Sometimes, I feel like it's easy to generalise statements like 'games media' and forget they're human beings just like us.
I don't trust 'games media' in blanket. I trust people. I trust the respective individuals on GAF. I look at every initial engagement with a fundamental trust that people are being honest more often than they are liars.
There are times when I feel that journalist say things they shouldn't, vocalize terrible opinions, write nonsensical stuff, do things without due diligence, approached a subject matter without context, and many other unlikable things. But you know what? People are flawed. They're human beings. I don't like games journalist that write off 'animu' stuff without even willing to spend some time with it, but you know what? That's their opinion and stance towards it, just as many folks in GAF have that same stance. And while I think less of them because they have a pre-determined bias on artistic portrayal of any medium, I can acknowledge that. Just as I have flaws and if people look down on me for those things, then fine.
I'll use IGN as an example. Put it this way, on a fundamental level, I trust folks like Greg Miller, Brian Altano, Marty Silva, Ryan McCaffrey, etc. I don't have the energy or effort to believe that they would spend a large part of their lives being liars, and purposely say terrible things.
I trust that they're being as honest as they are about their opinion on things. Maybe some of those things are stupid, or worse, downright ignorant, but that's their flaw as people, and I accept that. Like, I think Ryan's Titanfall hyperbole is lame, and his tweet about Destiny is meh, but you know what? He's hyperbolic, easily excited and it shows. Maybe he's a bit less critical than he can be, but that's who he is. I can easily put the same label on Greg Miller for inFamous/Uncharted franchise, he's a known fan of said titles, and if he says hyperbolic statements about how awesome it'll be, it's just him being him.
With that being said, even if I trust them, I do think that there's a lot of room for improvement. My issue with the Order PAX preview was one. I don't mind one bit that Marty Silva has a negative opinion on the game, but he has given no indication in his written preview that it was the same build from E3, and the way he wrote his preview at times felt misleading because he made it sound like you actually travelled across town, when it was just 'across the street.' People won't always notice that it's a different editor's opinion, and sometimes that can come across as an updated news, when it's really opinion no.3 from IGN.
Or TLG cancellation fiasco. I'm sorry, but when you're refuted by Scott Rohde, who is literally just one rank below Shu Yoshida in the WWS hierachy of power, you don't get to act like your one source has any validity whatsover, unless your source was Shu Yoshida himself. The fact that it took so long to acknowledge the error, in light of the person refuting the news, was a misstep by IGN, imo.
With that being said, I trust a lot of folk in the games media, especially those who put their faces out as public figures and are strong opinion people on stuff. But just because I trust them ( at a functional level ), doesn't mean that I think their opinion are worth shit. Some of them have occasionally displayed ignorance, contempt of their audience, downright disgusting write-ups, and many other stuff, but I trust that they were honest about their stance on those terrible things, and that only makes them anywhere from 'nice people whose opinion isn't worth my time' to terrible human being who has no respect from me' in my eyes.
But not liars.
