Update: The Escapist Needs Newsies!

Mike Kayatta

Minister of Secrets
Aug 2, 2011
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Update: The Escapist Needs Newsies!

Update Update: We received a truckload of applications for our open news writer positions, but sadly only had room to choose a select few to join our ranks. While we can't write back to all who applied personally, if you haven't heard from us at this point, we were unable to offer you a position at this time. That being said, this recent newsie hunt really proved the Escapist community's massive talent pool, making the final selections extremely difficult.

If you didn't make it in this time, don't worry. Hone your skills, read some news, and try again next time we have some openings. In the mean time, if you're just itching to write for us, we would love for you to pitch us your ideas for feature articles! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/contact]

Thanks to everyone who gave it their best shot, and we wish you all the absolute best with your future writing endeavors!



Update: That's it folks, the deadline is dead, and we're officially closed for new newsie applications. A whopping 350 of you gave it your best shot, and we're really looking forward to reading through them to see the Escapist community's talent in action.

That being said, because of the time and attention we're committed to giving each entry, the process is going to take us a bit. Please keep an eye on your inbox for the next two weeks or so but, as I mentioned previously, if you don't hear anything back, sadly, we were unable to invite you onto our team at this time.

Good luck, everyone!

Have you got what it takes to join The Escapist's news team? Now's your chance to find out.

We're looking to add a few exceptional additions to our quirky band of international news correspondents. If you're an extremely talented, insightful writer who lives anywhere on planet Earth and has been looking for a way to break into game journalism, then we'd love for you to apply for one of our currently available paid, part-time freelance positions.

While experience is a plus, we're mostly interested in your abilities to clearly, effectively and entertainingly communicate ideas via the written word. That's why instead of trying to cram some overlong application process down your virtual throats, we've devised our own little test to see if you're right for the job.

So, here's the drill:

1) Read some Escapist news. Take some time to peruse our current posts and get a feel for our general style. While we greatly encourage each writer to embrace his or her own voice, you'll notice more than a few commonalities if you look.

2) Below, you'll find a totally fake news story as reported by the totally fake gaming site, GameXtreme.com. Using the new-found wisdom you recently gained during step one, read it over, and rewrite it as a news post appropriate for publication on the Escapist.

3) Send us your amazing rewrite, along with your name, and any other information you think we should know in the body of an email to [email protected] with "News Application" as the subject line. We'll be primarily looking to this submission to determine if you're a good fit for us, but feel free to attach additional writing samples or a resume/CV if you feel either would be important for us to know you better.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, May 22nd. You must be at least 18 to apply.

Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Amie has told a group of investors that the future of Pokemon lays with Android and iOS enabled phones, not with the 3DS, making what he's currently calling "Pokemon: Mobile" the first Nintendo game to eschew its own hardware in favor of a third-party device. This next installment to the franchise will only be available from either the iPhone's App Store or Android's Google Play store, leaving the question of when Pikachu and friends will return to a Nintendo-native device unanswered.

"There is no denying the impact that games such as Angry Birds have had on the marketplace," Fils-Amie said. "What began as a new IP on an unproven device has single-handedly transformed the gaming landscape. Just imagine what we can do with a franchise as well-known as Pokemon, currently second only to Mario in terms of worldwide profitability."

Like those before it, Nintendo's new game will have two versions, which he referred to as Pokemon: iPhone and Pokemon: Android. Each will feature a series of unique pokemon available only to the phone operating system the player has purchased, making it impossible to actually catch em' all on either device - another series first. Fils-Amie realizes that this might upset gamers at first, but believes that "a new Pokemon platform demands a new Pokemon experience."

While players may never be able to capture an "iPhone" pokemon on their Droid X version of the game or visa-versa, offering the franchise exclusively on mobile phones will provide players an alternate means of acquiring special monsters. "Linking your Facebook account will give you one creature," Fils-Amie explained, "while linking Twitter will give you another. Eventually, we'll even be able to offer special pokemon to players who interact with those social networks, like giving a thumbs up to the game page on Facebook or Tweeting about the game a certain number of times. Maybe they'll even earn a pokemon that looks like that bird from the Twitter logo, too; I don't know, but I think it's obvious the possibilities are endless."

Without confirming a final price point, Fils-Amie said that he "likes the one-dollar-model," but that he "won't know the price until the game is done." He did, however, mention that both app stores would allow for special downloadable content, something that's always been difficult for Nintendo to offer via its handheld devices.

No specific release date was mentioned, but Fils-Amie did say that Pokemon: Mobile is currently Nintendo's "top priority." Since the announcement, company shares have risen in value by approximately 18%.

No applicants will be considered until after the deadline has passed, at which point we'll do our best to get back with everyone who made the cut within a few weeks. If you don't hear back from us, we're sadly unable to offer you a position on our team at this time.

That's it! Salary, schedules, and The Great Corgi Army will be discussed with potential candidates who make it through the initial application process.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me through the site or shoot an email.

