list of members, which I don't consider damning in itself. Some of the people in that GamerGate thread were arguing for reason and got shouted down, so not all are guilty of shenanigans.

Damn, Milo is relentless. Remind me to never piss that guy off.

I still can't get over the fact Kuchera asked the Escapist to kill their gamergate thread. Think about that for a second. He literally deems himself fit to be arbiter of what people can discuss on the internet. There's a serious disconnect there, between sane logic and self importance. I think these people really have been isolated and unchallenged up till now hence the irrational tweets and behavior we see.

Not just asked, he hectored them about it repeatedly even after the guy said he wasn't going to take it down. I think the arrogance comes from self-righteousness. Social justice crusaders have the same belief in the innate goodness of their purposes that any other fundamentalist has.

Camille Paglia called it, except it's not just neurotic women: "Feminism is dead. The movement is absolutely dead. The women’s movement tried to suppress dissident voices for way too long. There’s no room for dissent. It’s just like Mean Girls... Feminist ideology is like a new religion for a lot of neurotic women. You can’t talk to them about anything."

 

[gregski]

Don't think there's anything new here except the full list of members, which I don't consider damning in itself. Some of the people in that GamerGate thread were arguing for reason and got shouted down, so not all are guilty of shenanigans.

Sure, not all are guilty, but that list leads to some interesting places. Like this one: http://ask.fm/ScottNichols

It's an AMA session with one of the journalists that are on the list. He proposed to run it himself after the list was published by Milo. If you go through it, it shows in what kind of denial those people live. My favourite quotes:

Why ‎@Nero knew the names of the people in the group but didn't have the audacity to actually email you for comment?

You'd have to ask him why he chose to ignore journalistic ethics.

Now, 2 following quotes are pure gold:

Based upon what you have read in the group do any of you think that there are legitimate concerns raised by Gamergate, or do you all think we are just trolls and bigots?

There are certainly legitimate issues with game journalism, and we love talking about them, but so far the ones raised in gamergate don't really hold water. What's funny is that whenever we've tried to talk about game journalism issues publicly in the past, we get shouted down for "navel gazing" and being "self-indulgent" and people demand we get back to just talking about the games. It has been beyond surreal to have a lot of those same people suddenly demanding discussions about game journalism but then completely missing the real issues.

And then further clarification on the so called "real issues":

Still not clear what the "real issues" are Scott

Some "real issues" in game journalism:
Low pay rates for writers
Sites that pay based on traffic numbers for an article
Reviewing games on a 5-10 scale instead of a full 1-10 scale
News posts that are either reworded press releases, or reworded news stories from another site (which were also reworded press releases)
Whether or not to attend review events
How the heck do we properly review Early Access games
What can we use as a new model for funding sites since the ad model isn't working anymore
Should gaming sites use subscriptions to their content
How do you interview someone at Valve and get them to go on the record about anything

 

[Veleda.980]

If Milo had started emailing everyone on the list, they'd be crying harassment. He published his email on Twitter and asked anyone who wanted to comment on GamerGate to contact him.

 

[gregski]

If Milo had started emailing everyone on the list, they'd be crying harassment. He published his email on Twitter and asked anyone who wanted to comment on GamerGate to contact him.

Well, yeah. What I found funny is how people whose journalistic ethics are being questioned use the argument about journalistic ethics against others.

 

[dragonbird]

When a small number of people on 4chan have a public discussion and agree on some ways to respond, it's proof that there's a conspiracy and that they were responsible for the everything on the internet.

When a larger number of journalists has a private discussion and agree on how to respond, it's just some guys having an idle conversation.

Double standards much?

 

[Garrison72]

Skip to 5:37, holy shit it's hilarious. I rethought my no click policy and took the editors to task on Polygon. Got banned.:comeatmebro:

Edit- actually the whole vid is worth listening to.

 

[Veleda.980]

Milo hits Ben Kuchera right in his smug editorial mug.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/23/How-sloppy-biased-video-games-reporting-almost-destroyed-a-CEO

Some of that is speculative and sensationalist, but the stuff about Brad Wardell is a well deserved slap. Obviously, judging from the GameJournoPros emails, Kuchera has learned nothing.

 

[octavian123]

I haven\t read the whole thread but Polygon has the guy from Errant Signal so it's not all bad.

 

[Damariel]

.

And here I was, wondering when I will be able to laugh again.

Nice video too.

Edit: @Veleda RPS was going to lose sooner or later anyway.

 

[Veleda.980]

I haven\t read the whole thread but Polygon has the guy from Errant Signal so it's not all bad.

I still follow Brian Crecente on Twitter... for now. But they do every once in a while take that preaching SJ tone like Rock Paper Shotgun (who I jettisoned because of GamerGate and because most of their stuff is useless anyway).

 

[CostinRaz]

The Journalists are claiming GamerGate and 4Chan are behind the threats on Emma Watson for her UN Speech...what ridiculous tripe.

"Sigh" I watched said speech and I see a naive young foolish girl who spouts the same bullshit I've heard again and again from feminists: We don't hate men!

 

[Seboist]

I still follow Brian Crecente on Twitter... for now. But they do every once in a while take that preaching SJ tone like Rock Paper Shotgun (who I jettisoned because of GamerGate and because most of their stuff is useless anyway).

Luckily, there's alternatives to the SJW/Leftist game media filth out there.

 

[dragonbird]

He doesn't have a logo, but Erik Kain should be in there too

 

[Garrison72]

Kain does belong on the list, he's a responsible journo. I wonder what it'd take for the major publishers and devs to part ways with the established guard and start advertising on those sites.

 

[Veleda.980]

David Auerbach from Slate as well.

Can't believe I'm recommending someone from Slate. I stopped reading that rag years ago.

I think the best course is to pick a few journalists who seem trustworthy and to care about integrity, and follow their work as individuals. That's what I did after the 2008 elections with all major media.

 

[Cs__sz__r]

Kain does belong on the list, he's a responsible journo. I wonder what it'd take for the major publishers and devs to part ways with the established guard and start advertising on those sites.

Much higher traffic rating.

In a perfect world.

 

[Veleda.980]

Daniel Vavra is one who's spoken out on GG. Check out his game. It looks fantastic. Realistic medieval RPG, being made by a Czech studio.
http://kingdomcomerpg.com/

About the GameJournoPros, I can't believe they admitted the inspiration was JournoList. Apparently they learned nothing from that group's demise.

 

[Fandango9641]

Really appreciate the games media recommendations people - keep them coming.

 

[CostinRaz]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I backed that on kickstarter. It's really something innovative.