A quan t ave cont ent anal ysi s of game j ourna l i sm as a prof essi on
St udent nr : 1917498
Mast er t hesi s Medi ast udi es, Pr ogr am: J our nal i sm
Speci al i zaon: Newspaper Head super vi sor : dr . M. P. St evenson Second r eader dr . F. Har ber s
By Alw in Wub s
19 apri l 2015
VIDEO GA MES IN W RITTEN M EDIA:
MAPPING THE DUT CH GAME JOURNAL ISM LAND SCAPE
1 ABSTRACT
Since its conception, game journalism has been under heavy from criticism from fans and journalists alike for being unprofessional. Game journalism, it is argued, has barely evolved beyond being
‘shopping guide’ to help its audience decide what products to buy, as it neglects to approach the topic of video games from a more socially relevant perspective. This thesis aims to add empirical knowledge and nuance to that debate, which is currently heavily based on observation and
interview. The research presented here will attempt to uncover the diverse forms of game journalism that are present in in the Netherlands and interpret them in the light of debate s about the
professionalism of game journalists through a quantitative content analysis. The results from an analysis of 300 articles about video games, written by three distinctly different media, mostly support the academic criticisms. Special interest game media have not substantially
professionalized past the point of their advisory shopping guide function, focusing heavily on
reviews without attempting to make games relevant as a journalistic topic. They enjoy little
autonomy and indicate no interest in addressing a wider audience. However, the results do
empirically prove the existence of what can be called quality game journalism, writing about
games in a manner that creates more independence and is relevant to a wide audience. The
findings in this thesis thus confirm most criticisms, but simultaneously demonstrates the need
for a more nuanced debates about game journalism as a profession.
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Contents
INTRODUCTION ... 4
1. FROM FANZINES TO MASS MEDIA: A SHORT HISTORY OF GAME JOURNLALISM ... 6
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: THE ESSENTIALS OF JOURNALISM ... 9
2.1. PUBLIC SERVICE: GIVING AUDIENCES WHAT THEY WANT ... 10
2.2. OBJECTIVITY: AUTHORITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO OBJECITIVY ... 12
2.3. AUTONOMY: LIFESTYLE JOURNALISM’S STATE OF PARTICULAR DEPENDENCE ... 15
2.4. IMMEDIACY ... 18
2.5. ETHICS ... 19
3. GAME JOURNALISM: AN ACADEMIC PORTRAIT ... 21
3.1. THE TYRANNY OF REVIEWS ... 21
3.2. LACK OF CONTEXTULIZATION ... 23
3.3. GAME JOURNALISTS: CHEERLEADER PRESS ... 24
3.4. INDUSTRY DOMINANCE... 25
3.5. QUESTIONABLE ETHICS ... 27
3.6. GAME JOURNALISM: BARELY JOURNALISM ... 29
4. METHODOLOGY ... 31
4.1. RESEARCH DESIGN ... 31
4.3. OPERATIONALIZATION ... 35
4.3.1. PUBLIC SERVICE ... 36
4.3.2. OBJECTIVITY/AUTHORITY ... 37
4.3.3. AUTONOMY ... 38
4.3.4. IMMEDIACY AND ETHICS ... 40
4.4. REFLECTION ... 41
5. RESULTS ... 42
5.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ... 42
5.2. PUBLIC SERVICE ... 47
5.2.1. THE FREQUENCIES OF REVIEWS AND OTHER GENRES ... 47
5.2.2. SUBJECT MATTER ... 48
5.2.3. CONTEXT ... 51
5.3. OBJECTIVITY AND AUTHORITY ... 53
5.3.1. DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION ... 53
5.3.2. CONTEXT AS AUTHORITY ... 56
5.3.3. INSIDER PERSPECTIVE AS AUTHORITY ... 59
5.3.4. HIDDEN PROMOTION ... 60
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5.3.5. JUVINILITY, JARGON, WE AND I ... 61
5.4. AUTONOMY ... 63
5.4.1. SOURCES AND QUOTES ... 63
5.4.2. FANDOM ... 65
5.5. IMMEDIACY ... 67
5.5.1. TRIGGER ... 67
5.6. ETHICS ... 68
5.6.1.TRANSPARENCY ... 68
5.6.2. REFLECTION ... 70
6. DUTCH GAME JOURNALISM: A CLEAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEPCIAL INTEREST AND QUALITY.... 72
6.1. GAME JOURNALISM AS SHOPPING GUIDE ... 72
6.2. GAME JOURNALISM NEEDS MORE COMPLEX CONTEXT ... 74
6.3. GAME JOURNALISM IS SUBJECTIVE BUT AUTHORITATIVE ... 75
6.4. SPECIAL INTEREST MEDIA AS GAMING CHEERLEADERS ... 78
6.5. GAME JOURNALISM LACKS ETHICAL CLARITY ... 81
CONCLUSION ... 83
REFERENCES ... 86
APPENDIX ... 92
APPENDIX 1: CODING MANUAL ... 92
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INTRODUCTION
#Gamergate. In late 2014 it seemed impossible to escape from this hashtag, which aims to draw attention to the role of women in gaming and the (poor) ethics of game journalists. The social media hashtag refers to the ‘gamergate controversy’, which was started in august 2014 when two female game developers and one feminist critic fell victim to sustained attacks, organized through several online forums. The attacks were orchestrated by anonymous gamers, enrages by the believe that one female game developer had unjustly received large amounts of attention and praise. As a result they launched hate campaigns that included hatemail and death threats.
Feminist Anita Sarkeesian similarly fell victim to hate campaigns after posting a YouTube video in which she argues women are portrayed poorly in most video games. The online abuse forced here to temporarily leave her home after her address leaked online and cancel a public appearance after mass shooting threats. #Gamergate made it very clear how important video games are to many people and it prompted many media outlets, both those primarily focused on games and more mainstream platforms, to write about video games and its audiences as part of society and not just entertainment.
1Video game journalism also became part of this critical conversation, with game journalists being accused of lacking objectivity and of unethical reporting because of their often close relationships with developers.
The gamergate controversy proves video games are not ‘just entertainment’, but a medium that can become part of one’s identity, and can shape active communities willing to protect their collective identity as gamers, in the most negatively extreme cases resulting even in threats of violence. Cleary, video games nowadays are more than simple ‘fun and games’.
Simultaneously, the controversy raised questions about game journalists and their behavior, with many people arguing game journalists make poor ethical choices by letting themselves be influenced by game makers. This, of course, begs for more academic insight into the (the power of) video games and their passionate communities, but also for more academic insight into the coverage of video games and game journalism as a profession.
