Game journalism backlash - the microcosm theory

Politics and religion
1

I have a theory. But first, a caution. We’re not going to talk about “those issues” that get threads locked, because this isn’t about that at all.

I’m feeling a theme aside from the arguable and touchy topics around the current blowout, is a theme about audience backlash against the media. This is really quite interesting, especially worth consideration for the bunch of you who are current or former bloggers, freelancers, editors, etc.

It’s probably happened before somewhere that I’m unaware of, but to me this is the first incident of a very vocal segment of the readership turning to cry foul at the top-thru-minor online media, rage in hurling accusations of cartel journalism, and protest the accused collusion between the “critics camp” and the “creators” camp. I generalize that really heavily because it’s a broad sweeping cry of damnation at a whole lot of levels. Top end AAA publications down to the blogger space, and from AAA publishers down to to the single-person indie game maker. Quite the spectrum on both ends.

The common theme is that the readership seems to have snapped awake and decided that there are “improper, unethical” shenanigans going on between the people who are making the thing, and the people who are reporting about the thing. Wow, shocking, right? I’d think around this crowd we kinda know some of what goes on. Stuff like publishers saber rattling with the big sites/mags about review scores, certain staff who have been discharged for writing a non-stellar assessment of a game at the time that said game had a full website wrapper purchased on that site for their game. Ya know, stuff. Down on the small-time blogger space, they’re worth a hell of a lot more to you than you are to them, so if you dare to burn the cow you’re milking, don’t expect to get any press access in the future. And of course, they talk, so you might get blacklisted across a few publishers for that.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there’s the accusation about “the press” engaging in internal “score fixing” and cartel group-think and peer brow-beatings to give some things special promotion, and other things perhaps no mention at all. And maybe those decisions are made for slightly unethical reasons that we can imagine the nature of, from mild to embarrassing to consider.

To argue the validity of the accusations, or the actual scope of how large or small the phenomena is, isn’t the topic I’m after here. Fingers got pointed, fists were shaken, names were leaked, much indignation and acting appalled was in the air. However, guess what? It’s just fucking video games.

Look, it’s give and take. Let’s quote something: ““News is something somebody doesn’t want printed; all else is advertising.” - William Randolph Hearst” Yeah. So, really the “game journalism” business is a pie chart that consists of promotion via previews, criticism via reviews, and revenue via advertising. The trade is that you get access to the developers, access to PR materials, and a slice of their advertising budget coming in - while you deliver eyeballs to their product and keep it interesting. Now that we’re in the generation of crowd funding, this is even more important because the media covering kickstarters is a HUGE driver of awareness for potential funders that they really need. We scratch each others backs in a publicly visible give and take that is generally transparent and understood. Hey, it’s just fucking video games, and we have fun covering it, they have fun making it, and the audience has fun playing it. Groovy. And it’s really quite clear if you pay attention that far more eyeballs are drawn to preview content than reviews. That’s why previews got all the good covers, because you wanted people to pick up the magazine. This is obvious, if a little disappointing to people who really break their asses writing deep and insightful critiques, but hey, it’s just video games.

It’s really only important to us as an audience because we’re quite passionate fans of the product. We’re the computer equivalent of “probably too into it” comic book nerds. (Some are both, right.) It’s entertainment, end to end. This isn’t saving lives, feeding the homeless, curing disease, or saving the whales. It’s just a highly interesting way that we piss away hundreds of hours, have a good time, and socialize with like-minded individuals in communities like this one. Good times.

So, in consideration of the above triviality of the “meaning of it all”, why is the internet having a full tilt riot about the politics of journalism ethics in this hobby-inside-a-hobby of media? Is it because our audience is a bunch of howling trolls, crusaders for integrity, or maybe just ludicrously fanatical about holding onto illusions of how grand and important this whole entertainment merry-go-round is? What inspires such a vigorous and, in a great surprise to me, sustained outburst? I’m not talking about the 4chan drama factory munchkins, I mean the rational and intelligent, moderate tempered people who are suddenly super goddamn offended and very verbal about their disappointment at this “revelation” playing out.

continued…

2

Well, now I get to the point, thanks for bearing with me…

I think it’s doesn’t have so much to do with our industry/hobby at all. I think it’s games journalism being a microcosm of “journalism” at the national and global scale. I think it’s really “the Internet”, being the 80s and 90s kids who are old enough to have a frame of reference and an awareness of the gravity of the real situation, having a release of all the pent up angst that has thus far been unfocused that they hold about the state of “media” in general.

