Anybody know these video game journalist's qualifications?

[Gankytim]

I'm putting together a video on video game journalism. From the sensationalist (Hernandez) to the truth hammer (Kain). I'm putting it together in a totally unbiased format, looking strictly at their qualifications and pointing out their known biases, preferences for certain companies, things like that.

And I'm sort of stuck on finding the education status of these people:

Jim Sterling.
Patricia Hernandez.
Patrick Klepek.
Angry Joe.
Totalbiscuit.
Jeff Gerstmann.

Are they transparent about their higher education, google doesn't bring up much.

 

[Windcaler]

In the case of Totalbiscuit I know he has some kind of degree from a UK university. I believe it is the equivilent of a bachelors degree in law but Im not 100% sure on that.

I have no idea about any of the others

 

[Gankytim]

Okay, I can confirm after some serious google-fu right now that there is no evidence to assume that Jim Sterling or Patrick Klepek have been to university.

I figured someone calling themself a journalist would need a journalism degree. There is a Patricia Hernandez who has a degree, but she'd a Ph.D in biology and something tells me Ms. "Should killing female gamers in online games be considered rape?" didn't study biology.

 

[Aerosteam]

I can definitely confirm that TotalBiscuit was a straight A student, that's all I know.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Given the way you've talked about Patricia Hernandez already, I highly doubt this is going to be the unbiased piece that you claim it to be. Not that I disagree with what you've said.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure TB has mentioned a few times in VLOGs and such that he has a degree (financial, I think?) from a university in England.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure TB has mentioned a few times in VLOGs and such that he has a degree (financial, I think?) from a university in England.

He definitely worked in finance, that's for sure, so that's probably true.

 

[Gankytim]

I'm putting together a video on video game journalism.

Are they transparent about their higher education, google doesn't bring up much.

Why not ask them?

As for whether they are being transparent about their higher education: if they have a degree in Physics, does it matter? They might not mention it because it's not relevant, rather than because they're trying to hide something.

I figured someone calling themself a journalist would need a journalism degree.

Not at all, Journalism degrees are relatively new creations compared to the profession, and many places would prefer a degree in History or Sociology.

I've attempted, and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe my message got buried under multiple dozens of others, or in the case of Gertsmann, I might have hit up a contact thing too old.

And physics degrees, and chemistry degrees, and biology degrees, and astronomy degrees and mathematics degrees are fairly new compared to their respective professions.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Don't start with the witch hunts mate, that doesn't get us anywhere, we just point fingers and accuse people of shit so we can look down on them... that is just dumb, plain dumb.

So on the actual topic, none of these people have any formal training in journalism. But one not being to cooking school doesn't mean you can't ever learn to cook, also doesn't mean people who were to cooking school automatically make good food. And the few legit journalists who are in the gaming industry or reporting about it usually write shit just as bad or worse. The only difference is they know better while the hobby writers wing it.

The actual thing people should discuss is how well these parties do their job. I know it's not nearly as dramatic as hoisting them up for a hanging, but if you want to get shit sorted properly that is what you do.

About the few I did see content from:
- Sterling (seem like a a logical writer/sensationalist, he finds something that makes sense and puts forth a good argument, but he also quickly resorts to a clown persona because he knows that pays the bills)
- AJ (probably the best definition of an enthusiast, he goes with or against the hype as the mood strikes but still tries to put in a balance of good/bad)
- TB (hobby press for sure, but he actually does extensive research and packages that information tight, then goes onto personal views, he may not get all the details in but he still puts most review houses to absolute shame)
- Hernandez (only read a few things from her and the best description I have is "stream of conciousness writer", if you have a friend who can just talk non stop about absolutely anything in no particular order barely ever making sense... well that is what her articles read like)

 

[briankoontz]

To agree with and add to Smooth Operator - doing journalism does not require a journalism degree. Someone right now could interview Shigeru Miyamoto, exploring issues relating to his artistic and commercial purpose in creating what he did, then publish the interview, and that would be journalism. If the interview uncovered new and interesting insights it would be *good* journalism, irrespective of the involvement of a degree.

