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Video Game Journalism 101: Ethics
🕑 Added 2025-07-06 17:48:50 +0000 UTC
Welcome to the second session of Video Game Journalism 101. This year-long video series is a reimagining of my college course on video game journalism, media literacy, and consuming content in the age of disinformation. New episodes premiere on the first Monday of each month.
This session, we go deep into the core of journalism, making sense of the complex and evolving ethics that make your media trustworthy, reliable, and in service of the public good. This is the second and final session focused on core journalism principles. Next month, we get into some true video games media history and chaos. You'll see how the earliest video game media of the 1980s established peculiar (and sometimes self-defeating) habits that continue today. And you'll collectively imagine a healthier future for games culture, media, and discourse.
In case you missed the first session, I explained the core tenets of traditional journalism: what it is, how it's produced, who it helps and who it holds accountable, and why you should think of yourself as a journalist even if you never intend to publish a story. You can watch it here.
But today, it's actually about ethics in games journalism.
Please feel free to respond to the video's questions and conversation prompts in the comments. I'll regularly check this post to reply and to nurture conversations.
Reference materials:
READINGS FOR THIS VIDEO:
Rosenstiel, T. and Kovach, B. (2007) The Elements of Journalism, Ch. 1 & 2. Three Rivers Press.
Singer, J. and Friend, C. (2007) Online Journalism Ethics, Ch. 1, Appendix A. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Lorenz, T. (2020, Aug. 28). College Is Everywhere Now. The New York Times. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/style/college-collab-houses-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage)
Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die (https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a3269/to-catch-a-predator/) (Archive link)
Computer and Video Games, Issue 1 (http://www.64apocalypse.com/images/cvg/magintro.htm)
Electronic Games, Issue 1 (http://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/electronic-games-1981/electronic-games-issue-1#.UsXHwWRDuRZ)
READINGS FOR THE NEXT VIDEO ON GAME PREVIEWS:
Preview '89. (May 1989). Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 1.
IGN Staff. (2000, Aug. 30). Smuggler’s Run. IGN. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/31/smugglers-run-2)
Green, J. (May 2007). Crudgel of Xanthor. Games for Windows (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OcacAndlY9L0Txbe3WIPI8bowhn0jJ9MvhiakPy--58/edit?usp=sharing)
Gallegos, A. (2011, June 8). E3 2011: Frogger 3DS. IGN.com. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/09/e3-2011-frogger-3ds-you-cross-the-road)
Mastrapa, G. (2008, Oct. 1). I Survived Four Hours of Fallout 3, Part 1. CrispyGamer.com. (http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2008-10-01/i-survived-four-hours-of-fallout-3-part-1.aspx)
Jackson, G. (2017, June 6). At E3 2017, Black Characters' Hair Looks Better Than Ever. Kotaku. (https://kotaku.com/at-e3-2017-black-characters-hair-looks-better-than-eve-1796139786)
Comments
Nick Hagen
I'm a freelance photojournalist with an art degree (who contributed a photo essay to Polygon waaaay back in the day) so my journalism skills and knowledge have come from my own research and the occasional helpful editor. These videos have been genuinely helpful to reinforce journalism fundamentals, which I did not expect when I signed up for a video game podcast. Good shit, Chris!
Chris Plante
Yes, same! This is my fave piece on the mess and the way people have swarmed it
Joe Moore
I've been seeing a ton of media coverage on this aerospace CEO and the alleged mistress he brought to a Coldplay concert. I keep wondering if this is really newsworthy? Is it of any public interest? Does it violate the do no harm edict? Not a justification of his actions in anyway, I guess Ive just been a little more incredulous about journalism after this lesson.
Alex Duplessie
Really enjoyed this video and the prior one! Looking forward to the next one - thank you! :D
Chris Plante
I finished recording it a couple of days before that and was like... I can't believe how much the basic stuff we discuss here would have stopped that piece from being published
Chris Plante
Adding this to my letterboxd to watchlist! Thank you!
Joe Moore
I'm glad you touched on the suicide of Bill Conradt and linked that Esquire article. I'm not sure if you've seen the documentary Predators. I don't know if it has distribution yet, I saw it at a film festival back in the spring. The doc is essentially a critical re-examination of To Catch a Predator made by a victim of SA and spends a good amount of its runtime focusing on the events that led to Bill Conradts death. It is so far my favorite documentary of the year, but an incredibly difficult and challenging watch. The way the entire TCAP show was framed as this giant altruistic search for justice, but when you step back, it's little more than a public hanging. None of those interviews, the ones where Chris Hansen sits down with the lured predator, are admissible as evidence because the suspect hasn't been read their miranda rights. The sting operations would often target young (18 or 19) homosexual men or individuals with learning disabilities. There was little journalistic value to the program, and all of these police operations could have been conducted without cameras and a huge television audience. It's a tough pill to swallow, especially if you're like me and easily get caught up in trashy, entertaining true crime. It definitely resonates with this class and the idea of ethical journalism. When ethics are ignored for the sake of ratings and entertainment, they can often have catastrophic consequences, like the case of Bill Conradt. Apologies for the very long post.
Paschanski
This episode was so timely I genuinely thought it was a lesson in response to the NYT hit piece on Mamdani 😅