I think it’s about CNN, and the NY Times, and Reuters, and The Register, and The Guardian, and everybody who isn’t Glenn Greenwald-like. It’s about a couple generations of us growing up, bleeding out our childhood illusions about “the truth” and authoritative talking heads on televison or voices on the radio that have so long been expected to be bold, incorruptible tribunes of the plebs. They were our eyes and ears to the 99% of the world we couldn’t see, the analysts and explainers of the motivations behind the acts of nations. And importantly, they were our voice. We could hear ourselves, our opinions and questions directed through them to the people in power. And their greatest role was that they were the 4th branch of government. They were our watchdogs on the mighty forces, and let us feel that we had a means to hold them in check should they ever overreach their bounds.

However, today, we are enraged and yet at the same time feeling completely disenfranchised. The media is openly a cartel journalism situation, consolidated in ownership under a few giant corporate interests with obvious and unconcealed agendas. They don’t print what nobody wants to have told. Instead, they’re all advertising. They are the coopted public relations department and salesmen of such a line of insane bullshit that nobody can actually believe a word they say without immediately anticipating that it’s just a machine to manufacture consent, to confuse and distract us while misdirecting and misinforming our attention away from the actual truth of the issues. And that’s if they choose to even bring the issues into public view at all. The group-mind of the journalism establishment decides what will be promoted, what will be attacked, and what will be completely absent from view. And, when it’s all one big network with 100 different channels of the same message, there’s nobody to actually get any information from that you can’t assume is in service to some “paying customer.”

Their product is eyes and ears and minds. The consent and complacency and utter ignorance of the serfs. The customer is the advertiser, the political campaign, the corporations who need us to invest in the continued tolerance if not support of an 11 year long protracted bombing campaign, ignore the quickening pace of climate impact, not be uncomfortable that the supply of fresh water in some regions is measured in months until exhaustion, or that our government is a wholly owned to the point of utter stagnation corporate servant. Their job is to keep us busy with being afraid of minorities, the economy, the “other party”, the terrorists, people with guns, people who will take your guns away, and any other topic of division they can generate a sense of dread, anger, or powerless despair through. Instead of screaming for justice and restitution from the perpetrators of the greatest heist of wealth in the history of civilization, who threatened to sink the world into famine and war, they instead report about how untouchable and powerful beyond failure they are.

The cop has stopped policing the beat, and joined the criminals as their branch of psychological operations.

We know this. We are aware. And we know that, despite a few bright lights who have to fear for their lives, all of the global media is complicit in this corrupt game. We are very, very, very angry and profoundly disappointed… but we just can’t really seem to unite and do anything about it.

And then, this microcosm of a relatively unimportant bit of online “new media” journalism got busted doing something that is in reality too trivial to mention in the scope of global affairs, in a hobby market, with nothing truly important at stake except the notion… the hope that perhaps this “new media” which was bloggers and indies and just “people like us” with a mutual love of games and gadgets and nerdist-passions would be immune to sweeping breaches of integrity and ethics. Just maybe, the new media would be if not honest, at least making their errors in isolation from each other on a per-case basis. But, goddammit, would you look at that!? There is accusation of mass collusion and hive-mind puppetry and corporate intimidation en-mass, and now perhaps this loud and rowdy bunch that are voicing their disquiet are feeling profoundly betrayed in their investment of idealistic naive hope.

But, games and gadget journalism is small. These aren’t people who are beyond being called to accountability. The audience still feels that their voice can be heard. The scale of the breach and the entities involved are approachable, and definitely aren’t immune beyond all care. So, they can vent at us. They can shake their fist and yell “We trusted you to be transparent, to be impartial, and most of all to be LIKE US!”

And, we are like them, really. Everybody with a media journalism gig, paid or especially not, is right there in the same crowd of plebs with their readers in the grand scale of things. But we’re at a scale where we’re worth yelling at, because maybe we’ll live up to expectations. God knows the global news media is completely unsalvageable. But they’ll rant and vent all the anger they have about the big boys at the small guys, because they’ll get heard, have some impact, and actually maybe get some accountability.