The primary purpose of degrees is to act as economic gateways - to keep people who have invested in getting a degree money back for their investment while making sure people who haven't bought into the system don't get "undue rewards". Universities are capitalist investments, like putting money into the stock market. They teach relatively little compared to what people learn on their own, and teaching and learning is merely a secondary purpose of the process.

 

[Stabinbac]

I'm putting it together in a totally unbiased format, looking strictly at their qualifications and pointing out their known biases,

Right... good luck with that lack of bias.

How are you qualified to document their qualifications?

Mostly they're just video game fans. They're on the internet. Some people like to listen to them, and some don't. Doing background checks is sleazy.

Should Ashen's degree affect how I perceive his reviews of Chinese crap on his couch?

 

[Gankytim]

- Hernandez (only read a few things from her and the best description I have is "stream of conciousness writer", if you have a friend who can just talk non stop about absolutely anything in no particular order barely ever making sense... well that is what her articles read like)

Actually a surprising amount of her articles are just links to youtube videos someone else made.

Also it's worth noting who we're hearing our news from, no matter what the format. It's good to know who's talking to you, educated or uneducated. Calling a simple examination of the details about an internet pesonality who has been on the recieving end of controversy is hardly a witch hunt.

It's worth noting that Sterling changes his opinion to fit the majority with the speed of a light switch. Which was hard for me to admit, because I had always believed he was a man of conviction, not bleetingly going with the crowd. So, if you're going to listen to an opinion from him. it's worth noting that Sterling will always adapt his opinion to fit the majority. This isn't a witch hunt, it's a clear observation.

It's also worth noting that Angry Joe will go out of his way to look for the good and the bad, and weighs them against eachother to come out with his own homespun opinion. It's also worth noting that Joe breaks his back over his work, putting a lot of effort into his skits and effects, meaning it's unlikely he's not doing it out of passion. This is an observation, not prying into his personal buisiness.

 

[carnex]

More and more there is no need for qualifications in journalism in general. Yes, there are some publications that try to stick to usual standards of journalist education. However there are far more publications that really don't give two cents about credentials as long as they bring in readership. And today people gulp down really strange things as truth and/or good writing.

Also, there is less and less space for investigative journalism. Almost every single news source is carefully walled off and information comes in carefully measured doses and choreographed manner. Any inquiry outside that is met with walls of silence or court orders.

Now with that backdrop, gaming media is below celebrity magazines. Almost all journalists that had formal training are gone. People prefer opinionated and openly, badly acted, emotional bursts of one sided opinions. People who don't really care about trust or objective view, rather promoting personal ideology and going with popular opinions even when they fly in face of truth or reason.

Even that would not be that bad, there is a place for everyone and everything but they are top of the pyramid. Not just Jim and Joe and other video personas, but whole super popular portals like Kotaku for example. When IGN and Gamespot are high watermark for industry coverage and NeoGAF is your main source of sensation you know whole branch of journalism is basically in the dumps.

Add to that that gaming industry is basically best controlled industry when it comes down to information control and I think it's obvious we need to rethink the whole thing from ground up.

 

[CriticalMiss]

Should Ashen's degree affect how I perceive his reviews of Chinese crap on his couch?

Ashens actually studied Sad Onion Philosophy under Professor Excellence, so I guess his degree is relevant after all.

 

[shirkbot]

Also it's worth noting who we're hearing our news from, no matter what the format. It's good to know who's talking to you, educated or uneducated.

Mostly this because it's hard to argue against knowing as much as possible about a source of information. That said I would like to point out that one of my favorite authors, Hunter S. Thompson, worked as a journalist pretty much from High School onwards and only got a university education after the fact. The man just loved writing and got really good at it by just doing it. I'm not trying to discount the benefits of a formal journalistic education, or really any specialization, just making a reminder about the limits of top-down meritocracy. Put another way, even the worst-in-their-class medical student will still graduate with a doctorate.

