Today, I watched a YouTube video about access journalism in the video content creator space. Access Journalism is where journalists gain access to exclusive perks, like scoops, in exchange for positive coverage. This of course applies to the blog space as well, of which I am a part. I thought I’d take an editorial to explore how I view access Journalism and my experience with it. To start, I do not accept paid sponsorships or press releases. However, I do accept donations from readers who want me to review a game, positively or negatively(and there is a very nice individual who does just that!). I accept free keys via email and services like Keymailer and Press Engine. However, the caveat is I might review a game badly or, in some cases, just not give a review.
Access Journalism and Me
Now, I said I don’t play access journalism for a very a simple reason: Trust. My currency is my trustworthiness. If I lie to my readers in exchange for money or whatever, there goes my readership. It has in fact gotten me in trouble when I was contractually obligated to give a review, cases in point Terminal 81 and Tomba!. In both cases I hated the game, but had to give a review. I gave a honest opinion and got push back from randos who were angry that I didn’t like it. I have greatly reduced the number of times I have to do that for exactly that reason. I don’t want to force a review if I have nothing to say. In many cases, I just won’t review, as in the case of an exquisitely-made but plotless point and click I got a key for called Old Skies. I told the PR woman what the deal was, and she said I didn’t have to review if I wasn’t feeling the game, so I didn’t.
In some cases, I do reverse access journalism, give developers extra service if I really like a game and want it to succeed, like I did with Questboard. I posted the review to Steam and even helped him troubleshoot a problem. Though I only really do that for the Must Plays. In the case of Carpathian Night, I gave a tepid but positive review, and got shredded for it by the developer. I then posted the exchange in the review and from what I can tell, tanked the game, as I know people who didn’t buy it based on the developer’s behavior. Then there’s Null Gravity Labyrinth, where a plucky-eyed developer asked to me to the review the worst game I’ve ever played, and proceeded to stomp his pride and joy into oblivion.
Conclusion
In the end, my relationship with access journalism is dicey at the times, but I stick to my guns, honestly above all else. Reviews are nothing more than subjective opinions, and if you can’t trust mine, I should close the site down. I’ve gotten offer for very lucrative sponsorships(relatively) but I always turn them down and will continue to for that reason. And also for that reason, this site may never be profitable, and I’m fine with that. Though if you want to donate to help defray costs, its always appreciated!
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