As Hanusch (2012) notes in an article about travel journalism, like game journalism a part of ‘lifestyle journalism’, “lifestyle journalism is regularly seen as unworthy of the term journalism and stories are considered more or less uncritical fluff pieces (p. 1)”. However, as #Gamergate proves, games and its communities have developed within society far beyond ‘fluff’. Video
1 See, for example, this article by NRC Handelsblad: http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/van/2014/oktober/20/zij- is-gamer-en-ze-wordt-bedreigd-1429906
5 games nowadays are a multibillion-dollar industry
2, are played by hundreds of millions of people on their smartphones and the video game industry has developed itself to become an important part of many economies, as evidenced by the fact that video games are one of the Netherlands’
‘top sectors’, seen as an important and innovative part of Dutch economy (Betlem, 2015).
And yet, there is little research on how this influential and broad subject is covered.
Scholars and journalists alike heavily criticize game journalism for being unprofessional and closely tied to the industry it covers, but most claims lack empirical support. A greater
understanding of what professionalism means in game journalism and how this is visible in the content game journalists produce is essential however, as lifestyle journalism can fulfill
important advisory and agenda setting public functions (Fürsich, 2012, p. 12), as well as function as a conduit between consumer culture and civic engagement (Deuze, 2009, p. 21). Therefore, a larger and more nuanced empirical insight into game journalism and its practical interpretations of professionalism is necessary to both better understand its position within society and to support or disprove the (negative) claims made about game journalism.
This exploratory research will attempt to take a small step towards expanding the academic field of knowledge about game journalism by mapping the various types of game journalism present in the Netherlands. Therefore, the main focus of research for this master thesis is the following question: “What are the diverse forms of game journalism in the Netherlands, and how may these be interpreted in the light of debates about the professionalism of game journalists?”.
This research connects the available academic research on game journalism with the content game journalists produce by quantitatively analyzing Dutch game journalism on the basis of a framework created from both the academic literature on game journalism and prominent theories on journalistic professionalism by Deuze (2005, p. 447-450) and Hanitzsch (2007, p. 371-379). In order to test the validity of the popular interpretation of game journalists as one homogeneous group of people, a heterogeneous group of media is used, allowing for the discovery of different interpretations of game journalism as a profession. The results indicate that the popular academic opinions on game journalism as a profession are largely supported by the content Dutch game journalists produce. The data does however demonstrate the existence of strongly differing interpretations of game journalism as a profession, reinforcing the need for a more nuanced approach to game journalism research.
2 The video game Grand Theft Auto V alone has made over one billion dollars:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2014/05/13/grand-theft-auto-5-has-sold-nearly-2-billion-at-retail/
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1. FROM FANZINES TO MASS MEDIA: A SHORT HISTORY OF GAME JOURNLALISM
The criticisms towards game journalism’s lack of professionalism are not surprising when taking into account the roots of game journalism, which are closely tied to and informed by both the game industry and fan culture. This basis of fan culture and dependence on the industry has heavily influenced game journalism in its form and practices. A short history of game journalism is therefore relevant, as it shows the problematic development of the journalistic genre and highlights the roots of many of the criticisms the following chapters will expand on.
Game journalism’s problematic development as a journalistic genre is evident from its earliest conception, as it found its beginning alongside the early development of video games in form arcade trade magazines, with arcade video games such as Pac-Man being grouped together with other pinball machines and other forms of arcade entertainment (Wolf, 2012, p. 338). As more companies delved into video games and more arcade games were manufactured, the future of video games seemed bright, resulting in the first American video game magazine in 1981, called Electronic Games (Kunkel, 2005, Herman at al., 2002). Creators Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz used Electronic Games (later Electronic Games Monthly) to share their enthusiasm of both playing and building video games. They had not enjoyed any journalistic education and wrote the magazine as fans, for fans.
During the 1980s, several game magazines were founded, some of which are still around (such as the influential American magazine Game Informer). One of the most popular game magazines to be created in that era (and one that would stay popular among gamers for over two decades), was Nintendo Power, first published in 1988 (Sheff, 2011). Rather than being created by fans as a way to express their opinions, the magazine was published by game
developer and publisher Nintendo, as a way to promote their articles. Carlson (2009): “Nintendo Power was, in essence, an extended advertisement for Nintendo products and services.”
Nintendo Power is credited with having an important influence on the format used by
most specialist game media to this day (Carlson, 2009). It relies on a strong focus on upcoming
and recently released games, as opposed to analysis and background articles focusing on the
game industry rather than individual video games, presented in attractive “glossy spreads”. This
is evident by the fact that most modern specialist game media nowadays still largely depend on
reviews and impressions of video games (Zagal et al., 2009, p. 215). Because of the dominance of
this format, game journalism has always been highly dependent on the game industry as the
7 source for information about upcoming games and access to video games for review (Carlson, 2009). The format has also seemingly discouraged game journalists from approaching the subject matter from a more varied array of perspectives and through a wider range of genres, favoring reviews and news, a limitation that is still dominant in game journalism today (Carlson, 2009).
In the Netherlands, the first game magazine, Hoog Spel, was established in 1990, followed by the oldest still existing Dutch game magazine Power Unlimited in 1993. Both magazines did (Power Unlimited still does) focus heavily on reviews and previews, presented indeed in “glossy spreads” to fill their pages. This also true for most other game magazines published in the Netherlands, such as Official PlayStation Magazine and Chief, usually complete with “glossy spreads” and attractive images, all following the dominant format as stipulated by the game industry.
As the world wide web emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s, it became easier for game fans to, on one hand, gather information about video games (thus being less dependent on game magazines), and on the other hand participate in fan communities. Two or the largest and oldest Dutch game websites for instance, InsideGamer.nl and Gamer.nl, were created by fans (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p. 7). This is made clear by a statement from the editor-in-chief of popular Dutch game site InsideGamer: “I don’t see myself as a journalist, but more as an
entertainer.” (Bergervoet, 2010, p. 27). Many (Dutch) game sites followed their example, writing about games as fans, not journalists, continuing the lack of educated journalism in the field. The interpretation of game journalism as a ‘shopping guide’ for gamers was continued in gaming website (Carlson 2009), continuing the dominant format established by magazines without structurally expanding to more varied approaches of games as a journalistically relevant medium.
In online Dutch game journalism, it is customary to employ only a few fulltime, paid employees to manage the website (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p. 7). In addition to the core team, volunteers or freelancers are brought in to write news articles and reviews. Often, these volunteers and freelancers are fans, not journalists, receiving free games and press trips from the game industry. As such, the potentially problematic relationship between journalists an industry survived online, continuing the debate on game journalism’s objectivity and ethics.
Attempts to change the current model of (online) game journalism, which focuses
primarily on reviews and previews (Zagal et al, 2009, p. 1), neglecting other genres and lacking
depth, have not found much success. In 2004 game journalist Kieron Gillen proposed a new form
8 of game journalism in his influential article “New Games Journalism”, opting to focus less on simple description and evaluation of games, instead focusing on player experience and emotions and as such underlining the inherent subjectivity of a gaming experience. Even though Gillen found support from many game journalists, most game media have not altered their approach to game journalism.
