Wed, Oct 31, 2012 | 19:33 GMT
Doritosgate – after the storm, lets clean ourselves up
Scottish writer Robert Florence sparked a series of events that brought “games journalism” to its knees last week. Patrick Garratt says the time has come for an indelible line to be drawn between the industry and the media.
I’m glad Doritosgate happened, even though many people in the UK games journalism trade have had a terrible week. It’s been a long time coming, but we now have to openly accept that cosying-up to the people selling the products on which we’re reporting is blatantly unethical.
Towards the end of last year, I became so uncomfortable with VG247′s general relationship to the games trade that we had serious discussions internally about dropping all contact with the PR process treadmill. We are not “corrupt,” but our audience – over 1.3 million unique users in October, more than 3.5 million YouTube views per month – has grown to the point that we are now on almost every list for every publisher event. I had just been abroad with a large publisher, and the level of hospitality was cringeworthy. We got some great content as a result, but a large amount of money had been spent on the trip and there was open pressure from PR and marketing surrounding some of the output. We could hardly complain: we’d taken the shilling simply by being there.
Some weeks later I was having dinner with another journalist on another press trip. I raised my concerns, and this person dismissed them, saying that I was “intelligent,” and therefore wasn’t likely to be swayed by publisher PR spend. That we shouldn’t be so lavished upon by the companies selling the games we’re writing about was scoffed at. This person produced no content from that trip, then went on what I can only describe as a holiday with another publisher a few weeks after.
I didn’t reach a definite conclusion on any changes in the way VG247 was to operate in 2012, but I took the decision that I wouldn’t accept any more flights and hotels from publishers for press trips. I thought we could “play it by ear”. We’d sent a US freelancer to Valve’s studio in Seattle to create Portal 2 launch coverage last year and paid for the flight and hotel, and it didn’t work out too expensively. I wanted to create more distance between us and PR. As VG247 got larger, so did my sense of unease.
The resolve didn’t last long, unfortunately, and I’ll explain why. Firstly, I tried to sort out my own arrangements for a press trip to Rome, and just didn’t. It was expensive, it was to see a single game, and when your own money’s on the line you think far more carefully about getting on the plane. As a result, though, we missed out on some crucial coverage. This irked me, and I immediately questioned whether or not going on all-expenses-paid trips like this really did matter. Everyone else was doing it, and we’d done it for years. Maybe I was just being silly. I spoke to a few PR people about it, and, again, was laughed at. If you’re swayed by someone buying you a flight, it was said, then maybe you’re in the wrong game. If you’ve been watching the violent debates surrounding games journalism over the past week, you may well have seen similar lines trotted out by others.
Secondly, I was invited to the Microsoft Spring Showcase in San Francisco in February. California is a long way away from Europe. The costs really were high, and I wanted to go. There are some trips, I told myself, that it’s important to attend in order to foster a decent relationship with UK PR. Conveniently, it fell just before GDC; Microsoft was flexible about the flight, so I was able to travel from Paris then stay on for the show. Microsoft paid for the premium economy ticket and several nights in the Mark Hopkins hotel. We spent the days at the event working, and the evenings at mass dinners, which were always paid for by Microsoft.
We got a lot out of it. I worked hard. We had content live for the Halo 4 reveal, and we got the first look at Forza Horizon. Given what VG247 is, we should absolutely have been there. Whether or not I should have been there personally is a different matter. And if I should have been there, then I should have just flown myself there and paid for a hotel. It would have cost thousands, but this is my business. This is how we make money. I was ignoring the fact that I could have sent Steph, our US editor, instead. This is what I should have done. And we should have paid for it ourselves.
I made the wrong decision. The truth is that if one performs as part of sponsored trips, one cannot, no matter what anyone says on the matter, remain completely objective. No matter how well intentioned, you are not independent if you operate this way. If you’re not independent, then it seems logical that the content you create under these circumstances can’t be absolutely trusted.
I want VG247 to be trusted. We are not “bent,” and never have been. I do not want anyone to think we are.
The Great Crisp Disaster
I’m not going to go into the details of what happened last week. If you’re not au fait with Eurogamer’s editing of Robert Florence’s article on grey areas between the games press, marketing and PR, and what ultimately proved to be a Sandy-style aftermath, you can get everything that’s been said about it from this post on NeoGAF.
