Fox Mulder
Member
I’d sip a glass of sweet tea and watch the sunset the day kotaku dies.
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Drama at Kotaku
- Thread starter Jooxed
- Start date
Texas Pride
Banned
I'd like to think it's only a matter of time before all this woke culture is stamped out and laughed out of the mainstream for the joke it is eventually. It's not a sustainable way of life and we're due for a course correction which will put those on the woke wagon in check. You get too close to the sun and you get burned. Ask Icarus.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
"Speak truth to power"... Fuck me, the sheer gall of these schmucks to try and make out that their voices are in any way vital. What they are discovering the hard way is that money talks and bullshit walks in a purely commericial enterprise.
And thats the bottom line, because there aren't a lot of secrets about the online economy of a glorified blog like Kotaku or deadspin. It has limited options to sustain itself, and none of them are in any way, shape, or form noble.
There is overt advertising.
There is covert advertising (sponsored content).
There is ancillliary income based on the use of the site brand. (i.e. charging people for use of their logo as part of an advertising quote).
The value of all of which is determined by the amount of clicks and page impressions it receives. Traffic defines the fundamental "quality" of the content, because a billboard that nobody looks at is worthless.
Its not like their content is going to get dusted off and collated into a NYT bestseller years down the line, its not going to be hailed as brave and vibrant reportage. Its just tabloid trash peddled not for philanthropy but for profit.
If they want to "speak truth to power", then they should try doing that on their own time, own dime, and sure as shit not propped up as salaried employees. Because that position is by definition one of subordination to the power of their employer, the one who in a spirit of quid-quo-pro has a reasonable expectation of compliance from them.
And thats the bottom line, because there aren't a lot of secrets about the online economy of a glorified blog like Kotaku or deadspin. It has limited options to sustain itself, and none of them are in any way, shape, or form noble.
There is overt advertising.
There is covert advertising (sponsored content).
There is ancillliary income based on the use of the site brand. (i.e. charging people for use of their logo as part of an advertising quote).
The value of all of which is determined by the amount of clicks and page impressions it receives. Traffic defines the fundamental "quality" of the content, because a billboard that nobody looks at is worthless.
Its not like their content is going to get dusted off and collated into a NYT bestseller years down the line, its not going to be hailed as brave and vibrant reportage. Its just tabloid trash peddled not for philanthropy but for profit.
If they want to "speak truth to power", then they should try doing that on their own time, own dime, and sure as shit not propped up as salaried employees. Because that position is by definition one of subordination to the power of their employer, the one who in a spirit of quid-quo-pro has a reasonable expectation of compliance from them.
manfestival
Member
I don't want to sift through 16 pages. I have somehow been oblivious to this whole ordeal until listening to Inside gaming this morning about this. It seems there is 2 issues here. The issue of the writer getting fired from deadspin whom belongs to the same group as Kotaku. Saying this is censorship of free speech. I get it but if your new boss changes company policies and you get fired for it then tough luck. Making an outcry to the internet to fight on your behalf sucks. Nothing about the "stick to sports" for a sports website seems wrong(I imagine someone is gonna be pissed and try to tell me how wrong I am for either things I am posting about). The advertisement thing, it honestly sucks but I feel like the employees are outright revolting and trying to make a power play against their bosses. I remember sometime ago about Jeff Gerstman(not actually the same scenario from what I call but some parallels) getting out of gamespot and then creating Giantbomb. Which ended up becoming what appears to be successful. These people are free to leave their jobs. Now I know there are some tenured employees whom may be deeply rooted(retirement benefits and etc) but these are things of life.
Also I think the member clear above me did a pretty good job giving good details into my kinda sentiment on this. I guess my 2 cents on this.
Also I think the member clear above me did a pretty good job giving good details into my kinda sentiment on this. I guess my 2 cents on this.
The Mad Draklor
Member
Has anyone posted this article?
www.wsj.com
But it didn't matter as Farmers pulled its $1 million ad campaign.
Hostilities Rise Inside G/O Media Over Autoplay Video Ads and Politics
The publisher of former Gawker Media sites including Deadspin and Gizmodo began running sound-on autoplay ads to boost the impressions it could deliver for Farmers Insurance Group, according to people familiar with the situation.
www.wsj.com
Basically, G/O Media had no faith in Deadspin, Kotaku, and their sister sites in meeting Farmers Insurance's quota under their own merits. To make up for it, G/O Media decided to autoplay the ads to get closer to that milestone.
But it didn't matter as Farmers pulled its $1 million ad campaign.
FUBARx89
Member
Let's be honest. For all their twitter bluster none of them are gonna do a fucking thing apart from post passive aggressive shit on twitter.
They'll still post "articles" and the likes til they get fired/make their own little crappy site.
