Introducing...PressSpotting!

"Is that supposed to be like the old GameSpotting columns?"

"Is that the best you could come up with?"

These are just some of the questions that I get asked all the time by the imaginary people in my head. Or they would be, if those people knew about the existence of the column before this introductory effort. Which they probably did, because they're inside my head...

Anyway, here are the answers to some more questions the voices in my head ask me all the time, presented here to let you new readers know what this little corner of the Web is all about. (By the way, we almost called it "Write Only Media" and "Street Writer II," so count your blessings.)

So what's this column about?
It's about the video game media: the journalists, reviewers, and pundits who write about, talk about, or even act out silly skits about the games that you love. Each week, this column will tackle the game-media apparatus from a variety of angles, from business and ethics to interaction with the larger industry. It will feature interviews with the biggest names in the game journalism arena, reviews of relevant media outlets, and features on larger issues that surround the game journalism community. In short, PressSpotting looks at the people who look at video games for a living.

What qualifies you to write this column?
Nothing really, other than the fact that I've been doing something like it for a while now. I started writing about games back in 1997 with Super Mario Bros. HQ, but I first analyzed the game media publicly back in 2003 when I started the Video Game Ombudsman blog as a journalism student at the University of Maryland. That blog eventually morphed into the slightly more professional Video Game Media Watch (still running under different management), and then into a run writing GameDaily's weekly Media Coverage column for the past year plus. I see this column as a continuation of that tradition.

I'm also a part of the game media myself, writing as a full-time freelancer for basically anyone who will pay me. This includes a regular blogging gig at Joystiq, a podcast for NPR, and one-off articles for a wide variety of outlets (including GameSpot, actually). I was also part of a group that put together a self-published video game journalism handbook, showing both that I spend way too much time thinking about game-writing minutiae and that I'm absolutely no fun at parties.

You're a freelancer? Doesn't that present a pretty big conflict of interest?
Sure it does. Every outlet I cover is by definition a current or potential employer, so new readers could be forgiven for thinking I might be pulling my punches. But I feel that through my years of writing on these topics I've shown a willingness to remain independent and call things like I see them. I can be pretty harsh on occasion, but I try above all to be fair in my criticisms, and I like to think I succeed for the most part. I also try very hard to note in the text whenever I explicitly mention an outlet that I write for regularly.

But being a freelancer has its advantages too. At this point I feel I know the ins and outs of the game media business without being co-opted by a full-time position at any one outlet (and the ceaseless media-machine grind that goes with it). Being a freelancer also lets sources at a variety of game media outlets talk to me without fear that I'm a spy for the competition. As a freelancer, my reputation is all I have, and I work hard to protect it.

How will you cover GameSpot itself?
Just like I have in the past. Just because I'm on GameSpot's freelance payroll doesn't mean I'm beholden to them. This column will remain a completely independent look at the world of the game media. The text will be edited for clarity and whatnot by longtime GameSpot news editor Tor Thorsen, but he's assured me that such edits will not have an impact on editorial decisions.

If I want GameSpot's comment on a story, I'll go to them for an on-the-record quote just like I would for any other outlet. When asked for comment, Thorsen confirmed this unequivocally. "That's right," he said. "Just like any other outlet."

Yes, theoretically, GameSpot could decide to stop running my column if they don't agree with something I'm writing, but I really don't see that becoming an issue. Plus, that strategy wouldn't stop me from publishing it somewhere else, so it really wouldn't work.

What do you think of the whole Gerstmann-gate thing?
Well, my reporting on the affair as it unfolded can be found on this Joystiq page, and my on-the-record summary thoughts after the fact can be found in this Media Coverage column. Off the record, I've heard a lot of conflicting reports from people in the know, which, obviously, I can't share with you. What I will say is that I believe the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle (see above).

What is pretty inarguable is that the affair was handled poorly (to put it mildly), and GameSpot is going to have a hard time regaining the trust of a large segment of the reading public, fairly or unfairly. [Hopefully this column with help with that.--ed.] That said, I wouldn't let this column live on GameSpot if I truly believed they let advertising decisions trump editorial decisions.

How can we get in touch?
See something in the video game press that rubbed you the wrong way? Read an especially good review that you want highlighted? Got a question for a specific journalist (or the journalism apparatus in aggregate)? Send a note to kyle.orland@gmail.com and maybe it'll get covered here! Lucky you!

NEXT WEEK: Actual stuff about game journalism and not about me.