And I’m not going to name names. I’ve read some insane, shuddersome drivel over the past few days which misses the point of both Robert’s article and quite why we should be closely examining games journalism. Some names have probably been named enough. One of them is that of VG247′s Dave Cook – I’m only including him here because unless I do there’ll be some genius in the comments screaming about me wanting to cover up his part in events – and I sincerely hope it’s the last time he sees mention of himself in relation to “Doritosgate”. Dave is, without question, one of the most diligent, dedicated games journalists I’ve ever worked with. Seeing him involved last week over what was essentially a momentary error of judgement was unpleasant. The point lost to many in the hysteria that followed the editing of Florence’s article was that this isn’t about individuals: it’s about an entire industry, about the video games press and the closeness of its relationship to marketeers, about how the line between “enthusiasm” and “advert” has become blurred in some cases to a dangerous degree.
I believe Robert’s piece, and the circumstances around its publication, should be all the impetus we need to make changes now.
I’m glad Doritosgate happened, even though many people in the UK games journalism trade have had a terrible week. It’s been a long time coming, but we now have to openly accept that cosying-up to the people selling the products on which we’re reporting is blatantly unethical. It’s common sense. While I have total faith in both myself and my team, in our passion for the subject and our ability to be professional, I think that, honestly, we have all been professional in an unprofessional situation for far, far too long. While we certainly are independent in mind, we must, at this point, become independent in action. “You have to trust us,” after Doritosgate, is no longer enough.
As a result, I’ve decided to put the following rules in place for our staff, effective immediately. I’m ashamed I didn’t do this last year. I would encourage other websites to follow suit. Several of the US games publications adhere to similar guidelines, but VG247 will be, as far as I’m aware, the first UK games site to adopt anything like this.
- No flights or hotels. We’ll no longer accept flights and payment for hotels from third-parties.
- No hospitality. No more free bars. I mean, I’m sure there’ll be free bars. But our employees won’t be drinking at them. This rule also includes food. As of now, VG247 staff will buy their own vittles when they’re “in the field” wherever possible. If, for whatever reason, a VG247 staffer eats or drinks at the expense of a publisher, it’ll be disclosed.
- Any gift over £50 disclosed. We regularly get sent promotional materials by games publishers. From now on, all “swag” will be either given away on the site or through social media, or donated to charity. This doesn’t include games, or at least it doesn’t include all of them. We need to play games a lot, and the only way we can keep up is through promos.
- No engagement in publisher-held competitions. VG247 staff will never again enter a competition hosted by a publisher or platform-holder.
- Any coverage resulting from press trips to be disclosed. Self-explanatory. If we do decide that we’re going to pay our own way to attend a publisher promo event, we’ll clearly say so in any resulting copy.
- Writers will never report on companies or products in which they have financial interest, or on companies which employ family members or close friends. Most games journalists have friendly relationships with some publisher PR. As of now, those friendships will prevent staff members from writing about any related company’s products. Similarly, our staff will now not write about products and companies in which they have a vested interest: this includes any crowd-sourced projects they may have backed.
- We will always protect the identity of our sources. VG247′s sources will never be disclosed it they speak to us under condition of anonymity. It’s normal that VG247 journalists’ sources aren’t even divulged internally.
- A note on advertising. VG247 is always likely to be primarily funded by video games advertising, for reasons I hope are blatantly obvious. We will never carry advertorial. Our ads our sold by Eurogamer Network’s sales team, which is based in Brighton, UK, and is independent to VG247′s editorial staff.
In reality, these (obvious) rules won’t greatly affect the way we work at all. We don’t take bungs for scores or sell top-slot stories for coke and hookers. Our journalists have integrity, no matter what may have happened in the last week. We try to be good. VG247 is a quality, popular site, and I’m proud of both the publication and its team. What these regulations will do, in theory, is shade any grey areas in our operation either black or white. Our staff will now know what they can and can’t do, and you, as a reader, can feel completely comfortable in reading both our news and opinions and knowing you’re seeing independent editorial.
