The Changing Face of Journalism: How We Will Meet the Challenge
- Thread starter John Keefer
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I don't know mate, I see what you're saying, but I honestly think I'm still a closet misogynist that wasted over a month of his life hunting down a relatively unknown female developer, because she happens to be a woman. It just sounds like me, you know?VectorSlip said:
I'm personally optimistic reading the article. I actually vaguely remember some of Mr. Keefer's work in Gamespy. Hell, I vaguely remember Gamespy back in its good days. I was still a teenager at the time, but I remember liking it quite a bit, despite the constant rumours that its reviewers were being too kind to the titles they reviewed.
Ah, those were the days. Kudos for the piece, both for the content, but also for stating your position and the position of the publication as a whole. As part of your readership/audience, I very much appreciate it.
I wouldn't necessary put it like that.VectorSlip said:
Well put together articles have much more value for discussion. In this case, the writer is pretty much saying what I want to say, so there isn't much for me to add to this discussion that hasn't already been said. Therefore, you will have less people voicing their opinions in the comments.
The Female Game Devs article on the otherhand offers no discussion, imo. Just controversy by being blatantly wrong. People try to make discussion out of it, but its not really going anywhere, as it solely focuses on proving/disproving "facts". I'd say it hasn't even reached discussion yet.
Back to topic
There's been some discussion on the role of gaming media and journalist. How their role is slowly passing, due the social media and bloggers/youtubers. The communities are capable to provide news, facts and opinions amongst themselves, with very little hassle. Most of them, writing reviews and passing news is just a hobby on the side, so when you have tons of these kind of people, you don't necessary need the gaming media. And that's becoming evidently more true each day. E-celeb personalities are creating connections, and when there is a whole community taking part in providing news, there's bound to be those friend-of-a-friend-works-in-Nintendo insider scoops.
The gaming media needs to oneup these communities. Rather than rival them, be that guy who's friend's friend works in Nintendo. Be that guy who provides starting point for discussions.
The clickbaiting marketing media is just white noise in the community. They're either ignored or they're annoyance.
Fantastic article and it would amaze me if anyone didn't agree with it. I'm skeptical that this will deter or influence the "gamergate" lot though - in the same way that science doesn't disprove conspiracy theorists. If you're looking for something hard enough, you'll find it in your mind.
Indeed. When the group of gaming websites ran with the headline idea "Gamers are Dead", I was infuriated beyond belief. These people basically said to me, "Our own demographic is irrelevant, at this point, so we're going to run with the notion that attacking them in op-ed articles is the best thing to do in this scenario". I took that as a collective cue from them that they don't want my attention or money; which is fine by me, as I am more comfortable giving it to people like Angry Joe, ReviewTechUSA, TotalBiscuit, AlphaOmegaSin and boogie2988. These people cover my gaming inquiries and views far, far better than those other gaming websites ever did, and I am glad to give them my attention and money in the form of views and subscriptions.JSRevenge said:
There were some things I didn't like The Escapist doing (and not doing) in the beginning of this whole fiasco, but as time went on, they showed that, collectively, they still want to be relevant in this industry and did so in the correct manner.
Again, shout out goes to Greg Tito (you're welcome for that Voltron theme PM), Archon and now you, Mr. Keefer.
What do you want them to say? They've published pieces talking about what started it, the IRC logs, how events developed, allowed free discussion in the forums, etc. At this point, there's nothing new happening that needs urgent reporting, it's just people keeping the pot on the stove after the water's boiled.Houseman said:
That said, I'd like it if they did put together every scrap of info they have, run it through the journalistic process and fact-check it thoroughly, then put that out as a report on what happened during Gamergate. I just think that's something that would take time and a lot of legwork to do.
OT: I've been hearing a bunch about the disclosure policies of the Escapist, and I'm wondering: Who exactly do you disclose to? To the audience, it's mostly a "yes/no" about whether someone else had financial involvement in writing the piece. Is Greg Tito responsible for collecting and analysing all this data and checking that everything is aboveboard? Is it the senior editors for each section, or is it kicked up the ladder to someone at Defy Media? Also, is it possible for readers to request access to that data in specific instances? I don't have experience with publishing or news media, so I don't know who (if anyone) outside of the company checks for conflicts of interest.
Hey guys, I also wanted to post this here. My news team has this and this is something I have tried to follow my whole career.
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
There are several points in here that are not just journalistic ethics, but common decency, especially in the "Minimize harm" area.
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
There are several points in here that are not just journalistic ethics, but common decency, especially in the "Minimize harm" area.
Now, forgive me - but I thought the biggest problem facing journalism today is how to get paid giving the diminishing revenue streams and the transition to dependence upon advertising revenue from the web, which is markedly smaller.
And how this, in turn, contributes to less money for writers, who must increasingly freelance to survive or supplement their income in other ways.
And how, good-quality, "investigative" journalism takes time and backing - and how, due to the changing attention economy of the internet, this is less likely to develop the kind of pageviews that people are really interested in, and so isn't pursued.
And so, more and more internet-based forms of journalism use "clickbait" as headlines for pageviews, with content that differs little from the traditional "recycle a press release" (ironically enough, Buzzfeed, the be-all and end-all of clickbait, has one of the best long-form departments on the web right now).
See, Patreon is one way to get around this - but unfortunately, our cult of the amateur seems to have decried this as a "conflict of interest", as if voting for a political party means you cannot cover that political party anymore. Another way is to network - but see how people within the GamesJournoPro list had their details released "by accident" and were subsequently harassed for... networking and discussing.
But maybe I am just part of the "new school" (pun intended). As in, the ones who have gradually seen print media cease to exist as any sort of viable career path, and the ones that hear that 90% of their work must be unpaid and done for "exposure". Forgive me for thinking that talk of "ethics" is somewhat of a distraction. Forgive me for thinking that the work of a fourth estate can never be effectively achieved by amateurs.
