Earlier today, Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulus released a considerable amount of e-mails regarding yesterday’s revealed “GameJournoPros” mailing list.
You can read a handful of the released emails (courtesy of Breitbart.com) below, however there will be a link to the full e-mail dump at the end of the next section.
E-mails By Games Journalism Professionals
Andrew Groen, WIRED contributor
“I had a thought. Maybe a bad one. You tell me: I remember a few years back when Patrick Klepek hit on some tough circumstances we all pitched in to get him a “feel better” gift. Anybody think something like that could be appropriate to address the circumstances that have been forced upon Zoe? Even if it’s not monetary. Maybe a signed, joint letter of support from the Game Journo Pros. I know she’s not a member of the group like Patrick was, but I do know that this is part of a broader theme of the industry losing talent to the toxic culture. And that’s our business. In my mind, it’s a joint show of solidarity to match the trolls’ joint show of force … The last thing I think we want is Zoe thinking she’s under attack *alone.* The brain has a way of convincing you that silent people are against you.”
Dan Starkey, Eurogamer, GameSpot, Joystiq, Kotaku
“As the person I’m going to assume is the most irrationally optimistic person here, I like this idea. Small bits of kindness can do a lot, even when found in oceans of shit.”
Andy Eddy
“This is barely a game-industry story, no matter how some people want to frame it. This is a story about a person who happens to be in the game industry and their personal relationships (no matter how it may weave back into “the industry” and however poor the person’s judgments may have been) and public expose of private materials by that person’s partner as revenge, so I don’t think we, as games press, should support furthering the story by commenting, editorializing or even allowing others to ruminate on it.”
William O’Neal, editor-in-chief, TechRadar.com
“Who here hasn’t slept with a PR person or game developer? #AMIRITE”
Kyle Orland, Ars Technica
“I like the signed letter of support idea. Even better if we can get some developers in on that. Anyone want to volunteer to draft something?”
Andrew Groen, WIRED contributor
“I’d also suggest that – if others think the letter is a good idea – we should do this entirely under the radar, organizing it through word-of-mouth and email rather than Twitter. I made the mistake earlier of publicly voicing support and in doing so drawing more attention to the issue. I’d rather not make that mistake again.”
Jason Schreier, Kotaku
“As sympathetic as I am to the horrible harassment Zoe faced, I think this incident has raised enough questions about the incestuous relationship between press and developers already.”
Kyle Orland, Ars Technica
“Silver lining: Quinn is getting a bunch of new Patreon patrons today, apparently.”
Mike Futter, Game Informer
“I would prefer not to be associated with this. It feels wrong to me. I think it feels very off to reach across the fence from journalist to subject in this way. I prefer professional distance, especially given the accusations being levied at us from outside.”
You can view the full GameJournoPros Zoe Quinn e-mail thread dump here.
TL;DR/Author’s Take:
First off, the TL;DR (in bullet points, no less):
- Zoe Quinn and Nathan Grayson do the dirty.
- It is revealed that Quinn and Grayson did the dirty.
- Quinn gets harassed online due to doing the dirty.
- GameJournoPros discusses what they can do to make Quinn feel better because of the harassment she received because she did the dirty.
- The possibility of a sympathy gift/support letter for Quinn arises because of the ramifications of her dirty deeds.
- I feel dirty.
On to my take on things, I’ll try to keep it fairly succinct (Edit: Sorry for the wall of text):
The concept of GameJournoPros is disconcerting. not wholly due to the fact that the group was established, but moreso because of the possibility of collusion and potential corruption of events/stories in or relevant to the games industry, such as the “Quinntaku” scandal and the plethora of “gamers are dead” articles that came soon after the incident.
The mere existence of GameJournoPros is an infringement of basic integrity and ethics. Games journalists (and journalists of any shape or form really, the standard should apply to any respective career field that caters to the masses) should not be given the ability to potentially shape, mold, or manipulate attitudes towards pertinent games industry stories in order to provide sympathy or encourage attacks for or on anybody. Doing so bolsters the possibility of a breach of honesty and ethics in regards to correspondence between the messenger and the recipient.
In all honesty, it’s hard for me to pass judgment on any of the members of GameJournoPros. Why? Because as intriguing as Breitbart’s and Yiannopoulos’ information is, I (and most likely you) simply need more evidence.
Yes, the story is juicy, but it’s not as juicy as it was hyped up to be. For this story to truly allow for the reform of games journalism (transparency, integrity, ethics reform, #GamerGate), more is a necessity.
As this story develops and possibly gets picked up by more media outlets (that don’t necessarily have to be directly related to gaming), hopefully more evidence turns up, for better or worse. Because as it stands, it’s no doubt that the evidence is compelling, even damning to some of those involved, but I don’t want to send anybody to hell if I don’t know the full extent of their sins.
(By the way, in the e-mail dump, not everyone supports the sympathy gift for Quinn, make sure to check out what Game Informer news editor Mike Futter has to say about their idea.)
I’ll update this article (and my take on the information) if, or when relevant information surfaces.
For now, let me know what you think of the information. Does games journalism need reform? If so, how can the industry go on about doing that. If not, why not?
Let me know in the comments section below. As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video games and technology news.
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