CambriaRising
Member
Wow just look at all the press kit stuff this person has sold. What a piece of shit.
What's the word for this? Complacency?It would be lovely to have some sort of Unified Code of Ethics, but that's not going to happen, and it's not really my place to tell colleagues and competitors what to do.
As for Kotaku covering this, I can't speak for the site or anyone else on it, but I can say that I'm personally just more interested in spending my time writing about other things. I don't really see it as my place to serve as an ombudsman or watchdog for other members of the press, and I'm sorry if that's disappointing to you. I'm much more interested -- and I think my readers are much more interested -- in games, the people who make them, and the stories surrounding them. And also JRPGs. Lots of JRPGs.
Their readership isn't interested. Only loosely related to games. Ain't got time for this shit.
Called it.I'm much more interested -- and I think my readers are much more interested -- in games, the people who make them, and the stories surrounding them.
Anyhow, if one were to claim to be a professional journalist, you should have learned your "Unified Code of Ethics" in like your first year of undergraduate studies.
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Very simple stuff. Someone with a bachelor's degree should be able to get this.
Thanks for reply, and to be clear, I wasn't attacking you, just the talking point.
Anyhow, if one were to claim to be a professional journalist, you should have learned your "Unified Code of Ethics" in like your first year of undergraduate studies.
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Very simple stuff. Someone with a bachelor's degree should be able to get this.
Robert Florence said:Watching people make jokes and construct their own narrative about something they know nothing about surely motivates a man.
Wow, it's nice to hear this explanation from someone who had experienced that stuff. It sounds like the media outlets are kinda held hostages, forced to play by the PR's rules or miss out on some new info. I wish everyone did what you said on your second-to-last paragraph, not sucking on everything the companies want you to. Show some independence, and maybe they'll gain some respect back from gamers.It's all about access. The magazines and sites want to cover the big games, the hyped games, because that's what brings in the readers/subscribers/viewers/hits/etc. The same goes for any part of the entertainment business, really. In order to GET this access, the press has to "play ball." Most game companies explicitly tell all their employees not to talk to the press under any circumstances. In many (most) cases, it's a fireable offense if they do. It's considered breaking an NDA, or violating confidentiality.
So, except for on rare occasions, when the rare enterprising reporter is able to contact the rare game company employee willing to speak (almost always off the record), the *only* way a press outlet is going to be able to get you those sweet, sweet Assassin's Creed screen shots is by dealing with the game companies' official spokespeople/representatives---i.e., by going through the PR departments. Piss off the PR departments, and say goodbye to your access. Believe me, I know. I had it happen to me multiple times at CGW. "Playing ball" can even include showing up at whatever stupid, contrived "media event" the PR department has organized as part of the marketing plan. Should a press outlet actually decide that, hey, they'd rather actually decide for themselves what's news, and maybe that event is some kind of horseshit thing they'd rather not attend, there can be repercussions for that too. Again, I had it happen to me personally. ("You don't want to attend? FINE! We'll give the next screens to your competitors!")
In short, if an outlet decides that part of their editorial mission is to provide you with the latest/greatest "sneak peeks", screens, "first looks", whateverthefuck, if they decide they'd rather you get it from THEM rather than their competition, then they better suck it up and play along. You wanna defy them? Good luck getting access. The game companies hold all the cards. (And again--this is no different from other entertainment fields--movies, music, TV, etc.)
Now, some companies are better, more open, less dickly than others. Some will let their designers speak a little more off the cuff (rather than following scripted bullet points). Some will provide a remarkable degree of candor, or a level of access normally not seen. But, for the most part, they have little incentive to do so. They've got the press by the proverbial short hairs.
But the press certainly has some choice, in some matters. You do NOT have to accept free shit. You do not have to tweet with the hashtags the companies tell you to. You do not have to take even one free drink or travel on their dime. You can play ball without compromising your own personal integrity. But you ALSO have to acknowledge that, to some extent, you ARE playing ball, and that it is not always going to look particularly noble or brave. That's why you have to try extra hard not to do dumb shit, not to LOOK like the shill you're desperately trying not to be. Because everyone else thinks you are. Including some of the companies you're covering. THEY see you as part of their marketing plan.
Others have said it better than I the last couple days, including Jim Sterling in his great piece. But this was just me helping to answer the "how it came to this" in the post quoted above.
This may be a shock to some people but there isn't one giant journalism bible of what is right ethically and what's the best practice of journalism and how it should done. While some things are more widely accepted than others, but there's not one standard.