The beginning of the end for kotaku was Patricia Hernandez, how it survived her crap is beyond me. But then again this Heather is the new Patricia anyways and she seems to do just fine.
They'll still post "articles" and the likes til they get fired/make their own little crappy site.
The beginning of the end for kotaku was Patricia Hernandez, how it survived her crap is beyond me. But then again this Heather is the new Patricia anyways and she seems to do just fine.
Silent Duck
Member
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Good job staff members.
Stick to writing clickbait articles and leave sales and marketing to the other departments.
There is no doubt in mind that the tweets saying "staff member resigned" is total BS. They got walked out the door for fucking up an ad deal. I'd fire any of them involved in this debacle.
Just imagine a supplier making a deal with Walmart to sell product, and then the Walmart employees tweet the products are irritating, or vice versa, the supplier employees saying Walmart sucks.
Great business partnership there.
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Oh fuck kotaku. I loved kotaku from like 6 years ago and visited them daily. Now I go there once a week and skim 2 pages and leave. That place is a shitshow.
It's a shit site run by a bunch of alarmist snot nosed kids that write the most idiotic shit ever based purely around some naive agenda of theirs. Jesus christ if one of them could figure out how to write an article about how the creator of rocket league is a raping his entire staff on a daily basis, hires and beats black people so he can then fire them, and how rocket league is secretly a game that is being used as hate speech against trans black gay women then they would fucking write it. And if a trans no binary millennial folk singer was fired from their job as a secretary because she stole money and was shooting heroine at work in from of clients while molesting a child they would say how terrible it is and demand equal rights for that person and they didnt do anything but being victimized. Then they would write an article on how bad Amazon is and they are destroying our way of life, and the story would be followed by 47 "articles" that are really kinja deals that link directly to amazon.
I hope kotaku goes down in flames and every single person there gets fired and has to get a real job in the real world. Except Mike Fahey, he is pretty cool.
It's a shit site run by a bunch of alarmist snot nosed kids that write the most idiotic shit ever based purely around some naive agenda of theirs. Jesus christ if one of them could figure out how to write an article about how the creator of rocket league is a raping his entire staff on a daily basis, hires and beats black people so he can then fire them, and how rocket league is secretly a game that is being used as hate speech against trans black gay women then they would fucking write it. And if a trans no binary millennial folk singer was fired from their job as a secretary because she stole money and was shooting heroine at work in from of clients while molesting a child they would say how terrible it is and demand equal rights for that person and they didnt do anything but being victimized. Then they would write an article on how bad Amazon is and they are destroying our way of life, and the story would be followed by 47 "articles" that are really kinja deals that link directly to amazon.
I hope kotaku goes down in flames and every single person there gets fired and has to get a real job in the real world. Except Mike Fahey, he is pretty cool.
CrisPy2019
Member
Shitaku and Jason Scheisser (shitter in German) no human with a brain is going to miss you/xer/zer/blur
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
And they resort to that because readership is low, and companies like Bethesda and UBI blacklist them for posting stupid articles or leaking secret info.
Jason Schreier's comeback was something like.... "well that's journalism".
Not really.
No site should be a shill, but it doesn't mean you act like an ass. If I was Bethesda I'd avoid Kotaku too. Tell them a bit of info, and keep it hush hush until the time is right, or expect them not to elaborate on a rumoured leak, and they'll backstab you and post it in the next hour.
On the other hand, when newspapers post stories about movie or book reviews, they follow the rules and do it when allowed. And most of the time don't even spoil the plot.
When was the last time a professional movie critic watched a movie a month before release and then hurried up and spoiled the plot with a review asap? Never.
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petran79
Banned
No matter how good, professional and analytic those publications are with experienced members who experienced and know video games inside out, they simply can not compete with those sensationalist clickbait sites with their own blinded and molded readership.
#Phonepunk#
Banned
i see the pink haired freak reviewed DS. gonna avoid Kotaku like the plague.
And there it is. If you need any more evidence (to throw on the pile) of how toxic woke culture is, I present to you Exhibit 1,276,435, One month in, the company loses a million dollar ad campaign due to lack of confidence the outlet can meet expectations (anyone else seeing a pattern?). All around the same time that the employees of the outlet are protesting the placement of ads on the outlets pages, and ree'ing about editorial autonomy, blah, blah, blah (included in the blah is cries about uncertainty for the future, which will certainly encourage the hell out of a company paying a million bucks for ads).Has anyone posted this article?
Hostilities Rise Inside G/O Media Over Autoplay Video Ads and Politics
The publisher of former Gawker Media sites including Deadspin and Gizmodo began running sound-on autoplay ads to boost the impressions it could deliver for Farmers Insurance Group, according to people familiar with the situation.
