Patrick Klepek leaves Giant Bomb

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He hasn't been a real staffer since moving to Chicago. The core of Giant Bomb is people in the same room playing a game or talking about a game. Anyone not in the room is not in Giant Bomb. The content Patrick produced was great but it wasn't really Giant Bomb content. So on one hand it's a bummer to finally have him leave for real, but on the other hand it's not like he couldn't produce exactly the same content without branding it as Giant Bomb stuff.
 
Nah, that's always been Jeff. He just doesn't do a lot because he has to run the site.

Watch any of his interviews (either the sit-downs or impromptu expo ones) and you see why he's so well regarded in the industry. He instantly makes the interviewee comfortable and can roll off informed and insightful questions with ease.
Can you link to videos of Jeff interviewing someone he hasn't previously met?
 
Can you link to videos of Jeff interviewing someone who isn't someone he's already met?

Maybe because he has already met just about everyone in the industry?
 
Blank check for Cara Ellison please.

Also, I love you Patrick. So sad to see you go. Thanks for being awesome for the site and getting me to give Spelunky a second chance.
 
Can you link to videos of Jeff interviewing someone who isn't someone he's already met?

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I find this reaction rather crass. There are gaps in perspectives at Giant Bomb and a more diverse replacement would be a good thing for the crew.

Assuming such a hypothetical person to be "token" right out of the gate, implies that having female or minority voices involved doesn't have an inherent value to it, nevermind the presumption that this person wouldn't just as easily be very talented.

But you're the one presuming that in the high brow discussion that is "which video games did you like this week guys?" there's a perspective being lost because there are games out there that the crew's maleness and whiteness prevent them from understanding.

All that being said, I do hope they hire Cara for GBeast.
 
I find this reaction rather crass. There are gaps in perspectives at Giant Bomb and a more diverse replacement would be a good thing for the crew.

Assuming such a hypothetical person to be "token" right out of the gate, implies that having female or minority voices involved doesn't have an inherent value to it, nevermind the presumption that this person wouldn't just as easily be very talented.

I think the problem lies with trying to hire someone just because they are different. People would rather they hire the best person for the job, however...
Blank check for Cara Ellison please.

Cara totally would be the best person for the job. I don't see her leaving her current solo work for it but she would be perfect.
 
Can you link to videos of Jeff interviewing someone who isn't someone he's already met?
Sure, next time I bump into him I'll ask for a breakdown of every social interaction he's had.

Cara totally would be the best person for the job. I don't see her leaving her current solo work for it but she would be perfect.
She's expressed interest and applied for both job openings (this one and the last). However, someone has to defeat the final boss - immigration.
 
What a shame, good luck Pat. Going to miss the Bombin' the A.M. show

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By the sounds of Pat's last report Brad wont be far behind leaving GB.....

"You've been a friend for nearly half my life, and it was an honor to call you a co-worker the past few years. Something tells me it's not the last time, and I truly hope that's the case"
 
But you're the one presuming that in the high brow discussion that is "which video games did you like this week guys?" there's a perspective being lost because there are games out there that the crew's maleness and whiteness just aren't understanding.

All that being said, I do hope they hire Cara for GBeast.

Because it is the case! Men and women are different! They notice different stuff I would have never seen in life. Same thing as it pertains to race. It's not inherently a bad thing. It can be nefarious, but different perspectives are good!
 
I find this reaction rather crass. There are gaps in perspectives at Giant Bomb and a more diverse replacement would be a good thing for the crew.

Assuming such a hypothetical person to be "token" right out of the gate, implies that having female or minority voices involved doesn't have an inherent value to it, nevermind the presumption that this person wouldn't just as easily be very talented.

On the other hand, all but demanding that it NOT be another white male is not the way to go, either. It should be whoever they find that they feel best fits the job. Anything else is obviously a bad idea.
 
She's expressed interest and applied for both job openings (this one and the last). However, someone has to defeat the final boss - immigration.

Was this before her big patreon boom though? Would be great to see but I imagine US Immigration is a real bitch. I'm from Scotland so I have no idea.
 
The best person to replace Patrick is someone with the same ability to write news coverage, the fact this thread and the internet have to make it a fucking race / gender thing all fucking ready is pathetic.

Good luck Patrick in all that you do and as always it's time never to look into this thread again.
 

I think the same too. He just does not gel with me as far as personalities. Not a fan of him on podcasts or his hipsteresq tweets and persona.

Still a fan of GB but wish Vinny would come back and just leave it at that. No one new. Not a fan of Dan either.
 
That's a bummer. I always appreciated the different perspective he brought to the table and thought it was neat how he would challenge himself by diving into games or genres that he wasn't comfortable with. Read/watch/play this were much more interesting features than anyone else on the site has put up in a while.

He was sharp even as a 14-year-old (or so) kid that I remember meeting at E3 (was probably '98 in Atlanta when I was only 17 myself). All I really recall was his big hair and talking about Weezer.