Wow, it's nice to hear this explanation from someone who had experienced that stuff. It sounds like the media outlets are kinda held hostages, forced to play by the PR's rules or miss out on some new info. I wish everyone did what you said on your second-to-last paragraph, not sucking on everything the companies want you to. Show some independence, and maybe they'll gain some respect back from gamers.
As it should be. I'm not expecting opinion pieces, since we'll get more than enough of those from bloggers and forum posters. Just some basic acknowledgement that this happened and is happening (and perhaps some acknowledgement of the current state of ethical standards in the industry with respect to PR).PAR did a synopsis of the situation, but the majority of the article is just that -- a summary of what's happened. He doesn't dedicate a whole lot of column space to providing his own views as far as the situation.
Rounding out the whole package is a beautifully detailed letter written by a top Ubisoft exec. These flags are rare, make no mistake about it. This isn't the cheapy flag that will come packed in the CE version of the ACIII game. Instead, flags like this one were given only to select members of the press, retail partners, and they were likely also handed out internally within Ubisoft.
I have personally been able to document a grand total of 14 of these flags (including the flag in this listing.)
I found that, for instance, the offices of Giant Bomb, EGM, and Destructoid were each sent one of these flags.
You haven't asked! I can't speak for anyone else at Kotaku or elsewhere, but I'm happy to talk about my relationships with PR or any other questions you have for me. Secrets are lame.
I'm leaving the office now and I might not get to every post here when I get back (this site moves very fast!) but if you want to ask me something, feel free to ping me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/jasonschreier) or by e-mail (jason@kotaku.com).
Amazing!
Someone did in the comments in here.Er... did anyone point him at this thread?
I can hear them now: "But... But... But... we're not journalists!"http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
It's like you guys don't even try. Enough excuses for the unprofessional behavior. You're better than that.
Amazing!
As I'm sure this thread has taught us all, not everyone in this field has the same ethics. I would think it's pretty obvious that a reporter shouldn't be advertising a game on Twitter to win a PS3, but hey!
Someone did in the comments in here.
$2,000 out of 10!
There is absolutely no way that shit like this doesn't influence someone's decision. In the back of your mind will be a voice saying, if i give it a good score, they'll send me more stuff!
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
It's like you guys don't even try. Enough excuses for the unprofessional behavior. You're better than that.
Wow, it's nice to hear this explanation from someone who had experienced that stuff. It sounds like the media outlets are kinda held hostages, forced to play by the PR's rules or miss out on some new info. I wish everyone did what you said on your second-to-last paragraph, not sucking on everything the companies want you to. Show some independence, and maybe they'll gain some respect back from gamers.
Listen, as I have told you before; I think you write great columns wherever they may end up (Joystiq, kotaku, etc) but there was a better way for you to respond to the topic at hand on twitter than just shoving it off as a joke. This is an important issue in the industry when it basically dictates how press conveys game information to their readers. If I wanted to just be sold something, I would watch a trailer, not read an article. This won't impact the way I read and enjoy your stories, but it definitely makes me wonder if you care that the industry is a wreck around you.
You haven't asked! I can't speak for anyone else at Kotaku or elsewhere, but I'm happy to talk about my relationships with PR or any other questions you have for me. Secrets are lame.
I'm leaving the office now and I might not get to every post here when I get back (this site moves very fast!) but if you want to ask me something, feel free to ping me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/jasonschreier) or by e-mail (jason@kotaku.com).
Hey Robert, Kami from EG here.
[...]
But it happened. The images are now out there and we can all draw our own conclusions from them. There are no winners, and I feel terrible that you lost a fantastic gig for effectively hitting a nerve. And we need to. If we can’t point out the hypocrisy in ourselves and others, what is the point? Aren’t we all just glorified PR middle-men at that point, paid and/or unpaid? We want things to be better, right? Sometimes, that means telling the truth. The problem is it appears the adage of the truth hurting is now being volleyed back at those seeking the truth, and that concerns me. And it is good men like you who and Tom who are taking the explosion head-on. It begs the question… can people like me, who write for the love of it, and want to somehow maybe move beyond that, ever survive in this market? I’m not sure compromise is really a word I can live by…
As I said earlier. Those press kits aren't any different than sending a wad of money with the review copy.
It says right there in the press kit, "Thank you for igniting unprecedented consumer interest in Assassin's Creed III, which is sure to break plenty of sales records this holiday."
That's good times!
Geoff Keighley is a Canadian video game journalist, Doritos spokesman and Mountain Dew icon.