Basically, G/O Media had no faith in Deadspin, Kotaku, and their sister sites in meeting Farmers Insurance's quota under their own merits. To make up for it, G/O Media decided to autoplay the ads to get closer to that milestone.
But it didn't matter as Farmers pulled its $1 million ad campaign.
The Scrivener
Member
GMG Union?
Green Man Gaming?
Green Man Gaming?
ThatGamingDude
I am a virgin
Uhhh
One of their largest adverts pulled their contract?
Well, there goes their pay
If some staff costed me millions I'd make sure to replace ALL of them very quickly, if not just shut down the product to compensate for the losses
Reap what you sow; try to cancel someone, get cancelled yourself
One of their largest adverts pulled their contract?
Well, there goes their pay
If some staff costed me millions I'd make sure to replace ALL of them very quickly, if not just shut down the product to compensate for the losses
Reap what you sow; try to cancel someone, get cancelled yourself
Plague Doctor
Member
I await the day Kotaku uses there unique editorial voice and pure social conscience to talk about Blizzard giving a non apology, changing nothing, and then dropping Diablo 4 a literal second later in a calculated maneuver to distract from the issue.
Wait. They won't do that? Cause they are shills and their 'progressivism' is only punching at safe targets for clickbait traffic and not documented, despotic countries like China?
But Kotaku, I thought you wanted political game articles.... right? This seems like the wheelhouse you profess. "Speaking truth to power"
Oh shit, wait. You are hypocrites and disingenuous as fuck. I am sorry I totally forgot. Carry on.
Wait. They won't do that? Cause they are shills and their 'progressivism' is only punching at safe targets for clickbait traffic and not documented, despotic countries like China?
But Kotaku, I thought you wanted political game articles.... right? This seems like the wheelhouse you profess. "Speaking truth to power"
Oh shit, wait. You are hypocrites and disingenuous as fuck. I am sorry I totally forgot. Carry on.
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Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
Speaking "truth" to any power that will allow their criticism and no power that won't.
What a legacy Kotaku. So stunning and brave.
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Hosam6xavi
Banned
Creative director lol
Shifty
Member
lol wow, I didn't see this.
Shame they didn't establish why sports blogs should be 'speaking truth to power' and not 'speaking sports to sports fans' in the first place.
They certainly are.
Truly suffering for his art, and not in any way crazy.
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StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Exactly. And even worse, they even band together and badmouth the CEO (in name too!) in a tweet. lol. Good luck with friendly CEO communication going forward.
For all your Kotaku writers still there and reading GAF, here's a tip. Stick to posting articles and leave all the ads and finance to others.
Just like I don't think you writers want someone doing accounts payable ad revenue invoices giving you tips how to write an article, don't tread on other people's feet.
You'd think these numbnuts would learn a thing from something recent like the NBA/China debacle where (for sake of money) keep your mouth shut because money pays the bills.
It can be argued, the players should have spoken up because the league is rich and they are all multi-millionaires anyway so who cares about losing some ad contracts.
But for gaming sites, it's in your best interest to keep the money flowing in to pay your freelance "journalism" articles flowing.
Now for those writers still protesting due to personal beliefs, that's fine. Do what you believe in. But when it comes to revenue, corporations and rocking the boat, the company sticks to personal beliefs too.... and that is they will gas trouble makers asap. Even CEOs and Board of Directors acting like assholes will get the boot too.
So for all your Kotaku schlubs fighting the good fight between your clickbait content and the company trying desperately to fulfill ad commitments for an advertiser, good luck finding a new job.
Media works on ads. Even your typical sports commentator doing play by play will man up saying this game or replay is brought to you by...... Miller Beer. Or some shit. Do you really think the commentator or fans really give a shit? Not really. The commentator probably thinks it's dumb too, but it pays the bills.
Lesson learned.
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KiNeMz
Banned
MayauMiao
Member
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Now that is a very stable individual... Fucking hell.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
SJW NPCs are incapable of learning lessons.
GreyHorace
Member
Schreier continuing to fight the good fight. Uses Diablo 4 news to continue to shit on management.
ARCHIVE LINK
LOL I guess he's begging to fired at this point.
ARCHIVE LINK
LOL I guess he's begging to fired at this point.
Kittehkraken
Member
drganon
Member
The guy who carved the slayer logo into himself did it better.
Starlight Lotice
Member
So they got taken down because they pissed off the Advertisers and lost their Parent Company money?
That is as dumb as you can get, and if that article about Porn is anything to go by, then the Company has every right to withdraw their last paycheck AND send them letters for prosecution.
They are really really stupid about calling the CEO out if he just decides to not give them a good reference, or at worst, provide evidence to police of potentially unethical practises of their articles if they are not careful.