Like, that’s what you were seeing anyway. Hopefully now there’ll be no question to the contrary.
84 
Posted in: Journalism, VG247
Tags: doritos
84 comments
Older Comments
#51
Dave Cook
31/10/12, 12:01 pm
@50 I think many of them went without saying, so we didn’t have spoken rules in place. But I see what you mean. Rest assured they are firmly in place now.
#52
Robustitron
31/10/12, 12:03 pm
Just registered to say I found a new source of game news.
After dropping Kotaku and the other Gawker blogs, which are essentially caricatures of the Doritos problem, I was left so disillusioned that I avoided gaming news sites for two years now.
Any site that deletes/bans comments consisting of objectively correct, properly referenced factual corrections just because it undermined an advertorial, has no right to call themselves journalists. People who got upset at Polygon’s pizza flop don’t know the half of it.
#53
LuLshuck
31/10/12, 12:12 pm
What pisses me off is that everyone clearly knew it was corrupt but no one has written anything until this guy retires and tells everyone, this should of been written when that guy got fired for doing a bad review on kane and lynch
#54
mistermogul
31/10/12, 12:20 pm
Well done Patrick, an honourable move.
Now… can I have the flights/hospitality please?!
#55
Razor
31/10/12, 12:21 pm
Yeah… all expenses trips, free food, gets to see games early? Where do I sign up ?
#56
frod
31/10/12, 12:32 pm
I wish we could all be honest with each other and call it ‘entertainment reporting’ instead of ‘game journalism’. The latter isn’t something that I think most people would even be interested in, as games are a form of escapism. Unfortunately the former (clearly more accurate) title confers a lot less gravitas, so here we are being shocked by something quite unremarkable in reality.
#57
Dave Cook
31/10/12, 12:36 pm
@56 I tend to refer to myself as a game critic, rather than a journalist. The term journalist doesn’t sit right with me. I am aware that My Twitter profile has me down as a journo, I just haven’t gotten around to changing it.
Should probably do that now
UPDATE:
Done!
#58
Demigod
31/10/12, 12:42 pm
Good policies and may help bring game reviewing up to the standard of real journalism (we can argue about the decline in that another time) from what to my eyes has increasingly been akin to freelance reviewing from the publishers.
However how these disclosures will be done?
Will there be an side box with the reviews/articles or will there just article at the end of the year? While the first may seem a bit over kill and some publishers probably wont like it, the second is a bit sweep under the rug.
#59
ManuOtaku
31/10/12, 12:45 pm
I always clean myself after eating doritos, they let my fingers with a yellowredish colour, nice to know you are doing the same
p.s Nicely done guys, iam proud of being a commenter here and somewhat ,somehow , be part of this in any form or shape, thanks.
#60
ZeGerman1942
31/10/12, 12:51 pm
Great stuff guys! Fully migrated now from Eurogamer to your site. The only site who seems to be honest and serious about reporting games news.
#61
Demigod
31/10/12, 12:56 pm
@57 I would love to see more game journalism though – more articles about how games are made, how developers raise and fall. Instead of just a review and leave a game come back in a few months see how it sold what the public reaction was, ask the devs what went right and what went wrong. Articles about new tech. We all love the unreal and crysis dev vids so interviews about that new rendering techniques etc.
I realize such things would cost money and the demand would have to be weighed but if game critics cant do it who can?
#62
frod
31/10/12, 1:05 pm
@61 Edge do pages and pages of articles like that every month, but most people can’t see past their review scoring policy to even consider reading it, much less paying for it.
#63
DSB
31/10/12, 1:16 pm
Well fuck me.
I wasn’t expecting that, and certainly not that level of aggression.
Proud to be a VG247 reader.
Are you saying that you don’t check the sources though, Pat? Not that VG247 has been involved in any Watergates, but litigation and libel became a topic this week, and it is ultimately the editors job to make sure the research, and the sources hold up before printing.
The editor checking those things is as much a guarantee for the reader, as it is for the people who may or may not be impacted by the article.
#64
Dave Cook
31/10/12, 1:22 pm
@61 I’m personally queuing up a lot of developer profile pieces – Stay tuned for Harada’s Tekken legacy piece soon – as I enjoy reading about how games are made. But there is this weird line drawn in the sand where some consumer sites don’t report on game development as it’s seen as too ‘industry’.