In the Netherlands, game journalist Niels ‘t Hooft has tried to take a more journalistic approach to game journalism with his website Bashers. Although the website existed for several years, ‘t Hooft was not successful in changing game journalism:
“I’m still convinced that there’s a large potential audience for intelligent, adult games journalism, even in a small country like The Netherlands. I just don’t think it’s feasible to get the quality you’d like, and to truly reach out to the public, as a freelance journalist running a volunteer organization, trying to slowly transform it into a business. After 6 years and 8 months, I got tired of this approach. This is why I’ve decided to pull the plug on Bashers.nl.” (‘t Hooft, 2012).
Game journalism nowadays still heavily relies on reviews and previews to fill pages and attract readers, even though most game magazines struggle with a declining readership.
3Most popular game websites and TV-programs still follow this approach to games as well. What becomes clear from this short history, is that the dominant format of game journalism as established in the 1980s is still prevalent today. That format continues game journalism’s close ties to fans and lack of journalistic education on one hand, and the strong influence from the game industry on the other, shaping the critical debates on game journalism as a profession today.
3 The largest magazine Power Unlimited has been in clear decline for years: http://www.hoi-
online.nl/798/Gratis-opvraagmodule.html Many game magazines, such as N Gamer have already been canceled and Official PlayStation Magazine was finally in December 2013.
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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: THE ESSENTIALS OF JOURNALISM
Debates about the professionalism of game journalists occur in the context of a much wider discussion about game journalism as a profession, focusing on the dimensions of ‘good’
journalism and the conception of an occupational ideology (notably Deuze, 2005, p. 447-450, Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 371-379). This research is part of that discussion, focusing on one particular branch of journalism as a profession, which creates the need to discuss the dominant theories on the professionalization of journalism. The discussions presented in this chapter provide insight in the most prominent characteristics and dimensions of traditional journalism as a profession, and how those characteristics and dimensions are interpreted by different types of journalism.
By creating a framework highlighting significant aspects of journalism as a profession, the academic literature on game journalism can be interpreted as presenting a concrete image of game journalism as an occupational ideology. This will directly inform the analysis of articles produced by game journalists, as I will argue that those articles can be interpreted as the practical manifestation of journalists’ professional ideologies, functioning as a conduit between ideology and audience. Therefore, the practical characteristics of game journalism as a
profession, uncovered by interpreting the literature through the lens of Deuze’s ideals (2005, p.
447-450), can be translated into questions regarding content.
Before moving on to describe and interpret the academic knowledge on game journalism, this chapter will first cover the five ‘ideal-typical’ characteristics of journalistic professionalism, as previously described by scholars like Kovach and Rosentiel, who famously identified the
‘elements of journalism´ (2001)
4. These characteristics, Deuze (2005, p. 447-450) argues, are more or less universal traits that form an ‘ideal journalist’, and as such form a journalistic style and attitude to strive for. Those five categories are as follows:
Public service: journalists provide a public service (as watchdogs or ‘newshounds’, active collectors and disseminators of information);
4 In their book, The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel identify nine important elements that all journalists (should agree on). Ultimately, they state, “the purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. To full fill this task: 1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth; 2. Its first loyalty is to citizens; 3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.; 4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover; 5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power; 6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise; 7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant; 8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional; 9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
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• Objectivity: journalists are impartial, neutral, objective, fair and (thus) credible;
• Autonomy: journalists must be autonomous, free and independent in their work;
• Immediacy: journalists have a sense of immediacy, actuality and speed (inherent in the concept of ‘news’);
• Ethics: journalists have a sense of ethics, validity and legitimacy.
The following subchapters will follow the structure of Deuze ‘ideal-typical’ characteristics, supported by Hanitzsch’s (2007, p. 371-379) related theory on ‘journalism culture’. It will become clear the dimensions presented can be interpreted in many different ways, impacting both the form of the articles produced and the journalists’ attitude towards the subject.
2.1. PUBLIC SERVICE: GIVING AUDIENCES WHAT THEY WANT
The ‘public service’ ideal’s goal is to inform the public and be “some kind of representative watchdog of the status quo of the people (Deuze, 2005, p. 447).” Generally, according to this ideal, journalists should strive to create articles that are beneficial to the public. As
‘gatekeepers’, holding the key that allows them to bring information to the masses, journalists should make sure the public gets the information necessary to make educated decisions (Weaver and Wilhoit, 1996). In that role, objectivity and separation of facts and opinions are extremely important, as news should be delivered to the public without being influenced by journalists (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 372).
Hanitzsch (2007, p. 372) categorizes journalism’s public service role in the dimension interventionism. Based on a theory by Donsbach and Patterson (2004), the dimension consisting of two extremes: passive and intervention. The public service ideal as described by Deuze (2005, p. 447), can be seen as passive, emphasizing characteristics such as fairness, objectivity and a detached approach to the news. ‘Passive’ journalists “perceive themselves merely as
disinterested transmitters of news that contribute mostly to vertical communication in society”
(Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 372). In combination with Deuze’s objectivity ideal, this form of journalism culture can often be found in traditional quality journalism in Western (and especially American) newsrooms, as described by Weaver and Wilhoit (1996).
Looking at different branches of journalism, the interventionist approach to journalism
can be clearly distinguished, following a more active form of reporting, for instance as an
advocate or participant of the news (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 373). Especially relevant here are
popular journalism and lifestyle journalism, as video game journalism shows several similarities
11 to these different journalistic genres (as will become clear in the following chapter). Deuze, (2005b), in his research about Dutch tabloid reporters, concludes tabloid reporters take an active approach in their writing – while truth is still an important aspect. Instead of a distant, objective approach to reporting, irony and especially fun are used to “determine quality in this genre of journalism, or even to distinguish gossip from journalism altogether”, (Deuze, 2005b, p. 873).
Despite an ironic, fun approach to writing, tabloid reporters, according to Deuze, do see
themselves servicing the (tabloid reading) public by providing them with information and gossip surrounding celebrities, effectively giving their public, consumers of gossip, ‘what they want’.
This leads to Hanitzsch second dimension relating to public service: market orientation.
Tabloid reporting giving their audience ‘what they want’ is a clear example of what Hanitzsch calls ‘high market orientation’, a different aspect of Deuze’s public service ideal:
“emphasis to what the audiences want to know at the expense of what they should know”, (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 375). This dimension focuses on how journalists address their primary audience, either as consumers, focusing on everyday life and individual needs, or as citizens, presenting them with the information they need to make well-educated decisions and be free.
Popular journalism and lifestyle journalism, which “tends to fall into the category of the popular”
(Fürsich, 2012, p. 13) writing about topics such as travel, entertainment and video games and focusing heavily on review and advice, often fall within the former category (Hanitzsch, 2007, p.