And how this, in turn, contributes to less money for writers, who must increasingly freelance to survive or supplement their income in other ways.
And how, good-quality, "investigative" journalism takes time and backing - and how, due to the changing attention economy of the internet, this is less likely to develop the kind of pageviews that people are really interested in, and so isn't pursued.
And so, more and more internet-based forms of journalism use "clickbait" as headlines for pageviews, with content that differs little from the traditional "recycle a press release" (ironically enough, Buzzfeed, the be-all and end-all of clickbait, has one of the best long-form departments on the web right now).
See, Patreon is one way to get around this - but unfortunately, our cult of the amateur seems to have decried this as a "conflict of interest", as if voting for a political party means you cannot cover that political party anymore. Another way is to network - but see how people within the GamesJournoPro list had their details released "by accident" and were subsequently harassed for... networking and discussing.
But maybe I am just part of the "new school" (pun intended). As in, the ones who have gradually seen print media cease to exist as any sort of viable career path, and the ones that hear that 90% of their work must be unpaid and done for "exposure". Forgive me for thinking that talk of "ethics" is somewhat of a distraction. Forgive me for thinking that the work of a fourth estate can never be effectively achieved by amateurs.
Very well written, Mr. Keefer. And I don't for one moment blame you for keeping one of those bomber jackets, because it can be terribly expensive to get those of a decent quality. I just hope you disclosed it if you reviewed the piece that got you the jacket you kept.John Keefer said:
Journalism and the Escapist? While I never would put the two of them in the same sentence without laughing it is well that you can try. Over its history the Escapist has shown almost Zero news chops. They merely regurgitate news from other sites and often several sources removed from the actual source. Sort of a he said, he said, he said situation.
My question is why does this even matter to the Escapist now? Surely this latest gurgling in the sewers of the internet will pass, they all do.
News has never been more than an article to click on and maybe a chance to see the spew on the comments. This site is about gaming and movies. Occasionally it bumps into the real world but rarely and when it does it never stays for long. I come to watch Australian videos, MovieBob and for Shamus Young to give some technical bit of information or explanation.
News? This is the last place I would ever come to for news or solid journalistic practices. Rest assured.
My question is why does this even matter to the Escapist now? Surely this latest gurgling in the sewers of the internet will pass, they all do.
News has never been more than an article to click on and maybe a chance to see the spew on the comments. This site is about gaming and movies. Occasionally it bumps into the real world but rarely and when it does it never stays for long. I come to watch Australian videos, MovieBob and for Shamus Young to give some technical bit of information or explanation.
News? This is the last place I would ever come to for news or solid journalistic practices. Rest assured.
I don't know about that - phone calls are much easier and you don't have to gather good audio for a newspaper piece. Not everyone gets their feet on the ground these days. I do, when I have the time.John Keefer said:I think I covered that in the paragraph on Fox, CNN, MSNBC and the like. It is incredibly hard to watch ANY news these days as you do not know what to believe. Local news tends to be better than network news, but having been raised on old school reporting and watching investigative pieces on TV, it is hard to stomach the stuff that passes for "journalism" today. I still trust newspapers, what little of them still exist, because the reporter still must get out into the community and do his legwork for a story, talk to sources and follow paper trails. Being an old fart makes me old schoolSleekit said:
As for paper trails, I ended up slamming the local newspaper with an article of my own for not actually doing their job on a particular local issue. They favoured one side, the municipal government's, without analyzing or fact-checking all sides, especially the one they were supporting. Two minor news media companies managed to get thorough pieces covering the whole debacle, unlike the newspaper. I ended up getting a sarcastic response from one of the editors of the major newspaper telling me "people don't want analysis pieces," because analysis pieces, of course, must be written dryly and uninterestingly with "over 7,000 words."
I'm a fan of old school reporting, despite being a younger journalist, but it's become much more difficult in this age with less reporters, more responsibilities and much more partisanship.
In all honesty though I kind of expected this out of the escapist because you guys never did feel like the clickbait get views at all costs guys because you don't have intrusive advertisements. You guys always did feel different than Kotaku etc just for that reason. These new policies just confirm it. Thanks so much for keeping this place a safe haven for discussion on issues that other websites are censoring.
I really appreciate editorials like these. It actually puts a human face, someone who is actually responsible for things, on the forefront of what is often just a dehumanized "news outlet" in the modern digital era. However, I do wonder about the topic of newsworthy stories and if something like:
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite
This should be reported on here on the escapist. In fact, SPECIALLY, by the escapist since there were many writers who worked for the escapist involved in that scandal. I think the escapist has done quite enough to distance itself from the likes of Kotaku and so on, and I want to trust that the new stance this site is taking will disallow any such private club nonsense from happening again involving the journalism staff of the site. However, it would be nice to have at least the hint that the staff is working on investigating these things.
Keep in mind that the escapist's own Greg Tito was involved in that mess, and despite the integrity he actually ended up showing as a journalist, a word or two would go a long way for keeping the escapist away from such credibility-compromising scandals.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite
This should be reported on here on the escapist. In fact, SPECIALLY, by the escapist since there were many writers who worked for the escapist involved in that scandal. I think the escapist has done quite enough to distance itself from the likes of Kotaku and so on, and I want to trust that the new stance this site is taking will disallow any such private club nonsense from happening again involving the journalism staff of the site. However, it would be nice to have at least the hint that the staff is working on investigating these things.
Keep in mind that the escapist's own Greg Tito was involved in that mess, and despite the integrity he actually ended up showing as a journalist, a word or two would go a long way for keeping the escapist away from such credibility-compromising scandals.