It’s something I’ve personally encountered at previous jobs – won’t name names – but yeah I’m a fan of making of pieces. I’m just not sure they’re relevant to an up to date news site.
There’s always room for us to consider them however
#65
Dragon246
31/10/12, 1:27 pm
@61
That’s what gamasutra is for.
#66
drizzom
31/10/12, 1:35 pm
Hey guys! Just registered and posting for the first time. I’m glad you guys had backbone enough to take a leading step in progressing an important part of this industry.
Thank you.
“One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.” – Chinua Achebe
#67
Gheritt White
31/10/12, 1:38 pm
Can we still be friends?
#68
Mike
31/10/12, 1:44 pm
With the viewing figures quoted in the article, I’m seriously at a loss toward why other ads that are relevant to probably the most market-friendly sub section of society can’t offer a valid alternative to publisher-funded ads. 18-35 y.o. – young single, professional. Loads of money. I’d rather see an ad for Apple, Windows 8, Calvin Klein etc. etc. than see Ubisoft’s latest.
Surely true independence is when your (3rd person) wages aren’t being paid by the people you’re reporting on?
Perhaps naive, perhaps incredibly stupid, but alas, a completely honest quesyion.
#69
Chockster
31/10/12, 1:49 pm
So I guess I’m not getting another trip to Stockholm, eh Pat?
And y’know what, I’m fine with that. I saw how the sausage was made, and it wasn’t as pretty as I thought. (I think Pat will know which bit of the trip I’m talking about.)
Don’t get me wrong, I had a brilliant time on that competition trip, made some good friends and talked games for three days solid. We even got an extra night in an asylum for our trouble, but there were things that left me uneasy about the whole process, and I applaud Pat for his stand here today.
Even though I’ll not win another trip to Sweden.
#70
The_Red
31/10/12, 2:28 pm
This is really great and I’m more than glad to see VG247 staff like Pat and Dave being so honest and humble here but I’m still mad. Even if the original article did get its message across, it was still threatened and censored by some people within this industry and as long as those people still work in their respective publications, I have almost zero faith in anything reported by them (I’m mainly looking a MCV and a certain “law suit education / threat” wielding lady).
#71
fear_itself
31/10/12, 2:50 pm
A little sidebar / side box along the lines of
“The writer of this piece was supplied the following items at the Publisher’s, or their representative’s expense,…. flight, hotel, cup of tea
”
might be useful. That way there’s always a specific place to look for that info?
But, then you’re probably already on this.
BTW – bravo. No one even thought to do this back in my day (I think).
#72
Ireland Michael
31/10/12, 4:16 pm
Am I the only one who thinks the first rule really isn’t necessary (flights and hotels)
Just be honest in your opinions, and if publishers react negatively to it, that’s their prerogative. It’s simply something you can’t avoid. I honestly don’t see why it’s hard to remain objective in that situation.
Just be sure to put a disclaimer at the end of your pieces. That’s worked for me for years.
#73
ooQoo
31/10/12, 4:33 pm
resistered. bookmarked.
hope springs eternal.
#74
Dave Cook
31/10/12, 4:37 pm
@73 welcome
Hope you enjoy your stay.
#75
simsum
31/10/12, 5:13 pm
You still need to promise to be proactive in uncovering unethical behaviour in your own industry, and you still need to promise to join (and preferably, help create) a trade organisation whose sole purpose is to report on the standards and failures of your industry as soon as such an organisation appears.
Even so, you just gained a potentially regular reader.
One who feels kind of weird to be grateful for your now unambiguous ethical guidelines. Because I shouldn’t be. Pretty much every other kind of critic, journalist and outlet operate within clearly stated ethical guidelines and are members of trade organisations whose sole function is to play watchdog.
#76
polygem
31/10/12, 5:46 pm
it´s the right move. the only way. even if it seems like it will hurt, in the end it doesn´t. you shouldn´t play the game if the game is corrupting you. maybe you will have more inconveniences, maybe less cash, but you´ll be able to look into the mirror knowing that you are not just doing a job but living your own life, a life where you are the captain not letting the circumstances steering the boat.
