I recently had a chat with one of the editors over at gaming-journalism watchdog site Video Game Media Watch. While outlining the ethical standards that we abide by here at the 1UP Network (which includes EGM, Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, 1UP.com, and more), I realized that I should just lay out everything for all our readers. It's only right....
Game companies are always trying to send us free stuff. What are we allowed to keep? We do not accept any gifts--such as video iPods, World Series tickets, cash (in the form of contest prizes)...all of which were actually offered to us at one point. But we are allowed to keep cheap, promotional items, so you'll see game posters or XXXXXXXL T-shirts around our offices. We also keep the games that the companies send us, but EGM's rule is to put one away for the office library copy, and the rest get evenly distributed to staffers who will actually play them (absolutely no trading them in or eBaying them for profit or gain of any sort).
We do not accept flights or hotel rooms from the publishers, either--we pay for those out of our own budgets. And even if we do fly out to see a game, we never promise any coverage. We will accept meals (say, for a business lunch or dinner), but we often pick up the tab too, to keep it fair. For example, during a recent Grand Theft Auto IV demo, we paid for dinner between Rockstar and us, since Rockstar paid for dinner the last time we met up.
All of this must seem pretty obvious to you, huh? After all, how can a magazine or website editor be totally objective if a company just flew him out to see their game? But you'd be surprised.
Help keep the industry honest. Read VGM Watch (we told them to keep an eye on us, too...because we have to be as accountable as everyone else), or better yet, ask your favorite magazine or website what their policies are. The more you know, the more you know whom to trust.
--Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Editor-in-Chief
I wanted to reprint this editorial here on my blog to get some discussions going, and also to see if anyone has any questions for me. I'll pick some of your questions and do a continually updated Q&A right here. (This will allow me to clarify stuff, too...like, I don't want to give anyone the impression that we're so perfectly "good" about paying half of all our dinner bills. There are a lot more organized press dinners than there are opportunities for us to pick up the tab....)
Also, I was recently a guest on Gamertag Radio's podcast, discussing this very subject from the independent website's perspective (those guys don't have the budgets that EGM does, so it's a different story for them). Check it out if you have a chance.
By the way, another watchdog website to keep an eye on: GameDailyBiz's Media Coverage. It's currently being run by Kyle Orland, former editor at Video Game Media Watch.
Now, onto your questions (I'll keep updating this section as needed):
TheNintendoTheory: Let's say someone does do something that isn't exactly reputable, for lack of a better word. What happens to them? Would they get fined? Fired?
It would depend on the circumstances of course, but yes, we can fire you for a violation of the editorial-ethics agreement that we all sign when we start working here. So for example, if an editor knowingly purchased stock in a game company or he accepted a cash payment from some developer, then we would kick that guy out immediately.
Sprewell: How do you approach keeping the item for purposes of giving away to readers, like the Ipod giveaway from the recent EGM live? Does that present any conflicts?
We're not keeping the gift, so we don't feel it presents any conflict of interest. As long as we don't keep this stuff, we're OK with it. For example, recently, Microsoft sent me an awesome Halo 3 Zune, all customized with my GamerTag and everything. I'd personally love to keep it (I love new gadgets), but it's a $250 thing that I can't use for work, so I have to return it to MS or give it away (which is what we're doing). If I chose to donate it to charity, I can't take a tax deduction on it because then I'd be profiting from this gift. Now, if Microsoft sends me an Xbox 360 (which they have), I will hold on to it as it is work related...but our rule here is, if I were to leave EGM, I'd have to give this 360 back to our office. It's not mine to keep. It belongs to EGM.
Harperdc: The only thing I can comment on is the dinner tab one, as the ethical side in me would pay for all of my own food, but the real pragmatist sees that your system also works out pretty well.
Not really a question for me, but I wanted to address this regardless. That is really the best way to handle this: pay for your own meals no matter what. But I will admit we don't do this regularly. I have done that before, but if it's a business meal, generally, one side will pick up the tab. Many times, it's the game companies, since they're inviting press out and this would be considered a small-value thing, but we have paid for meals before, too. I remember once, we asked EA to meet us for lunch so we can discuss some coverage plans, our treat. They certainly took advantage because they brought out like 20 PR people! :)
sdwoodchuck: Have any companies who sent out these gifts feel slighted, or specifically requested special treatment because of the things sent to the staff?
I think the companies understand. They don't just get this from us, but the traditional news media as well. I remember talking to an NBC guy after Microsoft gave away several hundred HDTVs at a press event, and he said he couldn't take the TV...his job/bosses would never allow it. I've never personally witnessed a specific request in exchange for a gift, but I've talked to enough people to know that it goes on, in every industry (as topgeargorilla pointed out in the comments)...including mine.
masterofwar: What happens when you become friends with the developer of a game?
