How come we don't have a gaming news site willing to cover 'leaked' content?

CM30

CM30

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No embargoes, no NDAs, willing to go outright and break any agreements and take black market tips, etc?

Like what The Guardian does in the UK with posting stuff from Wikileaks and blowing the lid on the NSA data monitoring scandal? Or like how the other newspapers here are willing to blow the lid on major things and even willing to go to court to defend their rights as free press?

Aren't there any gaming journalists out there who are... well, somewhat brave and willing to cover even what the companies wish they wouldn't?
 
If I may interject here from a professional experience on the subject, I believe the problem is websites can actually be shut down for doing things like that.

allow me to explain. We, (the review site I work for) have to keep a good name in order to have the developers support us and allow us press passes and such. If we leak the info we can and will be reprimanded for it. Not only could we lose the support but they could actually sue us due to licensing and contracts. It is not worth the risk.
 
That's very true. My boss refuses to post anything without evidence. Plus you need to be wary of sources like 4chan that spread lies like a wildfire.
 
Also it is almost impossible to give citations for leaked content. Credibility is a big deal for any journalist.



That's true. Although I guess things like screenshots, videos, etc might make up for that.



If I may interject here from a professional experience on the subject, I believe the problem is websites can actually be shut down for doing things like that.

allow me to explain. We, (the review site I work for) have to keep a good name in order to have the developers support us and allow us press passes and such. If we leak the info we can and will be reprimanded for it. Not only could we lose the support but they could actually sue us due to licensing and contracts. It is not worth the risk.



The risk of being sued/shut down is definitely there, but... quite a lot of journalists in other fields are willing to take that risk.

Need an example?

Private Eye (a satirical magazine) in the UK. Been sued hundreds of times. Lost a few of them. The editor is the most sued man in Britain. But they keep going regardless:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye#Litigation

And the Guardian isn't exactly a minor newspaper. It still decided the risk of blowing the lid on PRISM and posting allegations brought by Edward Snowden was worth the risk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian#The_Edward_Snowden_leaks_and_intervention_by_the_UK_government

They also mentioned things like certain sites on Tor being shut down and criticise the US government and the NSA.

It's not just those either. A lot of UK newspapers seem pretty... well, determined I guess to do whatever they can to find news and sometimes stir up controversy, legality and big business/government be damned. They do go a bit too far (posting pictures of some enemy's tombstone and calling him evil or hacking people's phones for instance), but they at least seem to have some amount of guts.

Surely someone out there in the gaming press has some level of respect for themselves and their own values? No gaming journalists willing to do things even at the potential risk of their lives like those in other fields?
 
Laws and enforcement are probably handled differently in each nation too, I'm sure. As is censorship, which is why we get a lot of hits on our review site from overseas.
 
It is also an issue of cost as well. If you're going to risk being sued, then you've got to have the funds and the legal teams capable of defending yourself. All of the biggest game review websites like IGN and Gamespot who would have the funds available already have agreements and deals with the major game producers, and wouldn't risk that for the sake of possibly untrue rumors that would put off the game producers. Meanwhile, the smaller review websites who might not have already have deals in place aren't likely to have the resources to stand up to those game producers, and therefore can't risk the legal battles that could ensue.

There's just no sense getting your website taken down and being sued over a few leaked, sensational stories that are probably really hard to verify and may not even be true.
 
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