The Escapist Is News

[Steve Butts]

The Escapist Is News

If you read last week's Editors Note [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/editors_note/8982-Editors-Note-Connecting-the-Dots-for-Fun-and-Profit], you know that The Escapist is restructuring its issue format. Rather than packaging a few specific features together each week, we'll be considering all of our content offerings as part of each week's issue. That means news, reviews, videos, regular columns and webcomics will all join the feature articles as important parts of each weekly issue. To help kick off this transition, we're offering a quick look at the types of content we produce each week.

Since it was first introduced over five years ago, our news has become one of the site's most popular offerings. From timely analysis of the constant evolution of the videogame industry to an enthusiastic exploration of numerous other topics relevant to the gamer lifestyle, our team of talented news writers not only provides you with the who, what, why, where and when of each story, but also gives you important context to help you better understand the significance of each individual news item.

Here's a sampling of some of our hottest news stories from 2011.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Videogames [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111300-Supreme-Court-Rules-in-Favor-of-Videogames]

Permalink[/B]

 

[Sparrow]

Wait. I didn't see any witty one-liners at the end of any of those articles. Are we losing the witty one-liners? Say it ain't so!

 

[Cousin_IT]

Does this mean the front page is going to become even more crammed with information than it already is?

edit: If I understand this right & you're planning on making news analysis a more central part of your programming, could you maybe improve the quality a bit? Currently, with all respect, Escapist's news articles usually consist of copying a news article from another website, & then adding a two sentence paragraph at the end of the "on the one hand, but on the other. I just don't know, what do you think?" variety. Not that I don't appreciate the service as a gaming news aggregator, of course.

Also, if news is becoming more central, please avoid letting articles like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111191-Less-Crime-in-U-S-Thanks-to-Videogames] slip through your editing process. It demeans the whole idea of games journalism as a serious pursuit when subjects are "reported" in such a vitriolic way. Save that stuff for either opinion pieces or forum responses.

 

[hansari]

Restructuring? All I want are more interviews with industry insiders...

 

[Shamanic Enzan]

Does this mean the front page is going to become even more crammed with information than it already is?

I hope so. Massive intake of information = Good.

 

[Owlslayer]

Ah, yes. Good times have been had this year. And bad times. Very bad times.
Still, I'm looking forward to changes. Nothing's wrong with how it is right now, tbh, but still. Looking forward to it.

 

[Sixcess]

Not sure what this means, but please don't merge the Featured Content and News Room forums. Sometimes I like to just skim through the news articles without having to sift through features and opinion pieces.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Does this mean the front page is going to become even more crammed with information than it already is?

Hopefully it'll get it's own tab or something...

In anycase cool! I already go to the Escapist to see what's up with gaming news so if they make it more streamlined I'm okay with it.

 

[TimeLord]

This all sounds snazzy and cool! Looking forward to it!

 

[Formica Archonis]

I'd comment on this change but that last news item and associated clipart has me picturing an old lady driving a very blocky backhoe [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/F/fiber-seeking-backhoe.html] over some redstone wires.

It's the sort of image that blocks out most other thought.

 

[SniperMacFox]

That was cruel, Escapist. That was cruel to remind us that Plants vs Zombies 2 wasn't announced last year, but the "Game of the Year" version of the game instead. This news wasn't even part of 2011 as it was released last year.

On a more POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE NOTE (please don't banhammer no banhammer)I do like this new style of news reporting, as it highlighted a few articles which I had previously missed and was interested on reading up on.

 

[Awexsome]

So you'll be kinda trying to go into a type of Newsweek type of format for gaming?

I guess it's worth a shot. I did like this format but perhaps this will be an improvement. I await the change.

 

[manythings]

Wait. I didn't see any witty one-liners at the end of any of those articles. Are we losing the witty one-liners? Say it ain't so!

It's NEWS! There shall be no Guffawing in the presence of NEWS! or so help you.

 

[King Toasty]

NO idea what's actually changing, but I'm excited. I'm imagining jetpacks and Doctor Who references and maybe drink recipes. Gonna be awesome.

 

[Jumplion]

Also, if news is becoming more central, please avoid letting articles like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111191-Less-Crime-in-U-S-Thanks-to-Videogames] slip through your editing process. It demeans the whole idea of games journalism as a serious pursuit when subjects are "reported" in such a vitriolic way. Save that stuff for either opinion pieces or forum responses.