OT: I actually don't know anything about the educational backgrounds of any of those people, but I'm not surprised that their education history isn't particularly easy to access. That tends to be quite private until you reach Masters and Ph.D.s.

 

[VanQ]

From what I've heard, most games "journalists" and "critics" are self-proclaimed, with little more experience than having a blog or youtube channel before getting lucky and being picked up by a website. Like just about every contributor to the Escapist before a year ago.

And even now, I don't know of any qualifications some of the newer newsies have. Though I've also never seen any site that wasn't a site for a proper news outlet such as BBC actually display their employees' qualifications to the public.

I'd go as far as saying that qualifications aren't as important to me as a critic/journalist's willingness to write something true and accurate rather than something that's merely clickbait. A lesson most people in the games industry would do well to learn.

 

[Zhukov]

I'm putting it together in a totally unbiased format...

There is a Patricia Hernandez who has a degree, but she'd a Ph.D in biology and something tells me Ms. "Should killing female gamers in online games be considered rape?" didn't study biology.

Dude, just who the flying fuck do you think you're kidding here?

"Totally unbiased".

"Something tells me [proponent of viewpoint I disagree with] couldn't possibly have a degree."

It burns man.

 

[Drummodino]

I think there's a reason Jim Sterling refers to his show as "Garme Jurnalizm" or something to that degree. I don't think he has a degree, but I still find he makes good points most of the time. TB has some kind of law degree but I don't know the specifics. I am unfamiliar with the others on your list.

Speaking as someone with a university degree, I don't think it makes your viewpoint any less biased. It can make your opinion more valid or respectable on something that you researched/studied, but even then I wouldn't say it makes you less biased.

 

[Lieju]

Speaking as a someone who comes from a family of journalists...

No, you don't need a degree to do that job.
Especially if we are talking about something specialized, like video-game journalism, what you need is a good understanding of the subject matter.

My mum has a degree and a 30+ years of experience, but she knows nothing about video-games.
Would you trust her opinion on games more than Sterling, for example?

She used to play Minesweeper a lot.

She could write a good-looking article that reads well, and bullshit to probably fool a layreader (she used to work for a daily newspaper where she'd have to write articles on subject matters she knew nothing about, and most importantly, do it quickly.) and given time, she could write a good article from a point of view of a layperson.

So what?

Now, if someone had a degree on game design or something, and a background in game development, then you'd have some idea they know about that side of things and can give you a different perspective than most people.

I figured someone calling themself a journalist would need a journalism degree. There is a Patricia Hernandez who has a degree, but she'd a Ph.D in biology and something tells me Ms. "Should killing female gamers in online games be considered rape?" didn't study biology.

What were the mistakes on that article (that I haven't read) that were purely about biology? Did she misspell 'vagina' or something?

And your video won't be particularly well researched if you go about it by asking random people on the net. Ask those people directly.

Here's a quick journalism tip:
Get actual sources. Someone telling you on a forum that Jim Sterling is actually a rocket scientist working for the Soviets is not particularly reliable information.

 

[Gankytim]

I'm putting it together in a totally unbiased format...

There is a Patricia Hernandez who has a degree, but she'd a Ph.D in biology and something tells me Ms. "Should killing female gamers in online games be considered rape?" didn't study biology.

Dude, just who the flying fuck do you think you're kidding here?

"Totally unbiased".

"Something tells me [proponent of viewpoint I disagree with] couldn't possibly have a degree."

It burns man.

Dude, your tits are angry, you need to calm your tits.

I'm just saying I don't think that I don't believe Patricia Hernandez with the Ph.D in Biology, might not the same Patricia Hernandez writing articles for Kotaku.