I definitely think there's some people that are in the wrong for blaming Giant Bomb exclusively, as if they've done a big misgiving to the gaming journalist community, but I also feel that this hiring news is also just being used as a focal point for larger industry issues. As an African-American myself and someone who at one point (and still sometimes does) considered wanting to get into gaming journalism, news like this is really discouraging and the industry as a whole is disheartening as well. People say they hired the "best person for the job" but if the industry continues to play out the way it has for however long, then the "best person for the job" will NEVER be a minority, woman etc.
And why? Because the best person for the job will always be "generic white dude #3" who probably has 10+ years of experience, has lived in New York or Cali the majority of their lives and is likely already friends with the same other 100 or so people that have held the same positions for years.
So how is a minority or woman ever supposed to even reach a position where they become the "best person for the job" when the majority of the time they're never given the opportunity for any advancement or even the chance to build a portfolio of credible work on the same level as a Dan Ryckert when all the jobs all go to the same people?
It's the equivalent of Hollywood casting the same 10 or 12 guys for the same leading roles in films year after year and when the directors are questioned for their hiring procedures they go "hey man, I just hired the best guy for the role, he's a proven actor with years of experience!" Well no shit, none of the new guys ever really got a chance to show what they could do because you always go with same bets that have already been established. No one is asking for sites like GB to force diversity for the sake of diversity but the truth is that diversity in large part is never going to "naturally happen" if the industry never opens itself to "naturally change" and present new opportunities
Times are changing though and sites like Twitch and YouTube have opened up the door for people to make names for themselves in new ways that sidestep a lot of these problems but it's still an issue regardless. If history has shown us anything though, whether it be television, film, music, art, etc., if minorities or women want to have positions in these fields, they have to create their own things as the majority of the industry will never really give a fuck about you and remain a closed-off revolving door of the same faces gobbling up the lions' share of the work.
I don't want this post to come off as angry or bitter, because I love Giant Bomb and the duders like everybody else does and have been a huge fan for years. I look forward to seeing what Dan and Jason bring to the table for GB and feel they were great hires, but we can't deny the greater issue at hand and pretend it's not a problem that doesn't exist.