375). However, research focusing on travel journalism, a relatively well researched branch of lifestyle journalism), shows journalists are often clearly divided in their market orientation (Hanusch, 2012, p. 2). Some focus on the fun of travel, trying to excite and entertain, showing a high market orientation. Other travel journalists empathize a role a critical observers and providers of information, signifying a significantly lower market orientation. Because of this divided aspect in travel journalists’ occupational ideology, market orientation is seen as an important dimension of travel journalism and lifestyle journalism in general (Hanusch, 2010, p.
10). Market orientation clearly shows that journalism’s public service roles, more than the other ideals, relate to journalism’s relationship with its audience and its role in society. When
interested in journalism as a profession, the identification of public service roles is therefore one
of the most essential dimensions as it indicates how a journalist defines his professional goal,
whether it be to entertain, inform of convince.
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2.2. OBJECTIVITY: AUTHORITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO OBJECITIVY
Objectivity is seen as a cornerstone of the perceived professionalism of any journalist (Schudson, 1978). Important aspects of objectivity are ‘fairness’, ‘distance’, and ‘impartiality’ (Deuze, 2004, p. 448). As Allan (2010, p. 44) describes: “impartiality demanded of journalists that they
distinguish ‘facts’ from ‘values’ if their respective newspaper was to be recognized as a free arbiter of truth.” Thus, the perceived objectivity and impartiality of a journalist is essential for a journalist’s believability and, as an extension, its ability to effectively fulfill a public service role and thus function as a potentially important part of a democratic society.
For many lifestyle journalists, amongst them game journalists, objectivity is a
problematic concept, as they often focus on the role of the critic, providing ‘judgments of taste’
(Fürsich, 2012, p. 13). In those situations “objectivity is not an applicable value” (Klein, 2005 p.
18). Even though Klein’s argument relates to music journalism, it is applicable to other forms of lifestyle journalism, including game journalism, as both are heavily review based and have a similar history when it comes to professionalization, even though the start of contemporary music journalism can be traced back to the 1920’s (Brennan, 2006, p. 57). As was the case for early game magazines, most articles about popular music came from fans without any
journalistic ambition, rarely utilizing journalistic genres such as reviews and analysis (Frith, 1981.
P. 167), before slowly transitioning into the field of journalism by creating a more societally relevant occupational ideology around reviews.
Klein (2005, p. 4) argues that critics attempt to replace objectivity with authority as a way to make their criticisms acceptable. Nowadays, this is especially important, because “when the object of criticism is popular and accessible, every consumer feels qualified to be a critic” (Klein, 2005, p. 4) and through the internet, every consumer can be a critic. Thus, in order for a lifestyle journalist to differentiate, or elevate, himself above consumers, he must become an authority.
As is also the case with many game journalists, one immediate obstacle Klein identifies is the lack of “paper credentials” (2005, p. 4).
In order to establish an authoritative status without formal credentials, Klein (2005, p. 5-
9) identifies several compensating qualities a critic should possess and display in its articles,
effectively suggesting the basis for an occupational ideology for critics. By using these proposed
conventions, that suggested occupational ideology can emerge, allowing for a recognizable style
13 audiences can identify as authoritative. First of all, reviews, in order to be taken seriously, should be written competently, without grammatical errors and in a pleasant style. Secondly, critics should have a large knowledge of the material and, more importantly, use this knowledge to create a larger context for the described subject. When critiquing or praising a subject, their judgment should be clearly informed and based on strong arguments, to ensure a sense of
‘fairness and objectivity’. Klein (2005, p. 6): “Obviously “good” and “bad” do not refer to an independent reality, but there is a sense that “good” and “bad” are defined by collective standards rather than solely the individual critic’s tastes.” Those collective standards, as
mentioned, need to be established through the consequent use a shared occupational ideology for critics. Klein (2005, p. 8) does note that these qualifications, though shared by most critics – fail to provide the built-in criteria for allowing authoritative criticism, which are gained through formal training.
Hsu (2006, p. 4) agrees with the idea that a sense of ‘fairness and objectivity’ can be achieved subjective genres such as reviews. By using the right arguments in combination with an established and accepted format, effectively an shared occupational ideology, critics should be able claim some form of objectivity, according to Hsu (2006, p. 4). He argues that critics can claim objectivity by using a ‘principled evaluation’, as it appeals to logic and reason. This can be achieved using established standards used for value judgment. Part of a critics goal is to create such an occupational ideology – which, when widely accepted, forms a framework allowing critics to make useful comparisons (Hsu and Podolny 2005, p. 23). It should be noted that reviews can be argued to have a larger function than just ‘providing taste’, as questions of taste are closely connected to further reaching dimensions such as class and identity (Fürsich, 2012, p.
13). Lifestyle journalists, fulfilling a role of importance in “taste culture” (Bourdieu, 1984), “are part of the social negotiation of power” (Fürsich, 2012, p. 13) and are thus, as Bourdieu calls it,
“cultural intermediaries”.
Furthermore, according to Fürsich (2012), basing her argument on earlier research by
Hölmberg and Neuberger (1994, 1995), lifestyle journalism often occupy an important role
within ‘mainstream’ audiences by offering functional information that can be utilized towards
solving problems. Preferably, as advice journalism tends to focus on large (non-expert)
audiences, those problems should exist in the realm of the mainstream, potentially helping a
large amount of people (Fürsich uses an example by Hölmberg (2009, p. 8): health journalism
can affect a large amount of people, as everyone is potentially a patient). Those problems and
the accompanying solutions often subside on a personal level in lifestyle journalism, so they can
14 be solved on an individual basis with journalists taking an active approach towards the solution, creating a direct connection with an audience and as such potentially fulfilling an important function within the public sphere. As a result, lifestyle journalism can also have an important agenda setting ability (Fürsich, 2012, p. 15), informing audiences about potential problems they were not previously aware of and may be affected by.
The interpretation of objectivity as authority, as described above, is a clear example of what Hanitzsch (2007, p. 377) calls an ‘analytical approach to truth claims’. Journalism cultures that take an analytical approach accentuates reason, opinion and analysis, versus an empirical journalism culture where facts are the most important journalistic tool. This dichotomy signifies a clear difference between popular and lifestyle journalism, where they have similarities on other fronts (as shown in the previous paragraph). Deuze (2007), for instance, has shown that tabloid journalists often – although not always - employ an empirical approach to their
reporting, heavily focusing on ‘the truth’, with several reporters arguing this is one of the most important aspects, legitimizing tabloid reporting as journalism. Lifestyle journalism, as evidenced by music journalism (Klein, 2005), travel journalism (Hanusch, 2012) and game journalism
(Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009), on the other hand often focus not on truth but opinion by taking on the role of critic. That is not to say that lifestyle journalism is completely devoid from
objective truth finding, of course. Hanusch (2012, p. 11-12) for instance concludes that
traditional journalism ideals are popular amongst some travel journalists, seeing it as important to provide information on developments in the travel industry, effectively displaying a low market orientation, where others chose to focus more on the fun of travel.
