On journalism
I thought I'd expand a bit on my previous ramble.
Writing is one of those things I could probably do for a living, like for a proper living. I am not half-shit with the keyboard, and regularly come up with text that doesn't betray too much of the routine and automation that goes into producing stuff like, say, gaming news.
Yes, were someone to take all the news I've written in the last year, they would soon pick out patterns. There's the 'look at the great new trailer' standby, the 'game X got a release date' chestnut, and the 'Steam is having a sale' desperation move. Thing is though, the same damned news will repeat in this particular field, with only the names of the games changing. Trying to make things seem fresh day after day is an act that would challenge Siegfried and Roy.
The more interesting pieces will be on things like politics and legislation, or on the ways online gaming communities try to cut down on the dick-butt factor among their subscribers. Sometimes something original happens, and such things are entertaining to write about, and hopefully also entertaining to read about as well.
It is my first goal to report the news as they are, to get my facts straight. If possible, I seek to expand on those facts to add some educational value to the piece. Hyperlinks to articles explaining the hairier concepts are an easy way to impart a little knowledge here and there. A little analysis is good as well, though I try not to go overboard with that as it may muck up the original intent of reporting the facts.
After the facts and the educational content have been established, I try to be entertaining. There isn't that much room for a song and dance routine in a news item, but a few creative twists and surprisingly chosen words will elevate it from the general grayness. This is to help the bitter pill of knowledge down the reader's throat.
These are the basic ideals, to which one could add the goal of not going for the lowest common denominators. The gaming news these days are just stuffed with headlines about 'the goriest game ever' or 'the biggest fleshy jugs you've ever seen on screen'. Sex and violence have always sold papers, and they get the traffic in online news as well. It is a sad state of affairs, but it isn't likely to change much.
I refuse to find my public from the gutter. Sounds lofty, sure, but really it is all about being able to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day. Assuredly, I am costing my boss some traffic, which in turn may cost him some advertisers, which in turn costs the company money. I am not maximizing traffic on the site, and I won't be doing so in the future either.
What I hope to be doing, is bringing in a certain kind of traffic, which will learn to come to us for the main course, after enjoying a light appetizer of tits and blood on the other sites first. You could say I try to be the BBC to the FOX NEWS that the others tend to represent right now. I like to think I do a half-decent job at it as well.
Now admittedly, in a field where the professional ambition is somewhere between none and zero, especially where the higher ups are concerned, my strategy is not one to guarantee me a long life in the business. But, I'm a difficult child, the sort who will do things on his own terms, and these happen to be mine.
Writing is one of those things I could probably do for a living, like for a proper living. I am not half-shit with the keyboard, and regularly come up with text that doesn't betray too much of the routine and automation that goes into producing stuff like, say, gaming news.
Yes, were someone to take all the news I've written in the last year, they would soon pick out patterns. There's the 'look at the great new trailer' standby, the 'game X got a release date' chestnut, and the 'Steam is having a sale' desperation move. Thing is though, the same damned news will repeat in this particular field, with only the names of the games changing. Trying to make things seem fresh day after day is an act that would challenge Siegfried and Roy.
The more interesting pieces will be on things like politics and legislation, or on the ways online gaming communities try to cut down on the dick-butt factor among their subscribers. Sometimes something original happens, and such things are entertaining to write about, and hopefully also entertaining to read about as well.
It is my first goal to report the news as they are, to get my facts straight. If possible, I seek to expand on those facts to add some educational value to the piece. Hyperlinks to articles explaining the hairier concepts are an easy way to impart a little knowledge here and there. A little analysis is good as well, though I try not to go overboard with that as it may muck up the original intent of reporting the facts.
After the facts and the educational content have been established, I try to be entertaining. There isn't that much room for a song and dance routine in a news item, but a few creative twists and surprisingly chosen words will elevate it from the general grayness. This is to help the bitter pill of knowledge down the reader's throat.
These are the basic ideals, to which one could add the goal of not going for the lowest common denominators. The gaming news these days are just stuffed with headlines about 'the goriest game ever' or 'the biggest fleshy jugs you've ever seen on screen'. Sex and violence have always sold papers, and they get the traffic in online news as well. It is a sad state of affairs, but it isn't likely to change much.
I refuse to find my public from the gutter. Sounds lofty, sure, but really it is all about being able to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day. Assuredly, I am costing my boss some traffic, which in turn may cost him some advertisers, which in turn costs the company money. I am not maximizing traffic on the site, and I won't be doing so in the future either.
What I hope to be doing, is bringing in a certain kind of traffic, which will learn to come to us for the main course, after enjoying a light appetizer of tits and blood on the other sites first. You could say I try to be the BBC to the FOX NEWS that the others tend to represent right now. I like to think I do a half-decent job at it as well.
Now admittedly, in a field where the professional ambition is somewhere between none and zero, especially where the higher ups are concerned, my strategy is not one to guarantee me a long life in the business. But, I'm a difficult child, the sort who will do things on his own terms, and these happen to be mine.