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An Open Letter to CNN

S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
I was watching yet another OMG WTF BBQ Games Are Violent Story on CNN this weekend. What struck me about it wasn't the tone or content, but rather the stock footage they used to demonstrate violent games. Namely, Doom and Mortal Kombat. This is like doing a story about Iraq and using footage from Vietnam.

This demonstrates two really scary points:


1. Nobody compiling that report had the slightest fuckin' clue what they were talking about.

2. If they don't know anything about games, what makes you think they know anything about politics, cars or global warming?
 
Stinkles said:
2. If they don't know anything about games, what makes you think they know anything about politics, cars or global warming?
Click to expand...

I never thought they knew anything about these topics in the first place.
 
didn't CNN show footage of Super Mario Bros 3. and said it was Super Mario 64/Sunshine? I forget
 
Actually, I'd say "this is why you should read The Wall Street Journal." Pretty much the only professional and unbiased large source of news out there if you ask me.

Funny that they showed old footage there on CNN... though I wish they had shown 50 Cent: Bulletproof so that some folks would get fired up about it. I really, truly want that game to fail. And I never say things like that. It's just bad for the health of the industry that we're seeing this sort of garbage being crapped out for the casuals and the impressionable teens.

What they really need to do is just start enforcing the ratings on game boxes. If you're under 17, you can't buy an M-Rated game. I'd looooove to hear someone's argument against that approach, because quite frankly, if you're mature enough to be able to indulge in whatever M-Rated games you want before you're 17, you should definitely be able to get the permission of one of the adults you hang out with so that you can get the game.

Yes, I realize that this sort of thing does nothing to solve the overall problem, and in fact only partially deters minors from playing those types of games, but it's still better than what we've got now -- and that's nothing.

I have a feeling some movers and shakers in the industry would agree with me, not the least of whom Doug Lowenstein. If the industry doesn't step up and start regulating itself better, the government is going to eventually step in, and then it'll be a real mess. See how the MPAA happened, videogame industry? You can do the same, and you should... especially with the kind of garbage that's being churned out these days for our kids.

~os
 
Dear CNN:

Please change
Code: 
font-size: 150%;
to
Code: 
font-size: 100%;
.

I don't need to be able to read the chyrons from 50 feet away.

Thanks!
 
I'm cautiously optimistic that your open letter will initiate change on this annoying tendency of CNN.
Click to expand...


Yep, I'm sure they'll get right on it. And stop talking about Michael Jackson too.
 
othersteve, I haven't seen you forever. I remember you posting @ IGN before the Insider days :)

Anyway, I totally agree with your points about the rating system and it's enforcement. As I see it, games are merely another form of entertainment, up there with movies, music, and what not. A kid can't buy a porno, so the same should apply to games.
 
I rarely ever watch CNN .... but Chris Morris' Game Over column at CNN.com is probably the best thing in mainstream video game reporting at the moment.
 
Hey Miyuru,

I'm sorry to say that I don't recall your name... :(

But I have indeed been around for a while now, so I don't doubt that you remember me! :D I'm actually still posting on IGN, though I've become slightly more active here on the Gaming-Age boards as of recently, and I now write for Gamerz-Edge. Yes, I know that I always say I am writing for a new site (this is like the sixth one), but I plan on calling Gamerz-Edge home for a long while, as I really like the people there and I see a lot of potential for the site. :)


But to get back on topic (sorry):

Anyway, I totally agree with your points about the rating system and it's enforcement. As I see it, games are merely another form of entertainment, up there with movies, music, and what not. A kid can't buy a porno, so the same should apply to games.
Click to expand...

Certainly. And that's not even considering the fact that videogames have been long suspected to have even deeper effects on young, impressionable minds. It's utterly ridiculous that our kids are playing some of the games they're playing. Sure, blame the parents, because it's ultimately their fault... but the government exists to protect the people, and just as it has done with nearly every other form of adult or mature entertainment, it should seek to regulate videogame sales. That is, if the industry can't pull itself together and get its hands out of its massive wallet. And I sure hope that happens...

~os
 
2. If they don't know anything about games, what makes you think they know anything about politics, cars or global warming?
Click to expand...

Lol, no shit. Or the fat crisis, or the SUV crisis, or the people talk too much on thier cell phone while driving crisis. It's a fucking sitcom. A fucking lame one at that.
 
The reason why theres so many crises is because shows are now about ratings instead of reporting actual news. There's no crisis in America except for stupid media outlets.
 
othersteve said:
Actually, I'd say "this is why you should read The Wall Street Journal." Pretty much the only professional and unbiased large source of news out there if you ask me.
Click to expand...
Have you seen the WSJ's editorial page? Granted, that isn't technically news, but don't tell them that. They publish news stories the WSJ's news editors consider unethical to print.

Anyway, yes, this is about journalists reporting on many things they know little about and interns choosing random file footage to go with it. It isn't limited to CNN. Even the general tech press doesn't understand the gaming industry. Only the gaming press has a clue about this specific industry.
 
Stinkles said:
2. If they don't know anything about games, what makes you think they know anything about politics, cars or global warming?
Click to expand...

Doesnt mean they dont know about anything at all, but they just dont know sufficient info on games. :D
 
wunko said:
Doesnt mean they dont know about anything at all, but they just dont know sufficient info on games. :D
Click to expand...
Video games are pretty simple compared to politics and most other things in the world.
 
Rhindle said:
I rarely ever watch CNN .... but Chris Morris' Game Over column at CNN.com is probably the best thing in mainstream video game reporting at the moment.
Click to expand...
Yeah, if they fired him and hired Steven Kent it would be actually worth reading sometimes too.
 
The more realizstic gaming gets the worse the backlash is going to be. GTA4 + hyper realistic violence = backlash the likes of which we've never seen.
 
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