Good luck, everyone!

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DeepComet5581

New member
Mar 30, 2010
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Somehow, I feel less than enthused.

Apart from a few grammatical errors and maybe a few context ones, I see very little wrong with this example report.

Maybe that's why I shouldn't be doing it.

Oh well. Best of luck to the peeps!

Captcha: Cut the Mustard. Oh fuck off, captcha.
 

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
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Monoochrom said:
...an extremely talented, insightful writer...
I'm sorry but that is not how I would describe the abilities of the news writers here.
I agree completely. He forgot to add "handsome" and "charismatic." Way to let the side down, Mike.
 

Mr. Omega

ANTI-LIFE JUSTIFIES MY HATE!
Jul 1, 2010
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Why did this have to be happening around exam time? *sighs* Well, I'm sure I can work something out before the deadline.
 

Sandytimeman

Brain Freeze...yay!
Jan 14, 2011
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I want this job more then anything else in my life right now. I am going to read, research, and write the shit out of this story!

If I fail, I probably won't come out of my depression driven drinking binge for nearly a week.
 

80Maxwell08

New member
Jul 14, 2010
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Well considering how inaccurate and slow the news is current this needed to happen. Going on just me consistently beating Andy Chalk on every single story about the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition (save the very first one) for both speed and accuracy just by bookmarking a guy's twitter you guys definitely need help. Also considering the absurd frequency that the news is wrong anyway with dozens of people pointing out problems. Granted I'm not doing this because I have serious doubts about this website and I'm mildly considering leaving. Especially since every time I brought up them being slow and how they could speed up I got some stupid comment about how I'm "that guy" because I can actually not be wrong or a day late.
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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Monoochrom said:
...an extremely talented, insightful writer...
I'm sorry but that is not how I would describe the abilities of the news writers here.

Also, considering how about a year ago you couldn't pay contributers yet now suddenly have cash for a expo I can't help but wonder if I would actually ever see any cash.
We didn't announce the Expo until we had secured partnerships and sponsorships that could fund it. We've wanted to do an Expo for years, but it wasn't until we got that funding that it could happen. The money for Expo isn't coming out of our pocket and in no way would impact contributor wages.
 

Sandytimeman

Brain Freeze...yay!
Jan 14, 2011
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Damn you guys are being way to hard on the writers here. The news they gather and provide is generally better then me having to surf 10-15 sites myself to get it. (mind you if I get the job I will happily surf those sites all day!)

They always credit their sources at the bottom of each article and its never a mystery where the news is coming from.
 

80Maxwell08

New member
Jul 14, 2010
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Sandytimeman said:
Damn you guys are being way to hard on the writers here. The news they gather and provide is generally better then me having to surf 10-15 sites myself to get it. (mind you if I get the job I will happily surf those sites all day!)

They always credit their sources at the bottom of each article and its never a mystery where the news is coming from.
Except it's generally not. When the first article about the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition they were saying Bioware was doing it when Bioware has no rights to Baldur's Gate at all now. I spent a few hours of my own time informing people about this simply because I hate misinformation and outright told the news people about this. It took them a day to do a simple edit. Every single article they have run on the game since has been both misinforming and late. When they said no information was posted he had already posted a ton which I already put on the forums. When this site finally posted some info on it they only posted about a third to a fourth of it. When they posted Beamdog was considering doing a Icewind Dale enhanced edition they ignored that Trent Oster, the head of Beamdog, had expressed interest in doing a enhanced edition of every single Infinity Engine game along with other series like Ultima and even X wing Tie fighter. This is why we are hard on them. Not to mention on one of the articles about Crytek recently they were outright wrong on the whole article which plenty of people were pointing out. When so many people have so many things to say you can't just ignore them all.
EDIT: Here's a link to the comments on that page by the way.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.372959-Crysis-3-on-the-Wii-U-Fat-Chance
 

Fappy

\[T]/
Jan 4, 2010
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Looks like this is round 2 for me then. Great timing too seeing as how my internship is finally winding down. Good luck to me!
 

Marshall Honorof

New member
Feb 16, 2011
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Monoochrom said:
In short, you could all do better. Obviously you aren't interested in that, so atleast don't give yourselves too much credit.
By all means, throw your hat in the ring and tell us how to do our jobs better. My tip would be to put a space between "at" and "least." You may also consider a comma after "obviously." Good luck!

Oh, and please continue to tell us what we think, and what we are interested in. That's charming.
 

soren7550

Overly Proud New Yorker
Dec 18, 2008
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I'm conflicted as to whether or not I should try. On the plus, I want to become a writer and working for the Escapist could be fun (also having some kind of employment is good). On the downside, I'm very critical of my own writing, and I sometimes don't do well under pressure.
 

Pedro The Hutt

New member
Apr 1, 2009
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Out of sheer curiosity, did the financial issues finally get resolved or is there still a back catalogue of contributors still needing payment?