There has been a lot of hubbub lately regarding this subject, and so that this thread doesn't get deleted immediately, let's avoid any specifics surrounding said hubbub, and keep this on topic.
We all want journalistic integrity in our reporting, at least that is what the internet at large is screaming about. This means that there needs to be a total separation between the media and industry, and in the young gaming industry, personal/professional separation seems to be incredibly difficult. Relationships are formed due to shared interest and people are constantly jumping the line between media and industry. I can't think of any other business sectors where this is so prevalent. Rarely do people in the automotive industry jump from their job at Road & Track to get a job in the Ford marketing department. Product engineers at Samsung don't often have B of J or English degrees.
As much as the press would like to say that personal relationships are personal and not the public's business, there is always a very good chance of a future business transaction happening with their friends. When a member of the press gives any sort of coverage to a game, this is a business transaction. The developer benefits in a business sense from this transaction, as does the publication. If you have a personal relationship with this person, then this is a case of nepotism, and something that can potentially damage the credibility of the coverage. It is a big industry, and this coverage could have been given to a multitude of other games currently in development or for sale. Was this coverage deserved or the result of a relationship? As hard as the press might try, it is impossible to be completely impartial when it regards a close friend.
So we all are crying for a separation between industry and press, but here at GB we have benefited a great deal from industry/press relationships. The teams relationship with Kasavin resulted in Building the Bastion, which I personally enjoyed a great deal. While Jeff decided that he wouldn't review the game because of the previous relationship, Supergiant has still benefited in a very real monetary sense from the large amount of coverage that Bastion received on this site. Supergiant Games received extra press coverage due to a personal relationship, which resulted in the company generating revenue it normally wouldn't have. I can say this with absolute certainty, as I personally wouldn't have bought the game without the coverage it received from this site. Brad Muir has had a lot of direct support from members on this site, including from me. My donating to Muir's kickstarter was a result of the relationships he has with the editors here. There are a lot more examples, including some of our favourites like Dave Lang, John Vignocchi and John Drake, to name a few.
So that brings us to our dilemma - I love having Lang, Kasavin, Muir, Vignocci, and others on the live shows and so on, and this wouldn't happen without these personal relationships. But money is indirectly changing hands, and nepotism is abound. Would Lang have the opportunity to promote Divekick without his personal relationship with the Giant Bomb editors? Nepotism is common in every industry out there, but journalists are supposed to be impartial, aren't they? We trust them to give us purchasing advise, and fair, even, coverage of the industry, no matter who is involved. At least we are supposed to?
Is it worth the entertainment we get from these characters? I know I personally love it. What does the industry give up integrity-wise from these relationships? How does the rest of the world view this industry? Are gaming sites just hobby sites, and the editors just writers, not journalists?
I know it's impossible to control who becomes friends with who, but where is the line drawn? Should members of the press directly contribute money to friends projects through crowd-funding? Should editors recuse themselves from any coverage of friends games? An opinion piece arguably gives just as much coverage as a full review these days.
These are hard questions, and will need to be faced for this industry to mature. I'd like to hear everyone else's thoughts.
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