Clearly, it would be a mistake to think any particular branch of journalism as a whole can
be captured within one occupational ideology. Of course it should be noted news coverage is
rarely purely analytical or empirical, generally finding itself somewhere in the middle ground
(Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 377). Furthermore it is important to realize that forms of journalism that do
not value objectivity as an ideal, such as many forms of lifestyle journalism, cannot be simply
regarded as unprofessional and unworthy of further attention. Journalists valuing authority over
objectivity enable themselves to create a framework through which public authority can be
established and can therefore fulfill a variety of important roles within society, as Fürsich (2012)
and others argue, thus establishing authority as an essential part of many forms of journalism’s
occupational ideology.
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2.3. AUTONOMY: LIFESTYLE JOURNALISM’S STATE OF PARTICULAR DEPENDENCE
For journalists to be able to do their job properly, an environment without censorship is required (Deuze, 2005, p. 448). They should be able to write what they want, without having to worry about repercussions. Journalists, thus, should be able to work autonomously, independent of outside forces. According to French cultural theorist Pierre Bourdieu (1998, p. 69), there are multiple ways to enable a measurement of the autonomy of an individual journalist.
The first measurement of autonomy described by Bourdieu is the degree of press ownership (1998, p. 69). This, according to Bourdieu, is related to job security, as large
companies with many publications tend to hire less personnel to fill all their media. As is the case within journalism in general, game journalism also falls victim to clustering. In the Netherlands, for instance, three of the biggest gaming websites and the largest gaming magazine are all owned by one publisher.
5The second measurement focuses on the position of a journalist’s newspaper in regards to collective market of newspapers (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 69). So the more important and highly regarded a newspaper (other news medium) is within the media landscape, the more autonomy the individual journalist has. Often, non-mainstream journalism, such as popular and lifestyle journalism, is reported on as being “less” than mainstream journalism (Rhoufari, 2000, for instance reports on the unequal status of gossip press). Hanusch (2012, p. 1):
“Newspapers are replete with sections that focus on soft news, celebrity news, movie and music reviews, food, entertainment and travel. Such content has often been regarded suspiciously by news journalists and scholars alike due to the assumed higher influence of advertising and public relations interests in the field. Lifestyle journalism is regularly seen as unworthy of the term journalism and stories are considered more or less uncritical ‘fluff pieces.’”
Thirdly, a journalist’s autonomy is measured by the position a journalist occupies within its own medium (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 69). This is measured in both its contractual relationship to the medium (a journalist could write for a medium voluntarily, as a reporter or on freelance basis, for instance) and its salary – Bourdieu argues the height of salary influences a journalist’s
5 The mentioned media being gaming websites Gamer.nl, InsideGamer.nl and IGN.nl. According to the website Alexa.com, these are among the most visited Dutch game websites. The magazine mentioned is Power Unlimited, all owned by publisher Reshift Digital
16 vulnerability to “soft” forms of public relations and the need to write for money (p. 69).
According to Nieborg and Sihvonen (2009, p. 1) major online gaming websites in the Netherlands regularly use young game enthusiasts – often without formal journalistic training – as little or unpaid volunteers, indicating a weak position for those game ‘journalists’. Regarding
‘mainstream’ news media, game journalists usually operate on freelance basis, writing for multiple media and commercial employers.
6Bourdieu’s final measurement of autonomy relates to “the journalist’s own capacity for autonomous production of news” (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 69). Bourdieu notes that some journalists are in a state of “particular dependence”, often relying on other parties for (official) information.
This is often the case with lifestyle journalists, as they heavily rely on products and services provided by various industries, be it interviews, video games or travel arrangements. Lifestyle journalism’s dependence on a particular industry, which often is also the main advertiser for magazines and websites, can make it difficult to remain critical.
According to Klein (2005, p. 98), talking about music journalism, sometimes journalists are unable to keep a critical distance, allowing themselves to become manipulated. Music journalism’s dependency on the industry thus forces journalists to tread carefully in order to keep enjoying the advantages (such as free albums and concerts) (2005, p. 15). Ravid et al.
(2006, p. 204) report similarly on the relationship between film critics and film studios:
“Studios often invite critics on their sets, arrange for interviews with stars and directors, provide them with details regarding the movies, etc. Such sources of information and inside scoops are the bread and butter of the profession. A critic’s career would be in serious jeopardy if such connections were severed.”
According to Carlson (2009), entertainment journalists’ dependence on various industries hurts their development as a legitimate part of journalism, as mainstream journalist often see
entertainment journalists as ‘enthusiast press’, writing only about various consumer oriented product in a positive way. This links to the last dimension of Hanitzsch’s (2007) journalism culture relevant to this research: power distance.
Power distance refers to the attitude a journalist has towards ‘the powers that be’ and can be either “adversarial” or “loyal” (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 373). Mainstream journalism, sometimes described as the “fourth estate”, ideally has an adversarial role as a watchdog.
6This is evident from interviews held with game journalists by a Dutch student for his master thesis (de Nooijer, 2008).
17 Lifestyle journalism, in its role as a critic, ideally straddles that line as in independent actor, praising or lambasting a product depending on its observed quality. However, as lifestyle journalists often find themselves in the aforementioned state of particular dependence, they could potentially be pressured into being loyal, thus becoming “enthusiast press”. Hanusch (2010, p. 10) translates the power distance dimension to ‘motivational aspects’ in his article on the dimensions of travel journalism. This dimension has a more practically researchable
character, as it focuses on whether travel journalists “portray tourism in a celebratory or critical light” (Hanusch, 2010, p. 10), an inherently more content oriented interpretation of power distance.
The short power distance that inherently comes with many forms of lifestyle journalism is often criticized by many scholars and journalists, their criticisms generally based on the traditional professional ideology as described by Deuze (2005). Although valid, Fürsich (2012) argues one could also steer away from interpreting lifestyle journalism through the traditional values of Deuze’s occupational ideology (2005) and “analyze lifestyle journalism for its
connection to the current unique historic socio-political situation” (p. 16), an economy where society is extremely individual, people and goods are flexible and commercial and where private and public spheres are increasingly blurring. From that perspective, lifestyle journalism can be seen a negotiator of social change, as consumer culture and civic engagement are closely related, rather than opposites (Deuze, 2009, p. 21).
One increasingly important practical example of the struggle for autonomy and its
potential influences, relating to journalism in general and this research in particular, is the role of press releases in journalism nowadays. A growing percentage of news stories are based on press releases (Lewis et al., 2008), and as such form an increasingly important source of information within journalism. Academically, this is significant because, according to Jacobs (1999), press releases do not only serve to inform journalists, but also as a covert way to positively influence the way journalists cover the news. In his analysis of press releases, Maat (2007, p. 11) identifies several forms of promotional language used in press releases, including various forms of
adjectives (strong, brand new, most important) and adverbs (considerable, already, worldwide).