#77
OlderGamer
31/10/12, 6:51 pm
Well, good luck maintaining the highroad.
Just don’t forget that by having a large website, with a lot of viewers, that you are already doing said companies a favor by showing up at their events. I would have ZERO problem with some level of compensation.
I know it is a fine line.
I also know that maintaining your independant integurty is meaningless if your viewership and website are meaningless. I mean to say, if your site doesn’t get the “inside” coverage(like exclusive one on ones, previews, interviews, ect), readership can easily fall off. Most of us aren’t loyal and will go as the wind blows. the truth is you need industry and the industry needs you. It really is one hand washing the other.
You can’t afford to burn bridges. The industry isn’t that big. Snub the wrong guys, and you could get snub for their next game and the few after that.
So, while I aplaud the notion of independance and journalistic integerty, I don’t think those things apply fully to games as they do in other sectors. A dumb example:
Sandy(the hurricane) just went through several states. There was no preview of it, no inside info, no creative personel to interview, there was little or nothing to cover that could be kept from anyone that wanted to cover it. It just happend, no one needed an invite to cover it. If you have weather staff, ground staff, network feeds, and a venue you could cover Sandy. Didn’t matter if you were CNN, TWC, or the local news.
But games…Games isn’t just about a game that released. Covering the games industry is indeed about events, pressers, interviews, etc. there is a lot of inside and exclsuive content. You either play the game or risk being on the outside looking in. I would rather have my staff eating some chips and drinking some beer that were provided by the promoters and be able to get a sit down with the lead design on a major upand coming release, then to be snubed infavor of another site that plays their PR game and gets the scoops.
So in all of my wind bagging, I say caution. You guys know the industry. You know how things work. And I think you know what it takes to keep bringing us the best damn stuff possible. Just don’t forget that. I love the idea of giving away much swag, that helps conect with readers. But if acepting a plane ride, a hotel room, and a bag of Doritos means getting us the freshest and best info on something … might as well suck it up.
Because honestly, if you don’t, someone else will.
#78
LuLshuck
31/10/12, 8:59 pm
Im with Ireland Michael on this one, get rid of rule 1
#79
sg1974
31/10/12, 11:02 pm
My name is Steven Gould and I support Dave Cook.
That is all.
#80
Telepathic.Geometry
31/10/12, 11:56 pm
Good show guys. I hope you’re able to survive and stay competitive with those rules in place. You have my axe, my bow and my level 20 scythe of waning frost!
#81
OrbitMonkey
01/11/12, 12:41 am
Hand on cold callused heart, i’m a cynical cunt. I’m honestly surprised at the steps Pat wants to take.
I’m not gonna hoorah… Cuz I don’t *get* why this is needed for VG247…
Its a entertainment blog, sure… & Pats shown good editorial decision making…
This just seems like reacting to the sins of others tbh.
#82
Kabby
01/11/12, 1:44 am
It’s perhaps overkill for a news site. However, if you intend to expand into reviews I’m sure these changes would engender trust with the readership.
#83
NocturnalB
01/11/12, 1:52 am
Holy cow! I’ve only been coming to this site for a couple months but it steadily became the main games site i come to, and now I’m happy it is!! You guys rock for this. And I’m with #25 you guys are totally un Adblocked on my computer!
I just gained massive respect for ya’ll! Your number 1 reader from Houston, Texas, USA!! Rock on, I’m stickin’ with ya’lls ship till the end!
#84
Bobstrikesback
01/11/12, 8:35 am
81 – I think that’s exactly it, though. I’ve seen a number of games writers responding to this mess as if the suggestion of more transparency and clearly-defined boundaries on their end is a direct and ludicrous attack on their own integrity (I’ve seen ‘guilty until proven innocent’ thrown around, as well as ‘if you don’t trust us, go somewhere else’, and, in response to this article, ‘extreme paranoia’).
It’s sad. Because games writers can make it an issue about their own sites and whether or not they personally need this sort of thing, or they can – as Pat has done – set some visible standards in the hope that other outlets will follow suit and create a bit of accountability across the board. Good job, lads, I’ll be keeping an eye on you from now on.
Older Comments