Cancel Culture won't last thankfully because at the end of the day "Fighting the Good Fight" doesn't work as your Bosses are in charge of what you can and cannot say.
Good luck finding another job guys, because you could potentially never get another job again as Employers can look at your Twitter/Facebook history now and decide there and then how problematic you are. Bunch of idiots...
Go Woke, Go Broke.
That is as dumb as you can get, and if that article about Porn is anything to go by, then the Company has every right to withdraw their last paycheck AND send them letters for prosecution.
They are really really stupid about calling the CEO out if he just decides to not give them a good reference, or at worst, provide evidence to police of potentially unethical practises of their articles if they are not careful.
Cancel Culture won't last thankfully because at the end of the day "Fighting the Good Fight" doesn't work as your Bosses are in charge of what you can and cannot say.
Good luck finding another job guys, because you could potentially never get another job again as Employers can look at your Twitter/Facebook history now and decide there and then how problematic you are. Bunch of idiots...
Go Woke, Go Broke.
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The Scrivener
Member
Between the "Stick to Sports" euphemism and cutting your leg up, Kotaku are well and truly fucked, comrades. What are we missing exactly if Kotaku/Eurogamer/ResetEra/etc. go down?
Makes me grateful for NeoGAF, a decent community focused on gaming alone.
Makes me grateful for NeoGAF, a decent community focused on gaming alone.
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GnomeChimpsky
Member
He knows he's done at the company. Trying to get fired so he can say he stuck it to the man.
Bert Big Balls
Member
I admit, I don't really "get" Kotaku , nor the drama around it. I've never even really been on their site. I'm aware there was some massive drama a few years ago with them, but can anyone fill me in on the details?
ROMhack
Member
Question:
Am I right in thinking Kotaku used to be a mostly irreverent, like a goofy source for gaming? A bit like GB but more weird and less funny.
I don't have any proof of this but it's what I always imagined them to be like in the old days. They've always had a reputation but only recently did it seem to become about "politics".
Am I right in thinking Kotaku used to be a mostly irreverent, like a goofy source for gaming? A bit like GB but more weird and less funny.
I don't have any proof of this but it's what I always imagined them to be like in the old days. They've always had a reputation but only recently did it seem to become about "politics".
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Ban Puncher
Member
Petrae
Member
He wrote his book. He’ll probably do some e-begging to get by, maybe by teaming up with a few of his soon-to-be-unemployed colleagues to run some loosely-related-to-video-games site that’s mostly about leftist shit.
If he’s so unhappy with management, he could follow his martyr mates at Deadspin and just leave— but he’s too much of a coward and knows that, despite his outward hatred of capitalism, he needs money to survive.
GreyHorace
Member
I cannot for the life of me understand this line of thought. Hating on capitalism? The industry with which he covers is consumer entertainment is fueled by capitalism. The internet with which he is able to peddle his milquetoast lefty journalism? Built on capitalism. That computer he uses? Capitalism. The fact that works and lives in NYC, one of the biggest media markets in the world? Capitalism. Etc etc.
All those goddamn sjw activist/journalist are reaping the rewards of a system they profess to despise. Yet I don't see them taking a stand and rejecting it to go live in a socialist commune somewhere.
Petrae
Member
At least Schreier’s former persons-in-arms at Deadspin had the courage to leave. Whiny “games journalist” here doesn’t have the same courage and instead chooses to take potshots at his bosses and wants so desperately to be fired so he can claim some kind of martyr status.
He’d better hope he can latch on at one of the few remaining places that employ “games journalists” once he gets canned, and that said places don’t consider social media history and past behavior as risks when it comes to the hiring process. Either that, or he’s going to have to rely on e-begging and the generosity of his fellow lefties to survive.
The capitalism that Schreier and the rest of his far left-leaning buddies so desperately hate still has some time to go before it’s in any danger of being replaced by the socialism that they want.
Plague Doctor
Member
So Jason Scheier is upset at the capitalism of his own parent company for greed and silencing political speech in their articles but not at Blizzard for the same fucking thing with a non apology, keeping people fired, and then distraction.
He. Is. A. Fraud. Wow... a lot of so called progressives are really showing their asses right now.
I can kind of accept and understand the people who wanted games to be apolitical from the start as self interested consumers (that's your deal - you aren't a hypocrite. You are just a basic consumer). But the ones who built up a reputation as being socially aware and morally superior like gaming journalists and people on ResetEra turning on a dime with this shit has been hilarious and sad.
So remember this about "Woke" culture. They don't give a fuck about these issues if it hinders their own personal interests and they are not really progressive what so ever.
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Nydius
Member
Which is always the case regardless of cause. They always get caught being "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrites. Some of the loudest voices supporting MeToo ended up being outed as predators themselves.