Maat, comparing articles published in travel magazines with articles published in
newspapers, found that subtle but clearly not impartial words were generally not found in
newspaper articles based on press releases, concluding that newspaper journalists are able to
ignore the ‘hidden promotion’ (Maat, 2007, p. 33). The promotional language did often survive
however, in articles written by published in travel magazines, With Maas calculating that
18 promotional language used in press release has a chance of showing up in published articles of almost 50% (Maat, 2007, p. 27). Maat’s research underlines the importance of autonomy for journalists, as dependence on outside forces can lead to unwanted influence which, in turn, can negatively influence journalism’s objectivity and authority. As such, the ability to operate in an autonomous space is an important part of journalism as a profession. When debating journalism, and lifestyle journalism especially as it often has close and strong ties to various industries, autonomy should thus always be approached as an extremely significant dimension, directly influencing all other dimensions of journalism’s occupational ideology.
2.4. IMMEDIACY
As is clearly defined in the word itself, news has to be ‘new’. As journalists try to report the news, speed and relevance are important aspects of their job (Deuze, 2004, p. 449). It also implies working under pressure, always striving to release new information to the public as fast as possible (Weaver and Wilhoit, 1996, p. 263), causing journalists to stress the ‘timeliness’ of articles, for instance by writing a certain newsworthy event ‘just took place’. Not only does immediacy as a professional virtue for journalism force journalists to work fast, it also creates a sense of importance in news articles, as it is happening now.
When looking at the role of immediacy in many forms of lifestyle journalism, curiously enough an odd form of ‘agenda setting’ can be discovered. Agenda setting is defined as a process of presenting issues to the public, resulting in these issues as being perceived as more important than other, influencing what people talk about (Coleman et al., 2009). In lifestyle journalism however, the industry (be it the music, film, game or a different industry) is often the one setting the agenda by presenting journalists with review opportunities, interviews and press releases, usually in combination with embargoes to ensure journalists stick to the (marketing) agenda set by the industry. As informing about upcoming products is an important aspects of several genres of lifestyle journalism, journalists will usually try to publish a review on or
(preferably) before the release date, on the one hand to enable their public to make an informed decision on whether or not to buy the game, album or movie ticket. A more economical reason for fast publishing is to not be beaten by another medium: journalists preferably want to have an
‘exclusive’, be the first to publish new information or a review (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p.
3). If that is not possible, they at least try to not be ‘late to the party’, as their reviews and information will be of little value.
Although a sense of immediacy is generally seen as sign of journalistic professionalism, in
19 many forms of lifestyle journalism it may simultaneously serve as way for PR to use game media as a part of marketing. Immediacy thus is closely connected to autonomy, as lifestyle
journalism’s sense of immediacy is often tied with the needs of a particular industry. Moreover, immediacy can be part of journalism’s public service ideal, as news should be presented to the public when it is relevant to them, allowing the public to make informed decisions. Immediacy, therefore, is an important dimension for journalism as a socially relevant profession, although lifestyle journalism is at risk of having its publication schedule dominated by outside forces due to its often high market orientation.
2.5. ETHICS
Ethics, most famously described in 1956’s Code of Bordeaux, focuses on the norms and values of journalism. As Deuze (2005, p. 449) describes: “Although journalists worldwide disagree on whether a code of ethical conduct should be in place or not, the do share a sense of being ethical – which in turn legitimizes journalists’ claims to the position as (free and fair) watchdogs of society.” Although it is easy to think an implicit code of ethical conduct is inherently followed by all journalists, different approaches to ethics can be discovered. Tabloid reporters, for instance, seem to have several, often personal ways of dealing with ethical dilemmas (Deuze, 2005b). One editor in Deuze’s research mentions articles sometimes are not published because they would deal too much damage to a celebrity. Another reporter takes a more personal ethical approach, indicating he want to be able to look in the mirror and say “I have not hurt somebody today” (p.
870).
Although there is no such thing as a documented ‘code of ethics for lifestyle journalists’, most lifestyle journalists would probably agree to having certain (unwritten) personal guidelines.
Most ethical codes, such as the ‘Code voor de Journalistiek’
7by the Dutch Association of Journalists and the Code of Bordeaux
8by the International Federation of Journalists, contain comparable principles, focusing on aspects such as reporting the unbiased truth and avoiding discrimination. The majority of these principles seem logical and undisputed, however two specific principles in the ‘IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists’ (2008) are potentially problematic when looking at lifestyle journalism: “The journalist shall not suppress essential information” and “The journalist shall regard as grave professional offenses the acceptance of a bribe in any form in consideration of either publication or suppression.” As
7 http://www.nvj.nl/ethiek/code-voor-de-journalistiek
8 http://www.ifj.org/en/pages/journalism-ethics
20 lifestyle journalism is often trapped in a state of particular dependence, they are forced to accept ‘help’ from various industries, for instance in the form of free games, movies or travels.
This could be seen as the ‘acceptance of a bride’. Moreover, neglecting to mention these outside influences could be regarded as suppressing essential information.
In their analysis of game reviews, Zagal et al. (2009, p. 220) mention reflection is usually absent from the genre. Although most game journalists may argue a reflective aspect is
unnecessary, the fact that the game industry, as do other industries, usually freely hands out products to review, as well as press trips and sometimes goodies (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p. 6), suggests otherwise. As Nieborg (2011) notes in a newspaper article: “The idea that the game industry collectively spends hundreds of millions of dollars to treat reviewers without this having any effect, is hopelessly naïve.” This also brings up the ethical issue about the acceptance of these ‘treats’. A popular argument by lifestyle journalists is that they would not be able to inform the public about the quality of reviewed products if they were to decline free games, exclusive screenings, albums, et cetera. However, that game journalists historically have often started out writing about games as fans who would likely be very happy to accept goodies and games (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p. 1). Hall (2003): “The print and online publications that cover video games often employ fans who unwittingly make poor ethical choices.” Interestingly, it should be noted that Hanusch (2012), in his research on Australian travel journalists, found that reporters with a journalism education were far less likely to believe that “accepting gifts of higher than normal value is wrong” (p. 10) than reporters without any formal training. He argues this may be because journalists with training are more likely to think they can stay objective and untouched by outside influences, although there is no evidence supporting this theory. This research shows importance of a critical analysis of ethics in journalism in general, and lifestyle journalism specifically. As lifestyle journalism often heavily depends on various industries, attention should be paid to journalists’ approach to situations where ethical questions are in play, both in the way they handle those situations and how their actions are reflected in their texts. The gamergate controversy, briefly discussed in the introduction, is practical evidence of the importance of a clear and transparent ethical conduct. When journalists’ ethics are
questioned, they lose their perceived authority, resulting in the inability to function in an influential and socially relevant role and thus lose their ability to properly practice their
profession. This highlights the notion that all five highly interrelated dimensions discussed in this
chapter are essential to any debate on journalism as a profession, with all dimensions attributing
to journalism functioning as a contributing part of society.