Hopefully he'll do something with content I can read. Good luck, Patrick!
 
Was this before her big patreon boom though? Would be great to see but I imagine US Immigration is a real bitch. I'm from Scotland so I have no idea.

This was recent. It's been discussed to death in the GB thread - but the tl;dr is hiring her directly (i.e. without doing something like working for CBSi UK, then transferring her) is an expensive and time consuming process, with no guarantees at the end. It's highly unlikely.
 
to replace patrick with cara aka the real deal aka holy shit aka thebest
would be a dream booking
giant bomb has always been a bit of a weirdly transatlantic thing cos jeff and ryan had that euro comedy flavour. its why danny fits in so easy (and cos he's god like almost vinny tier likeable)

i was thinking this was all negative but now i get to write cara gb fan fic again till my dreams are dashed with some other rube (sorry dan your ok really i suppose).

/drunk 100% 1000%

goodluck patrick
 
Because it is the case! Men and women are different! They notice different stuff I would have never seen in life. Same thing as it pertains to race. It's not inherently a bad thing. It can be nefarious, but different perspectives are good!

Women and minorities and non-straight-white-men-in-their-30's definitely bring different voices to the discussion, but are those the discussions Giant Bomb is having, especially a Patrickless Giant Bomb? GB doesn't really get too deep into video games past what they liked about a game's gameplay.

I just think the reasons people normally bring up in favor of a more diverse Giant Bomb aren't the most solid reasons. Doesn't every survey they do show that their audience is somewhere around 90% white men in their 20s? I believe the best hire for GB is always the person who meshes best with the crew and is good on camera. Right now it just really seems like there are more women than men in that regard so I'm all for a minority/woman hire.

But, to be honest, this really isn't a viewpoint that I'm super dedicated too. Maybe Jeff will just get bored of talking to a bunch of white dudes about games, or maybe he'll want to try and court the non-white-dude demographic, or maybe he'll just want to promote diversity for diversity's sake, and if he ends up hiring a non-white-dude and any of those are part of his reasoning then I will not feel miffed in the slightest.
 
Women and minorities and non-straight-white-men-in-their-30's definitely bring different voices to the discussion, but are those the discussions Giant Bomb is having, especially a Patrickless Giant Bomb? GB doesn't really get too deep into video games past what they liked about a game's gameplay.

I just think the reasons people normally bring up in favor of a more diverse Giant Bomb aren't the most solid reasons. Doesn't every survey they do show that their audience is somewhere around 90% white men in their 20s? I believe the best hire for GB is always the person who meshes best with the crew and is good on camera. Right now it just really seems like there are more women than men in that regard so I'm all for a minority/woman hire.

But, to be honest, this really isn't a viewpoint that I'm super dedicated too. Maybe Jeff will just get bored of talking to a bunch of white dudes about games, or maybe he'll want to try and court the non-white-dude demographic, or maybe he'll just want's to promote diversity for diversity's sake, and if he ends up hiring a non-white-dude and any of those are his reasoning then I will not feel miffed in the slightest.

I think it's all the more better to have others learn of differing viewpoints! Echo chambers get boring. Even if it's stuff you don't agree with. That's how I've always felt.
 
I was incredibly excited when Patrick came to Giant Bomb (and I believe I said as much here) and he did not disappoint.
I'm sad he's leaving, his 'worth reading' articles did an especially amazing job of leading me to new stuff and having it at a place like GB meant I always remembered to read them. I don't even remember to read everything I contribute to on Patreon.

Lots of assholes hated him, he himself wasn't always perfect, but he was great at his job and if you doubt his value to the website just because he had an open mind and moral compass, keep in mind that this same open-mindedness got him to try and reevaluate games well outside his comfort zone, which gave a good counter to some of the other voices on GB. (as much as I enjoy them as well)

Though if you hated him because he was passionate about social issues, first of all, ugh. Second of all, he was never very reactionary - his journalism instincts allowed him to step back, evaluate and assess when he could have easily joined a twitter chorus of peers, some of which were disappointed when he didn't in fact jump in right away.
Just because he disagreed with you, doesn't mean he didn't put a shit-ton of thought into what he had to say and why he held that opinion.
Which is more than can be said than most people who do disagree with him on social issues.

The combo of optimism, talent and a journalistic mindset makes Patrick Klepek pretty rad at what he does, and that well thought out optimism made him stand out amongst many of his peers. I'll miss his contribution and chemistry with the rest of the crew and extended Giant Bomb family (frankly his E3 guest list choices are going to be a hard act to follow), and it's hard not to consider the site lesser without his content.
 
On the other hand, all but demanding that it NOT be another white male is not the way to go, either. It should be whoever they find that they feel best fits the job. Anything else is obviously a bad idea.