Do gamers really care? I mean, most gamers don't follow the industry closely and will have no idea about any of this happened. There is a reason so many get their news from people like Hannity/Maddow rather than a more neutral source.
I wasn't excusing any behaviour. Merely trying to emphasis that there's no black or white 'right' answer in ethics, or journalism in general.
That is the guidelines of one code of ethics. For one group. Yes - voluntarily followed by many. I said that there may be some practices where there's fairly wide agreement on it, non?
Look in the UK. We have different ethical code of conducts for broadcast and then for the press in general. If there was one-size-fits-all world view, that wouldn't happen.
I'm not going to write about you personally but I find there is a statistical anomaly, that seemingly nobody is interested in it or feels compelled to write about it.As for Kotaku covering this, I can't speak for the site or anyone else on it, but I can say that I'm personally just more interested in spending my time writing about other things.
Today on wikipedia:
That is one way to put it....
Wonder if N'Gai Croal thinks the Ubisoft guy is a conspiracy theorist tooIt says right there in the press kit, "Thank you for igniting unprecedented consumer interest in Assassin's Creed III, which is sure to break plenty of sales records this holiday."
That's good times!
You can't say "People don't wanna read about it" and then feign like nobody's interested in it when you're trying to engage GAF readers in extended discussion on the topic on it's 66th page.
It's a pretty safe bet Kotaku has published stories that spun directly out of GAF threads with way lower page counts, almost equally as safe as the idea Kotaku (and other game sites) typically use GAF as a barometer for interest in stories.
Articles
Wings over Sealand articles (second article has summary) 1 2
John Walker's (Rock Paper Shotgun) blog
GAF posts etc
Shawn Elliot 1 (aegies is Arthur Gies of polygon.com) 2 3 4
Jeff Green
ShockingAlberto
Jason Schreier (Kotaku)
N'Gai Croal initial reaction on Twitter
Wonder if N'Gai Croal thinks the Ubisoft guy is a conspiracy theorist too
Again with the excuses.
It is absolutely black and white. You either have good ethics and don't participate in activities that cause a conflict of interest, or you don't. These extremely basic principles don't disappear when crossing borders.
Personal limits are a big part of being a reporter, in any field.
Point is: it's unfair to dismiss all of game journalism as corrupt because of incidents like this, or because some people have different standards than others, or because some people believe that some compromises are OK. Just like how it'd be unfair to look at this thread and say "Wow, GAF is a bunch of generalizing assholes." See what I'm saying?
Gotta pick and choose. Stupid story unrelated to video games? Brian Ashcraft's got it! Story about how gaming journalism heavily and awkwardly overlaps with PR? "Readers don't care, stupid!"
Listen, as I have told you before; I think you write great columns wherever they may end up (Joystiq, kotaku, etc) but there was a better way for you to respond to the topic at hand on twitter than just shoving it off as a joke. This is an important issue in the industry when it basically dictates how press conveys game information to their readers. If I wanted to just be sold something, I would watch a trailer, not read an article. This won't impact the way I read and enjoy your stories, but it definitely makes me wonder if you care that the industry is a wreck around you.
I'm not going to write about you personally but I find there is a statistical anomaly, that seemingly nobody is interested in it or feels compelled to write about it.
Kotaku, GameSpot, IGN & <insert list big video game site here> all seem to not have any issue whatsoever of re-writing press releases they get sent to them every single day.
I'm going to assume that this is not the most fun one can have as a writer but it's being done every day all year long.
Also we know that a lot of writers for the above sites read NeoGAF (let's just count the ones that actively respond here and follow the @NeoGAFNewThread twitter account)
Isn't it strange that this topic is not being posted about on the well-frequented video game sites?
It's one of the most viewed threads on this forum.
Even if you take the position that your readers wouldn't care. Isn't the point of a critic to inform the public?
So far we've had:
2 who said: I'm not a journalist, so I'm not going to write about it.
2 who said: Our readers are not interested.
1 who said: It's not up to me to write about it. I'll let someone else handle it.
1 who said: I like writing about games not game journalists.
I think it's pretty clear that big gamin media writers are full of excuses, and don't care about this subject and just want it to die. One can only asks why.
Articles
Wings over Sealand articles (second article has summary) 1 2
John Walker's (Rock Paper Shotgun) blog
GAF posts etc
Shawn Elliot 1 (aegies is Arthur Gies of polygon.com) 2 3 4
Jeff Green
ShockingAlberto
Jason Schreier (Kotaku)
N'Gai Croal initial reaction on Twitter
Nailed it.
The "our readers won't care" line rings false to me. More like "oh shit! we're not touching this!"