ab.aeterno
Member
Sorry, replies came in after quoting. Thanks for the clarification.
Giant Bomb #8 | It's a Hit!
- Thread starter Hot Coldman
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I completely understand what you're going for with the rest of your message (and I agree with your general idea), but the image that makes there is fucking hilarious (not the shotgun part, that sucks). Every town has their shitty areas, but I would hardly call any part of Petaluma 'the streets'
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
What? I have no idea who this guy is, so I was curious why his opinion on the GB hires mattered. Not in a "his opinions don't matter cause I don't know him" kinda way but apparently people know him since they bring him up, so I was curious who this guy is and what his connection with Giant Bomb is.
Also I don't agree that this is in any way a valid criticism. A site with about 4 people at one location can't be picky and choosy about new hires. Hiring people just to fill a quota is, as you said, not a great way to deal with anything.
You mean our gender and skin color don't define who we are? You are so full of
truth
SteveWinwood
Member
the giant bomb thread cycle is fascinating
Beelzeboss
Member
So I'm a little lost.
Did we find out the new hires? I left this morning for work before they were supposed to announce it.
Did we find out the new hires? I left this morning for work before they were supposed to announce it.
Jimmyfenix
Member
See I told you rykert would be baf 4 business
Monday is part of the Giant Bomb weekend. There's no new content so people have to speculate.
EmCeeGramr
Member
The nasty attitude this thread displays to any criticism (genuine and valid or not) towards Giant Bomb is part of why no other mods ever come here and why when I explained the sort of things that happen here a lot, some of the other mods were kind of shocked and wondered why we even allow this thread to exist.
I argued that it wasn't that bad. Please stop trying to prove me wrong.
I argued that it wasn't that bad. Please stop trying to prove me wrong.
ReignofSparrows
Member
Just to be fair to the position I was taking on this issue, I completely disagree with this. Although I disagree with the criticism of Giant Bomb's new hires, you could always justify discriminatory practices using criterion B.
OdysseusVA
Banned
I don't care if they're black or yellow or brown or normal. I just want great content.
SteveWinwood
Member
you know the only solution
EmCeeGramr
Member
holy fuck
Fotheringay
Member
It can only be restarted after the all lowercase passive-aggressive SteveWinwood chirp.
Hot Coldman
Banned
No shit people aren't entirely defined by their race or gender - but it sure as hell affects how wildly their perspectives differ from the white male status quo.
contribute or go away.
contribute or go away.
BUNTING1243
Banned
What.
ReignofSparrows
Member
ab.aeterno
Member
I don't think people here are suggesting they "fulfill quotas," but expressing disappointment that after acknowledging a lack of diversity in the field they picked people that didn't do anything about it. I'm always hopeful for new perspectives in the industry.
They picked known quantities probably because they knew them, knew they would fit the culture, and would fit their unique personality needs. Given their struggle to get more people I totally understand choosing people that are safe bets.
It's just a little disappointing given all the speaking to diversity they do.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Uuuuuuhhhh....might wanna rethink that phrasing
That's a fair point
stump sock
Member
that's a reference to some semi-obscure semi-viral picture, don't freak out too much
edit, here: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=71637
before this gets out of hand
Gozer the Gozerian
Member
For every poster in here voicing a "nasty attitude" against the current criticism on GB's hiring with a dumb comment, there is another person who posted a totally reasonable critique about why they don't agree with said criticism. That kind of blanket comment is a bit insulting.
Incandenza
Banned
He's joking, guys.
Incredible post though. That immediate reaction.
Incredible post though. That immediate reaction.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
You know, it's just weird that this became an issue now, with Giantbomb of all places. No one cared about who Jeremy hired for US Gamer or who Polygon has hired when they were saving game journalism.
I think the issue matters, but Giantbomb is a personality driven site and it makes sense that Jeff would want to hire a friend (hence Alex, and then later Rorie as "new" hires after Screened was shut down). Patrick is really the only "outsider", and even he made sense since they were looking for a news guy at the time they were hiring.
Perhaps the sad fact though is that perspective-based media journalism is really focused on specific bubbles. I admit that I don't follow the written side of the industry anymore, so I have no idea if there is a genuine attempt to make a feminist or at least female-centered games journalism site, or one that comes from the perspective of an ethnic or racial group, but gaygamer.net is still going on and they've presumably managed to find a niche for themselves as being the "gay" voice of gaming.
I think the issue matters, but Giantbomb is a personality driven site and it makes sense that Jeff would want to hire a friend (hence Alex, and then later Rorie as "new" hires after Screened was shut down). Patrick is really the only "outsider", and even he made sense since they were looking for a news guy at the time they were hiring.
Perhaps the sad fact though is that perspective-based media journalism is really focused on specific bubbles. I admit that I don't follow the written side of the industry anymore, so I have no idea if there is a genuine attempt to make a feminist or at least female-centered games journalism site, or one that comes from the perspective of an ethnic or racial group, but gaygamer.net is still going on and they've presumably managed to find a niche for themselves as being the "gay" voice of gaming.
lol
That's an interesting choice of words....
*edit* This thread moves fast, and apparently that's a meme? I don't go out of my way to follow memes. In fact, I actively try to avoid them whenever possible.