Yeah, encouraging diversity is great, but shaming people for choosing to hire white guys like what happened with that other GB guy whose name I forget is not the way to go about it.

That said, I can also see the argument that a woman would be a better addition than a man who was more "objectively" qualified- the best team isn't necessarily one built out of the best individual players.
 
Sure, next time I bump into him I'll ask for a breakdown of every social interaction he's had.


She's expressed interest and applied for both job openings (this one and the last). However, someone has to defeat the final boss - immigration.

WHAT. That would be wonderful if so. C'mon, surely CBSi can sponsor a friggin' visa!
 
i'd be totally okay with some diversity in who could be patrick's replacement, but i totally think people shouldn't have got pissy when dan was brought in. he was exactly what giant bomb needed at the time, really breathed some new life into it.
 
WHAT. That would be wonderful if so. C'mon, surely CBSi can sponsor a friggin' visa!

Unfortunately it's not that easy. Danny O'Dwyer talked about it some before and it sounded like a complete nightmare. I'm not sure CBSi is willing to put forth the time or money to let GB try and get Cara. They probably only did it for Danny because, well, it's Danny.

He was working for Gamespot UK while it existed, right? I imagine it's easier when it's a transfer instead of a new hire.

I believe so? Don't quote me on it though.
 
Unfortunately it's not that easy. Danny O'Dwyer talked about it some before and it sounded like a complete nightmare. I'm not sure CBSi is willing to put forth the time or money to let GB try and get Cara. They probably only did it for Danny because, well, it's Danny.

He was working for Gamespot UK while it existed, right? I imagine it's easier when it's a transfer instead of a new hire.

I'm saying, as a different person, at some point playing to the cheap seats gets embarrassing.

Embarrassing to whom? The fans of the site? The GB staff? You?

A lot of people seem to enjoy the site for what it is. I don't see why they should feel obligated to change things to try and expand their audience. That's cool if that's what they want to do, of course, but they shouldn't feel like they need to do so, in my opinion.
 
I don't want to get in a racial or gender discussion with anyone. Giant Bomb should and, I have complete faith will, hire the right person to do the job regardless.

In closing, I will share this:

racehispanic_graph.jpg


Discuss.
 
i'd be totally okay with some diversity in who could be patrick's replacement, but i totally think people shouldn't have got pissy when dan was brought in. he was exactly what giant bomb needed at the time, really breathed some new life into it.

Pretty much. The site was desperately short on enthusiasm this year before his addition.
 
Embarrassing to whom? The fans of the site? The GB staff? You?

A lot of people seem to enjoy the site for what it is. I don't see why they should feel obligated to change things to try and expand their audience. That's cool if that's what they want to do, of course, but they shouldn't feel like they need to do so, in my opinion.

Well, short of passing legislation called The Giant Bomb Act of 2015 wherein I force them to expand their horizons, all I'm personally doing is saying what I think and not actually obligating anyone to do anything. I am totally free to be disappointed with whatever they do or don't do and can just as easily be disappointed in a lack of desire for what I view as progress as you can be to celebrate it.
 
Was this before her big patreon boom though? Would be great to see but I imagine US Immigration is a real bitch. I'm from Scotland so I have no idea.

Gamespot apparently had to go through a lot of shit to get Danny O'Dwyer over here and he was already an employee of CBSI.
 
I don't want to get in a racial or gender discussion with anyone. Giant Bomb should and, I have complete faith will, hire the right person to do the job regardless.

In closing, I will share this:

racehispanic_graph.jpg


Discuss.

Discuss what? You post a graph while making literally no argument/statement/question.
 
never was a huge fan of Patrick, but he linked two different dumb little blog sites i've run in the past and that was cool of him. his actual content output wasn't my thing usually, but his influence over the whole site was appreciated. he'll be missed.

hopefully they replace him with someone else of his caliber.
 
But you're the one presuming that in the high brow discussion that is "which video games did you like this week guys?" there's a perspective being lost because there are games out there that the crew's maleness and whiteness prevent them from understanding.

All that being said, I do hope they hire Cara for GBeast.

Uhhhh yes, there absolutely are perspectives that they can't hold. What a ridiculous statement to make.
 
I don't want to get in a racial or gender discussion with anyone. Giant Bomb should and, I have complete faith will, hire the right person to do the job regardless.

In closing, I will share this:

racehispanic_graph.jpg


Discuss.

So lifetime staff of Giant Bomb consists of:

Jeff, Ryan, Brad, Vinny, Drew, Patrick, Alex, Rorie, Jason, Dan.

10 out of 10 white males does not line up with that graph. If we're doing things purely by numbers would you like to bring gender into things?

On top of that would you like to convey the prerequisites of being the best man for the job at Giant Bomb? Because it's a notion that I find ridiculous.
 
God dammit, he was the only one I could count on to be anti grind/collectible bullshit. Now Brad and Vinny will be unrestrained.

Sorry to see him go, he did good work.
 
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