And keep these kinds of demeaning articles [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.286870-Psychology-Study-Blames-Games-for-Aggressive-Behavior] out of the loop, for the love of God.

The transition will be interesting, but this is the primary thing I am worrying about. The Escapist has always walked the fine line between a "News site" and an "Editorial site". Too often the news reporters shove their own 2 cents into the article when it does not call for it, and on occasion disgustingly biased articles (such as the one I linked) are produced. You can analyze news stories without injecting your own unprofessional opinion, and sometimes there's no need for fluff at all, just the information is suitable.

It's not that hard, other sites like IGN present news while minimally inserting their opinions with ease. When they have an editorial, it is clearly posted as such. With The Escapist, sometimes it can be a blur, and it can be incredibly frustrating when editorials pass off as news. This kind of stuff often pops up whenever studies on games are reported on, and most of those have an obvious pro-games bias stench to it.

Please, when this change goes by, and if this is a more news-central change, clean up your actual news. I say that with the utmost sincerity.

 

[GeorgW]

I like it the way it is >.<
You won't get rid of the usual articles, right? Speaking of which, when will you release a new submission page?
Also, as have been mentioned, make sure to differentiate between news and editorials. I hope you won't get rid of all the regular "news", but maybe clean it up a bit for the magazine?

 

[Pinstar]

Not too shabby, though the elderly woman one should have had a picture of a redstone circuit with one piece missing.

 

[ranger19]

I'm interested in what this change will mean, too. Usually the weekly "issue" comes out at a specific time, and as far as I can tell, all articles within that issue come at the same time. Of course, the Escapist isn't going to wait until one time every week to publish all news, reviews, videos, etc. with the issue, so I'm wondering what this change will actually mean. Will this be more of an aesthetic change, with the articles typically considered part of the weekly "issue" now renamed features, or something?

Also, if news is becoming more central, please avoid letting articles like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111191-Less-Crime-in-U-S-Thanks-to-Videogames] slip through your editing process. It demeans the whole idea of games journalism as a serious pursuit when subjects are "reported" in such a vitriolic way. Save that stuff for either opinion pieces or forum responses.

And keep these kinds of demeaning articles [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.286870-Psychology-Study-Blames-Games-for-Aggressive-Behavior] out of the loop, for the love of God.

The transition will be interesting, but this is the primary thing I am worrying about. The Escapist has always walked the fine line between a "News site" and an "Editorial site". Too often the news reporters shove their own 2 cents into the article when it does not call for it, and on occasion disgustingly biased articles (such as the one I linked) are produced. You can analyze news stories without injecting your own unprofessional opinion, and sometimes there's no need for fluff at all, just the information is suitable.

It's not that hard, other sites like IGN present news while minimally inserting their opinions with ease. When they have an editorial, it is clearly posted as such. With The Escapist, sometimes it can be a blur, and it can be incredibly frustrating when editorials pass off as news. This kind of stuff often pops up whenever studies on games are reported on, and most of those have an obvious pro-games bias stench to it.

Please, when this change goes by, and if this is a more news-central change, clean up your actual news. I say that with the utmost sincerity.

I wanted to chime in here, too. I don't mind when the Escapist reports a study or claim horribly biased against video games and then tears it apart; that's fine. But the stuff I bolded above I particularly agree with - no self-respecting news article blatantly inserts its opinions at the end of a news article. I know the Escapist aspires to be a high quality site about games, and this quirk is one thing that's always bothered me. You can't be, I don't know, "the New York Times" of video game journalism when you write opinionated remarks at the end of an article. Opinions are fine; just save them for the opinions and editorials sections.

 

[tce11]

I like it when they add a bit of opinion or humour to articles, it gives the site personality. As long as they report the actual facts they need to in order to get the story out. It's pretty easy to differentiate the parts that are fact and the parts that are opinion, I don't see what the fuss is about. Honestly it's one of the main reasons I come here for news.

 

[BENZOOKA]

That sounds all cool and comfortable! Change is good. I hope it'll make the content more organized.

By the way, where's the "new" drop-list navigating menu for the site?