I knew I had seen that phrase before. I thought it was from some show but yeah, it was from that poster.
Patrick has also been friends with Brad since he was like 12, right?
EmCeeGramr
Member
See, it says a lot when a reference to a meme is barely a stone's throw away from actual comments in this thread.
EdReedFan20
Member
Really? I thought Patrick was from Chicago and Brad was from North Carolina. Unless you mean they were friends through the internet.
I think with comments like those, it doesn't hurt to be on the safe side and make it known you are quoting a meme. Maybe go as far as to include the image. It seems a whole lot of people were not aware of the meme, even long after they posted the image.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
They've all been part of the #vidgames thing, but I feel like Patrick was more friends with the Ziff Davis guys just based on past history and whatnot. Remember he somehow managed to trick EGM into giving him an interview because they didn't know how old he was. lol
SteveWinwood
Member
im contributing at about the same level as everyone else
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I think they were friends on some obscure site called Gaming Age Forums.
Yeah, internet. I remember some mention of either a BBS or IRC channel where they befriended one another long before either were in the business.
Hot Coldman
Banned
I'd disagree, but after that meme comment I guess you're right.
They were gaffers before all of us.
LoveIsOver
Member
The best person should be hired for the job no matter what or who they are.
Now, can we go back to just complaining about them never talking about video games?
Now, can we go back to just complaining about them never talking about video games?
EdReedFan20
Member
Ah, Old GAF.
OdysseusVA
Banned
firehawk12
Subete no aware
IRC. It's where Shane Bettenhausen, Mark Macdonald, and pretty much everyone else who worked at Ziff/EGM/etc were before they got real jobs. lol
There is a concern out there that the hiring process was more of a formality than anything else. Similar to casting in the entertainment industry - Jeff knew who he wanted but put out the job posting as a corporate policy.
If true, this is just an unfortunate side effect of the enthusiast press moving to personality video and basically mirroring the entertainment industry. Casting calls can also be a formality if you already know who 'works' on camera for that role.
An intern from our company was hired immediately after her contract by a former client (major online news site). She really gelled with their crew when we worked for them and they wanted someone who had chemistry with their video presenters. They still posted the junior on-camera role on their corporate site however.
Like Jeff said during the recent Jartime - full time gigs are drying up fast. I can easily imagine this 'Rolodex' problem getting far worse as sites only want to hire full-timers who are ready-to-go on camera and appeal to the widest audience. Take one look at TV presenting and you'll see who makes up that demographic...
EdReedFan20
Member
Dance, badger dance!
It might just be the defensive part of me coming out, or maybe I've just spent too much time on tumblr, but it's getting frustrating how the internet at large seems to dismiss the qualification or validity of someone because they're a white dude. I'm not trying to make some big point about reverse racism or some such nonsense, but what the hell is wrong with white men? Do women and minorities deserve a better place in the industry? Of course. Do women and minorities get a rough deal in society today at large? Yes, still. Do white men have a significant degree of privilege in life compared to other groups? Damn skippy.
But for some to say, "Oh, boo hoo, another white guy," frustrates me. Yes, another white guy. A white guy with experience in the industry and the kind of bombastic personality that should quickly fit in and assimilate to Giant Bomb's style. What a fucking shame. Surely it'd be better if they hired someone potentially of worse qualifications and perhaps not as well-fitting with the group just for the sake of a diversity hire.
Maybe I'm just salty today, don't mind me. On a lighter note, Drew seems to be a lot more vocal and animated in recent bombcasts, good to see him sort of stepping up and turning the personality up a bit.
But for some to say, "Oh, boo hoo, another white guy," frustrates me. Yes, another white guy. A white guy with experience in the industry and the kind of bombastic personality that should quickly fit in and assimilate to Giant Bomb's style. What a fucking shame. Surely it'd be better if they hired someone potentially of worse qualifications and perhaps not as well-fitting with the group just for the sake of a diversity hire.
Maybe I'm just salty today, don't mind me. On a lighter note, Drew seems to be a lot more vocal and animated in recent bombcasts, good to see him sort of stepping up and turning the personality up a bit.
I have said this before in this thread. But getting a job in any industry is about who you know as much as anything else. I've gotten jobs and opportunities because I knew someone that was good to know. it is the way life works.
LoveIsOver
Member
Yeah I've noticed that too. It's a welcome change and I hope his personality continues to grow and match these guys on the Bombcast. I still miss Vinny though :-(
ReignofSparrows
Member
This is a fair framing, in my opinion. And it's better than was laid out by the guy on Twitter. However, I still disagree that a new white guy (or two) is itself disappointing. That is literally putting the gender, race, etc. above all else, which seems silly to do and then say you don't care about fulfilling any quotas.
The GB guys - and not just Patrick - have talked the talk about valuing different perspectives. They are also a site in flux, with the barest of bones in terms of staff. It's not incongruous to think that they do value diverse opinions, took that into account when hiring, and concluded that the best hire(s) were two white guys. I know that there is a slippery slope argument to made in response - which is a terrible counterargument, but that's another topic - but let's just say I am comfortable not drawing a line in the sand yet when I could count the SF guys on one hand.
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