Official Petition to hire Mike Minotti FT

+1

Take that Fandom. Assuming Mitch wants it.

I'd rather they rehire Jason /Jess

@sombre: It still hurts.

Yeah they need someone like a Jason who isnt so hyperactive and loud to provide a foil to the other big personalities.

No offense to Mitch, but a quiet loud dynamic works better than having all loud.

i really like mike ,but he seems generally happy about his contract status? idk seems like he has his cake n eats it too? personally either way tho i'd rather they hire another video person if only to lighten poor jan's load a bit , i know they borrow GS ppl for help but a full time addition would be better as it stands as much as i like lucy and tam they don't feel like actually part of the site due to the double duty ( by comparison) , hell mike feels like more of it as a contractor .. weird times

Nope, sorry. Too frenetic and annoying.

Jason though...

-1

Rehire Jason or Jess, or add a new full time video person

@sombre Gonna second this. Also bring in a full time engineer for the site like we used to have.

Seconding this. I like Mike well enough, especially his chemistry with Grubb, but Jason and Jess brought more dissent and variety with their likes and dislikes, and in general conversation. As much as I love the current team, and I do, I admit I miss the more divergent takes that used to happen (I'm torn during GOTY conversations, because while I love the lack of personal attacks, I do miss the arguments, as that is when we usually deep-dived into the nitty gritty of a lot of games and really got into the minutiae of what was and wasn't better for the site).

@sombre: nah

I don't understand why someone would come on to the forum of a website and advocate against someone being hired unless that person had done something truly horrible rather than just their style not being to your taste.

I don't think this thread will have any effect on hiring decisions but in some ways that just makes it easier to be polite. I root for everyone who has ever worked for Giant Bomb and wish that as many of them as wanted to have jobs at the site could.

Making content for the Internet is hard enough without people actively rooting against you.

As it is I find it unlikely Giant Bomb will be hiring full time people soon. I still don't even understand the economics of the current iteration of the website.

I have nothing against Mike. If the issue is that he is a tag along with Jeff Grubb and didn't earn his place, then it's a weak argument. This has been going on since Giantbomb's inception. People were never just random hires. The person was already known, or friends of one of the OGs and got their shot. Possibly, Jess is the only example of someone who actively reached out and got hired, and it didn't last long. With that said, of course, I won't say no if any of the old hires returned, starting with Jess and Jason. Though, given what happened, they likely won't return even if given the chance, and wouldn't blame them.

Mike's cool, but he already has a gig.

I'll just join everyone in saying Jason would be such a heartwarming return (and if you're unaware, he's been doing Interactive Distractions with his old friends all year).

@bobbydigital00: You should add a poll, because I hard disagree but don't feel like starting a thread called "Official Petition to NOT hire Mike Minotti FT"

I love Mike and he's fun to have on features, especially blight club. But if I had Christmas wishes they would be

1) Get back into studios. That's right, I'm one of those back-to-office types. (Not really, but the studio is a huge part of what made GB special. It made it seem so professional and not just like a bunch of face-camming YouTubers)

2) Hire Jess and Jason back. Video content requires video editors. And as others have mentioned, their personalities are distinctly different from the very zany-heavy crew that we have now.

3) I guess a distant third would be hire Mitch but what difference would it really make? He's already on a bunch of content.

@yiffmaster69: Is "back to the office" even possible at this point with where everyone lives? Where would that studio even be? They can do special events where they get together and put on a live show but I think the days of everyone living in one or two locations are gone.

Also that conflicts with "rehire Jason and Jess" because at least Jason moved back to Atlanta last time I checked.

@bigsocrates: That was why my second wish was rehiring Jason and Jess because that supposes that wish 1 is impossible and we're going to continue on in this current remote way.

Regarding the studio, I hate to say it but just like any job where people moved during the pandemic, assuming that WFH would continue forever, they just can't do the job anymore if they are not willing to move back.

GB started with everyone living in one area, and then it grew to everyone living in two areas. I don't see why we can't go back to that, even if it means losing some people and taking on new local ones.