21
3. GAME JOURNALISM: AN ACADEMIC PORTRAIT
The framework created in the previous chapter, based on theories focusing on journalistic occupational ideology by Deuze (2005) and Hanitzsch (2007), highlights five essential aspects of journalism. This framework on the ideals of journalism is useful when discussing the academic debates game journalism, as it allows the academic literature to be interpreted in terms of occupational ideologies. Analyzing the available literature on game journalism as relating to those theories both connects game journalism to the larger debates on journalism as a profession and highlights specific content oriented characteristics of game journalism. As this chapter will clarify, these practical characteristics directly inform the content journalists
produce, and will lead to the creation of a coding scheme that allows that content to be analyzed and interpreted in the light of the debates about professionalism.
Regarding the available (academic) literature about game journalism specifically, and entertainment and lifestyle journalism more broadly, several largely shared opinions emerge.
Scholars and journalists are often negative about game journalists, arguing its focus on reviews and upcoming games puts them at risk of becoming ‘enthusiast press’. Moreover, it is argued, the neglect of genres and topics stunts the growth of game journalism into a socially relevant part of journalism. These arguments will be explained further in the following paragraphs, loosely organized around the dimensions described by Deuze (2005, p. 447-450).
3.1. THE TYRANNY OF REVIEWS
Where game journalism began as an extension of fan practices (Kunkel, 2005), it arguably moved closer to a normative definition of journalism by taking on the role of ‘gatekeeper’ with
publications focusing on reviews and news on upcoming video games, controlling what
information, and more importantly how that information, reaches its audience (Nieborg and
Sihvonen, 2009). This signaled the conception for an occupational ideology for game journalism,
with game journalism collectively adapting the format of the ‘glossy’, fulfilling an advisory and
informative public service role by helping gamers make the right purchases through reviews and
learn about upcoming games. This clearly indicates an active, or in Hanitzsch’s (2007, p. 372)
terms, interventionist approach to reporting, emphasizing an opinion based style. In academic
literature the focus on reviews is often seen as a negative characteristic of game journalism (see
Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, for instance), but Fürsich (2012) argues this potentially allows
lifestyle (and thus game) journalists to position themselves as “arbiters of taste”, becoming part
22 of the larger “social power negotiation” as consumerism and citizenship are closely related, allowing for lifestyle journalism to fulfill an influential role in society. Lifestyle journalists, thus, can elevate their position as simple ‘shopping guides’ into a role where they not only assist their audience with buying a great game or album, but also with creating a strong social position by informing about and potentially shaping the cultural ‘ins and outs’.
As the current (review oriented) format has been dominant since the 1980’s and has barely changed, it has resulted in many journalistic genres, such as analytical or reflexive articles, being underused (Thomas, 2009, p. 97-99). Though the genre-use of game journalists has not been conclusively researched, Nieborg and Sihvonen do conclude that “the occupational ideology of the game journalist has not evolved beyond gatekeeping (2009, p. 7).” Zagal et al.
(2009, p. 1) also claim that game journalism often neglects to look past the genres of the review and preview. As such, game journalists rarely assume professional roles such as the interpreter - analyzing and interpreting information for the benefit of the public (Weaver and Wilhoit, 1996), limiting the ways in which game journalism offers a public service. While they do inform gamers about the quality of games, they ignore journalistic genres that could inform the public more, and, arguably, better.
Game journalism is seen as having a high market orientation (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 375) interacting with its audience as consumers instead of citizens. From this perspective, game journalism cannot be connected to Hölmberg and Neuberger’s (1994, 1995) ideas of lifestyle journalism fulfilling an important advisory role for mainstream audiences, focusing on broad problems that (potentially) affect a large audience and can be solved on an individual basis, with game journalists mostly focusing on reviewing singular games that affect only a limited audience with little to no problem-solving. Jenkins, however, argues that game journalists do have “the potential of reaching a broader public, of having a greater cultural impact, of generating more diverse and ethically responsible content (2005, p. 190)”. This aspect, according to Jenkins, is currently largely missing in game journalism. Utilizing a wider variety of genres (focusing less on evaluation), subjects and different styles of writing would allow game journalism to reach a larger audience and develop more public service roles through which video games are not only reviewed, but also interpreted and contextualized within society. This allows audiences to develop a larger and more socially relevant understanding of video games. The practical use of genre, evaluation, subject matter and context thus directly relates to game journalism’s
adoption of different and arguably more influential public service roles. This underlines the need
23 for empirical research on how these elements are utilized in the articles game journalists
produce.
3.2. LACK OF CONTEXTULIZATION
Jenkins’ (2007, p. 190) argument that game journalists need to utilize a greater variety of genres, in combination with a stronger focus on contextualization, is echoed by journalist Klosterman (2006). He argues game journalists often lack the ability or simply neglect to give meaning to video games in a context greater than the medium itself, holding back the video games as a legitimate part of journalism and society. A large amount of knowledge of the material used to create a larger context is important to achieve a sense of authority in reviews (Klein, 2005, p. 6) and as a framework through which products can be fairly judged, as Hsu and Podolny (2005, p.
23) suggest, but contextualization outside of entertainment media could result in a lower market orientation and a more prominent place within journalism trough the ability to develop a wider variety of public service roles.
Zagal et al. (2009, p. 220), in their analysis of game reviews, found that game journalists often do contain some level of contextualization. Generally, that contextualization takes the form of references to other games or other entertainment media such as movies or music. It should be noted that the contextualization of games in reviews does not seem to go beyond entertainment media, thus neglecting to contextualize games within society (Zagal et al., 2009, p. 219). This, according to Klosterman (2006) and others, is problematic. He likens video games and game journalism to pre-1960’s rock music and music journalism, when the importance of rock music in society was largely ignored. According to Lindberg et al. (2005, p. 69) it was not until the massive influence of the Beatles and a rapidly changing society in the 60’s that music journalist professionalized, paying more attention to historical and societal contexts of music.
Klosterman (2006) argues game journalism needs to undergo a similar development in order for
games to become a more widely accepted journalistic topic, helping game journalists to gain
more authority and autonomy, and allowing a wider array of genres and subjects when writing
about video games: “If nobody ever thinks about these games in a manner that's human and
metaphorical and contextual, they'll all become strictly commodities, and then they'll all become
boring (Klosterman, 2006).” Analysis of the types of context used in game journalism is thus
relevant to this research, as context is reflective of journalism’s state of professionalism, with
the ability to establish both authority and a variety of informative public service roles through
the use of various types of context.
24
3.3. GAME JOURNALISTS: CHEERLEADER PRESS
As previously stated, objectivity in lifestyle journalism, focusing on review and advice, is problematic. Authority is often being a more applicable criterion (Klein, 2005), with journalists proving themselves to be knowledgeable, trustworthy and independent, thus taking an
analytical approach to ‘truth claims’ by focusing on reason and opinion (Hanitzsch, 2007, p. 377).