That’s my theory, anyway.

3

Church and State are blissfully married in basically every media outlet anyway. It is sad to see some of the smaller video games/tech sites that were merely only out of pocket because they were so small. That is going away, as games get more popular, games coverage gets more popular, and well… You are cutting stories or firing reviewers (ala Gerstmanngate) because they bought ads on your site. The only thing new about GG is the sex issue, this has been bad for a while.

4

I think what we’re seeing is the cynicism and powerlessness of today’s internet generation- which knows all this, and instead of deciding to try and reform the system, or accepting it, just decided to go around it and they created their own structures- usually through places like this. The downside is this leads to echo chambers- which is the primary cause of today’s hyperpartisanship (it just took longer to develop on the left, but even Southern Dems are becoming more liberal now) People don’t feel like game journos provide much of value anymore, outside of a few exceptions which vary from person to person based on their taste. It’s easy to throw out an entire system if you don’t need it.

I think we’re seeing the gradual return to Democracy to its Athenian roots, which is more bad than good. One example, I can look at two boards, and see two entirely different hiveminds on this whole issue (even if both are civil, it’s clear on both that there is a correct opinion and people will not respect incorrect opinions)

In a way, stuff like GG really makes me dread the future, because I see things like this becoming more and more common in the future- and that has potential to lead to a dystopia.
I think the realization of this coming to me is why I’m so down on things lately.

5

That. Theory is that this reaction is why the pitchforks and torches came out. They’re just projecting the frustration with the macrocosm against the microcosm. What’s really interesting is that we see the reporters who seem to be the only guys in the room willing to break ranks and actually print the forbidden topics 1) call down the wrath of “the man” on their publication so hard that you’ve got agents in the cubicles shredding your hard drives, 2) having to flee the “big time” space and retreat to philanthropist funded blogs to have the new-media freedom to continue writing. I think those two points sent a shot across the bow of the world media that what was an “understood agreement” was actually going to be enforced vigorously. The threat and gag were demonstrated to have very real teeth. And that’s the civilized world. Meanwhile, in the hot zone, they’re sending the message by cutting off heads literally. At least we’re just figurative over in Libertyville.

So, how long until all of the above finally boils over and we actually demand reform in the important media? Not only are they not doing their tribune and watchdog duty, but they’re the ones who are the kingmakers and agenda apologists. Look at the Reuters to local news relationship. It’s a direct parallel of Blues News to the parasitic blogs that just reprint the press releases that issue forth from the mothership. And I think all those parallels that can be drawn in our system are what’s making game/gadget blogging a target for major angst at this time.

Personally, I hope this storm rolls uphill, to where the real protest needs to be waged. Perhaps our duty and opportunity is to encourage that?

6

It’s plausible this is overreaction is symptomatic of a broader breakdown of the particular against the universal, but honestly i feel that the SWJ/GG phenomenon is more about how many gamers of a certain demographic actually WANT press releases and descriptions of gameplay system; they want Objective Game Reviews dot com. They don’t want to be lectured about how this or that gameplay mechanic or theme offends this or that demographic, they just want to shoot people in the head. Both sides have a point, and neither side is listening to the other.

7

Could someone please condense Aszurom’s bloviation into a single reasonably-sized paragraph? If there’s an actual coherent point being made here, that shouldn’t be a problem.

8

The crux of their argument was that there is a larger trend of distrust towards journalism, as it has become more corporate controlled by large multimedia entities, a.k.a. the Murdochs of the world. Game journalism ignited the furor, and has been fueled in part because it is small and close enough that the rage can have impact, where there is little reason to think that the Fox’s, Daily Mails, CNNs of the world would respond to anything but their corporate masters. People are mad because they feel that they don’t have a voice in their behalf in the world.

9

Actually, the OP is well done and offers a reasonable argument. Sometimes you need more words, sometimes less. I don’t see it as bloviation in this case.

That being said, I’d offer another viewpoint, not necessarily contrasting but perhaps with a different emphasis. When I was in games journalism, as an editor and writer, it occurred to me that we were journalism the way car magazines were. Like them, we couldn’t exist without the largess and cooperation of the people making the stuff we were writing about. Like them, we relied on the manufacturers/publishers for product, information, and access. And like them, our readers didn’t want hard-hitting investigative journalism, they wanted apples to apples comparison articles, reviews of products, and features about products. The only people who really ever got worked up about reviews were people who disagreed with the reviewer and the score. Then, it became a matter of bias, just as certain car mags got accused of being in BMW or Porsche’s pocket.