@yiffmaster69: I don't actually think it's true that they moved during the pandemic. I think that most of the current crew was hired living where they do now. Dan moved out of the NY area for WWE, not during the pandemic, and I think Bakalar still lives where he used to (I don't really keep up with their personal lives.)

So it's kind of the opposite. Get hired for a remote job and then be told after the fact that you have to move "back" to...where? They also lost the studio space they had when their ownership got shuffled. Does Fandom have studios? There's no central location that makes sense anymore based on where people live anyway.

And I'm not sure people are going to want to uproot their lives to move for a job that keeps laying people off. The average recent tenure at Giant Bomb is not very long.

As for the idea of firing them and replacing them...what is this site if not for its personalities? I realize there has been a lot of recent turnover but at least there is a through line. At least there are people like Dan and Bakalar who have deep roots on the site, and the other people brought along. If you're just going to replace everyone then why does the brand even need to exist? Why not just make a Gamespot studio show at that point?

Yea Dan just moved back to Minnesota so the whole office thing is done.

@bigsocrates:

You're definitely right about Dan. I remember thinking how wildly unlucky it was for him to leave for a new job right before the world blew up.

I guess Jason was really the only one I was seriously thinking of in terms of people that moved away during the pandemic. He and Jeff G, but that's not really relevant anymore. And did Abby move to LA during the pandemic while still at GB? I can't remember. But again, she left of her own volition, as awesome as it would be to have her back.

And yeah I agree, it would be a bad proposition to uproot your life for a job as volatile as GB.

As for the idea of firing them and replacing them...what is this site if not for its personalities? I realize there has been a lot of recent turnover but at least there is a through line. At least there are people like Dan and Bakalar who have deep roots on the site, and the other people brought along. If you're just going to replace everyone then why does the brand even need to exist? Why not just make a Gamespot studio show at that point?

Honestly just having a Gamespot studio show doesn't sound altogether that bad. Yes, GB was a personality-driven site; it started that way with people all in one place. Half the time I watch something on here now it has people I have never heard of (no offense to folks like Nicky or Lex but I have zero attachment to them. Why are they here??)

I feel like GB was a personality-driven site because we got to see everyone organically interacting with one another as coworkers. Unboxing videos in the studio. Wacky setups for Burgle My Bananas and Steal My Sunshine. The casual little personality quirks that would come out on the couch for UPF or Mario Party Party. These are how you get people attached to the personalities of the site.

This is all stuff that has been debated to death already so I'll let it drop. This is a space for shouting out how cool Mike Minotti is, and I think he's very cool.

The personality is still there but the remote working really restricts how those personalities can really, really fuck about. Dicking about with a green screen and soundboard cannot compare to what a studio space and a Telecaster can deliver.

@yiffmaster69: Don't get me wrong, I miss old Giant Bomb a lot too. For years I would go back and listen to Ryan hosted bombcasts. He was the best. But the site has evolved over time and it's not going back to a bunch of late twenties and early 30s guys in a basement in Sausalito.

Wishing for the past won't bring it back. They're doing a studio event right now and if that does well I'm sure more will follow. Those kinds of special events are probably the best we can hope for in the current iteration unless things change.

So as the site evolves it's good to have people who work well in that format. I'm on the record as saying Blight Club is the best thing that current Giant Bomb has going, and it feels like something old Giant Bomb would do. I don't even think the remote nature causes too many deficits there and even adds a bit with the various soundboard shenanigans and other things they do.

Minotti will never be Ryan or Alex or Jason but he's a good foil for Dan and Grubb and that's something the modern site needs. Someone who will tolerate their shenanigans.

@bigsocrates:

Samesies on Blight Club! I like to think of it as a descendant of YOU'RE....GONNA....FINISH IT!

If we're doing wishes, mine would be (besides Jess and Jason and some engineers) that UPFs would have multiple games again. Nextlander does the Grab Bag which is partially the same thing, but the big difference is that in the Grab Bag they just kinda play new games that are in the zeitgeist. I want to see what weird games this crew has found out. Give me back the absolutely demented shit we'd get from time to time (especially from Jason, hence him back).