However, Carlson (2009) argues lifestyle journalists’ dependence on various industries hurts their development as a legitimate part of journalist to such a degree that mainstream journalists often see them as ‘enthusiast press’, writing only about various consumer oriented products in a positive way. “The label carries the connotation that video game journalists who belong the enthusiast press are not ‘real’ journalists (Carlson, 2009)”, indicating that ‘traditional’ journalists regard game journalism as failing to live up to mainstream journalism’s occupational ideology.
That argument is supported by journalist Gillen (2004), arguing that game journalists are often more ‘promotors’ of video games than objective critics. As such, the potentially influential advisory public role associated with the practice of reviewing is replaced by one of the promotor or, as Klein (2005, p. 13) puts it, cheerleader. Historically, as magazines have limited space, it is likely game magazines were and possible are more “cheerleader than gatekeeper”, as was the case with early music journalism (Klein, 2005, p. 13; Schüren & Katz, 2012). According to Klein (2005, p. 12), music journalist chose to mostly include positive stories in their magazines, focusing on albums and artists people should know, as opposed to focusing on inferior albums and artists. It is likely this was the same for early game journalism, created by game lovers, although there is no academic evidence to support this theory. The theory is supported
however, by the fact that the early conception of game journalism’s format, focusing mostly on reviews and previews, can be traced back to industry published magazine Nintendo Power, one most popular early game magazines (Carlson, 2009). The idea of game journalists as cheerleader resonates with Hanusch’s (2010, p. 10) motivational dimension of travel journalism, with game journalists choosing to portray video games in a celebratory light, versus a more critical
approach, potentially impact journalists’ perceived sense of authority.
As stated earlier, a perceived sense of authority is essential for many lifestyle journalists’
to function properly in their profession (Klein, 2005, p. 5-9). One way they can achieve an
authoritative status, is by possessing and displaying a large knowledge of the material to be seen as authoritative. I will argue this can achieved, at least in part, by proving mastery of the
‘industry lingo’, indicating familiarity with the area. Similarly, Zagal et al. (2009, p. 220) found
25 that game reviews often contain passages where the choices made by the designers are
hypothesized, showing ‘insider perspective’, proving the critic has intimate knowledge of the game development process. Both elements can be used by game journalists to prove themselves knowledgeable, however, when not properly explained, have the potential to drive away less informed readers. Therefore, it is potentially problematic that game journalists often do not take into account a less informed audience (Ribbens and Steegen, 2012). This is understandable, as most specialized gaming websites and game magazines are aimed towards ‘hardcore’ gamers who are used to words and abbreviations like ‘FPS’ and ‘screen tearing’. Ribbens and Steegen note: “Game journalists who cater to the heavy gamers might miss their goal in targeting an audience which is decreasing proportionally, while writing for the common denominator might create a disappointed audience of core gamers (2012, p. 217).” Despite this struggle, their research showed that most game journalists still like to use jargon. The use of jargon does not only directly influence authority, assisting in the formation of a specialized occupational ideology, it is also exemplary of game journalism’s limited public service role. The heavy use of jargon disables journalists from reaching a larger audience, which is necessary in order to establish video games and game journalism as a legitimate and widely accepted part of society (Klosterman, 2006).
Apart from a heavy use of lingo, game journalists have a reputation of being unprofessional in their writing, partially because of a juvenile use of words (Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009, p. 2; Ribbens and Steegen, 2012, p. 215). Journalist Buffa (2006) argues game journalism’s juvenile image undermines it credibility, because “ language is not only important in persuading reader but also in shaping the social status of a medium or genre”, as Ribbens and Steegen (2012, p. 212) put it. As such, the use of juvenile words such as ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’
could be considered unprofessional as they are, of course, in no way part of mainstream journalism’s occupational ideology. Analysis of the textual elements discussed can thus give an indication of the degree to which game journalists limit their audience in an attempt to create the authority needed to combat the notion of ‘cheerleader press’.
3.4. INDUSTRY DOMINANCE
Bourdieu defines four measurement of autonomy (1998, p. 69), as described in the previous
chapter. When analyzing the academic research on game journalism, it becomes clear game
journalist are perceived to have very little autonomy, especially in terms of press ownership and
the ability to produce news autonomously. Nieborg and Sihvonen note game journalism is often
26
“highly concentrated in terms of ownership” (2009, p. 6), with a handful of publishers owning almost all major media. Currently, in the Netherlands, three of the most frequented gaming websites and the largest Dutch gaming magazine, are all owned by the same publisher. The position of the journalist’s newspaper in regards to the collective market of newspaper is harder to measure, and it is beyond the scope of this thesis to map the entire field of game journalism.
It is possible however, to discern the relative popularity of (Dutch) game websites and magazines by looking at its daily visitors and monthly circulation.
9, 10Although this does not reveal to what extent these game media are held in ‘high regard’, it is very informative to realize what online media are able to attract the biggest audience, as it is likely those platforms are also most important to the game industry and as such may have more ‘pull’.
The position of the journalist within its own medium, again, is hard to clearly define without empirical research. Nieborg and Sihvonen (2009, p. 1) do create the image of a weak position of most of the workforce for gaming website by arguing that major online gaming websites in the Netherlands regularly use young game enthusiasts – often without formal journalistic training – as little or unpaid volunteers or freelancers, indicating a weak position for those game ‘journalists’. Game journalists writing for ‘mainstream’ news media usually operate on freelance basis, writing for multiple media and commercial employers (de Nooier, 2008).
11Most problematic for the autonomy of game journalists seems to be their relationship with the game industry, according many scholars and game journalists (for instance Nieborg and Sihvonen, 2009; Carlson, 2009). Bourdieu’s “state of particular dependence” (1998, p. 69) is therefore applicable to game journalism, as Carlson (2009) notes that game journalism is heavily dependent on the game industry as it acts both as the primary source of information and the primary source of income through advertisements. Nieborg and Sihvonen agree: “The game industry’s intermingling with game magazines has been rather systematic from the beginning (2009, p. 1).” This is evidenced by a strong reliance on reviews, previews and news, genres that often necessitate help from the game industry in the forms of free games, press trips and press releases.
9 Web Information Company Alexa ranks websites per country based on their daily visitors and page views.
According to Alexa, the most popular Dutch game website are Gamekings.tv (1376), XGN.nl (3139), PU.nl (3230), Gamer.nl (3423) and InsideGamer.nl (3568): http://www.alexa.com/
10According to the Dutch institution for media auditing, HOI, the only remaining Dutch magazine has a monthly circulation of 28,346, which has been steadily declining. All other game magazines available in the Netherlands are Belgian (multiple Dutch magazines were cancelled in 2013). Circulation figures of those magazines are not publicly available: http://www.hoi-online.nl/798/Gratis-opvraagmodule.html
11This is evident from interviews held with game journalists by a Dutch student for his master thesis (de Nooijer, 2008).