That's an excellent question. In an ideal world, we would never become friends with anyone involved with making games. But we're all humans and sometimes, you can't avoid it. I'm not sure how someone at Time or Newsweek handles this, but over here, we try to be careful in the following ways. One, we always establish that work and friendships are separate here -- don't take it personally if we rip on your games. (Also, many game companies are professional enough to know that, if they have a stinker on their hands, it's nothing personal when we report on their games.) Two, we will try to avoid conflict of interest whenever possible. To give you an example: My best friend of college was on the development team for Tribes (PS2) and Area 51 (PS2/Xbox). We couldn't ignore his games, but so I could take myself out of the equation, I let my editors decide how EGM was going to cover them. I didn't say how much space or how many pages to give those titles. And I intentionally made sure I do not review his products. I play and review a lot of shooters, but when it came to those two games, I would not review them, to avoid that potential conflict of interest.
ChronoKnight: Is it ever the case where an editor of the 1up network may become bitter at the company giving the gift simply because they cannot accept it?
I've never seen that. Why would we get mad at someone for trying to do something nice? :) But this isn't a new rule for us or anything. When we start employment at Ziff Davis Media, we have to sign an agreement saying we understand all these rules, so we know going into the job that we won't be accepting gifts....
QB's_Finest: Is this editorial implying that EGM's writers, as well as gaming journalists in general, could not maintain journalistic integrity without the enforcement of a company-wide policy?
Only on the Internet can someone find a negative way of looking at something that's supposed to be positive. A standard set of rules is never a bad thing. You don't just employ a bunch of people and expect everyone to have their own interpretation of any rules that they may or may not have heard. You bring in any new people (some fresh out of school, some from a proper journalistic background, some not, some from the competition where the rules may be different), and you should always establish what policies your company has, right? Or do you start a new job and always determine your own lunch hours, working hours, how to greet customers, way of stocking shelves, etc.? :)
It's not a lack of confidence in our employees. In fact, I *know* 100% for sure that I can review my college buddy's game and not be influenced at all. But the point isn't just about how much you trust someone. It's public perception, too. We have a job...to write editorial for our readers. I may trust me, and I might write a perfectly fair review. But what if word got out that I gave Area 51 a great score, and my best friend from college worked on the game? Instant credibility hit, right? It's not just about your personal integrity, but how your readers perceive it, too.
D3stiny_Sm4sher: I know this probably sounds stupid, but honestly, where does your money come from?
From my best friend in college bribing me to give his game better scores.
Seriously, from advertising and from sales of individual issues on newsstands. And for the record, we have a "church and state" policy here regarding advertising and editorial. You can't buy editorial coverage, you can't exchange advertising for covers or positive review scores or anything like that. It's all separate.
secretariat: I'm curious as to what's behind the sudden need to discuss ZD's integrity over and over.
Another good question, because I really don't want to give a high-horse impression here to anyone. As I said in my editorial, I was recently discussing this subject with VGMW (regarding a story that they're working on regarding conflict of interest), and then I thought I should just pass along the stuff we talked about to our readers. I never brought up our specific rules like this before. In fact, this editorial was a bit of admission on my part that we're not perfect (we keep some gifts, we let companies take us out to dinner -- as others pointed out, true, hardcore journalists don't even allow that). So this wasn't about showing off so much as it was just, "Hey...look...we have these rules, but just so you know, this and this and that and that." Full disclosure, as the headline states.
Also...it does seem to come up a lot on our end because it's an issue that keeps popping up for us. Every month, there's someone out there accusing us of getting a moneyhat from some company. So periodically, I like to just remind people how things work at EGM. Sure, call me over-sensitive (or stupid) for listening to message boards, but it really gets to me when people think we're corrupt. And since I have the forum to address it, I take advantage.
And I have my other reasons, too. I see people doing it all wrong in my side of the business all the time, and my hope is, if I raise a stink once in a while, maybe these people will get more serious about these jobs we're all so fortunate to have. Or maybe the readers will demand better. I really don't want to get into specific examples that I've witnessed, because the last time I did that, it was a shitstorm...something I'm not eager to experience again (since my job here is not to be the true watchdog like Media Coverage or VGMW). But...when any gaming journalists are straying off the path, it makes us ALL look bad, even those of us who are doing it legit.
Finally, keep in mind that we get new readers all the time. We love you regular readers the best...but there are plenty of people who don't know I'm a broken record yet. ;)
Thanks for all the comments, questions, and feedback!