The gaming press was never the Times or the Post, or even CNN. it was always Car & Driver.

10

Exactly. People don’t want to be lectured by Csavo Csera in Car and Driver about how horrible they are for driving fuel inefficient vehicles, that their choice of vehicle reflects unconscious or conscious sexist, Patriarchal culture, and that concludes with Car and Driver announcing that Drivers Are Dead. They just want to ogle yet another 911.

11

The comparison of games “journalism” and car “journalism” is really apt. I’m going to remember that one. They really are very parallel.

Who would Car and Driver be in the gaming press world? Who is the big kahuna at this point?

12

Exactly. People don’t want to be lectured by Csavo Csera in Car and Driver about how horrible they are for driving fuel inefficient vehicles, that their choice of vehicle reflects unconscious or conscious sexist, Patriarchal culture, and that concludes with Car and Driver announcing that Drivers Are Dead. They just want to ogle yet another 911.

And yet Top Gear, which absolutely pushes a particular worldview (at least by BBC standards) and is extremely personality driven, is enormously successful and popular.

13

Car and Driver is IGN, Consumer Reports is objective game reviews, Mopar magazine (or Chevy and Ford equivalents) are Nintendo Power, Road and Track is Gamespot. Yeah, it could work.

14

Yeah, but the equivalent there is Total Biscuit and PewDiePie.

15

… but a pro-auto industry point of view, overall. Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t make every episode about melting iceburgs and how Tesla is unfairly being prevented from the UK market and that really shouldnt we all be biking to work?

The GG thing has caused many games mags to essentially disavow themselves from their market. While an understandable reaction the “actual” response would be to leave games journalism if things are that bad. One could argue anyway.

16

How does your example refute the quoted point? Top Gear isn’t preachy or puritanical. It doesn’t routinely condemn its audience for complicity in society’s worst crimes. That is to say, Top Gear isn’t trying to be a do-gooder at the expense of other enthusiasts.

17

We’re getting real close to going down the social justice platform rabbit hole. I’d rather not, in this thread because it never comes back from there.

I like the car magazine analogy a lot, myself. It’s a nice tl;dr analogy to a chunk of my post about the symbiotic nature of press and producer. The problem is that the investigative watchdog press isn’t supposed to lay back and be fed “the news”. They’re expected to be observant, subject matter experts, and connectors of the dots. You know, smarter than the average Joe.

The readily observable problem I that they fail all this, and rely on being spoon fed the propaganda they merely paraphrase and reprint. The root case behind the curtain is that if they start to ask unapproved questions, they, like the car magazine, stops getting access to content and is out of the game. Deeper, some are just actively employed as a mouthpiece.

18

Well thats because game journalists ARE product reviewers and not capital J journalists; even if they often forget it themselves. And it does require a lot of accumulated, specialized knowledge to review a game well. But the path goes from reviewer to critic, not reviewer to journalist. There are basically no gaming journalists because there is basically no gaming news.

19

True, and in that sense it is also comparable to the celebrity rags and such. Much of what is considered game news, or game journalism is only ever the equivalent of TMZ or US Magazine. There are also reviews and criticisms, but those are more like the critical apparatus around films, and not the New York Times style journalism.

Which is fine, there is certainly a place for each. The unfortunate part is there are sectors that do not accept critique, and rather than ignore it choose to decry it. This is probably partly because the critique and the review reside alongside the more banal celebrity news style articles. There is a bit more separation in the traditional film and TV side of entertainment writing.

20

Nor are the vast majority of gaming websites.

Your post is a perfect example of how minority views get turned into major issues. Bunker mentalities, you’re at war with the opposition, everyone is condemning everyone else, blah blah blah. You’re blowing up minor issues into major ones by seeking it out everywhere, which leads people to believe there’s more to the story than there really is. If it’s not a war on white male gamers, it’s a war on Christmas, it’s a war on family values, it’s a war on women, it’s a war on Christians, it’s a war on conservatives, it’s a war on progressives, etc.