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Thread about the Escapist's ambush interview of a Riot staffer, with new details that more or less confirm what we all believed was happening.
An apology was posted today. I'm not satisfied with it (shocking, I know). There was too much reckless indifference involved--at *best*--for them to call a mulligan on this. This was a systematic failure.
escapistmagazine.com/v2/2019/02/07/…
escapistmagazine.com/v2/2019/02/07/…
There is a difference between courtesy and ethics in journalism. You are under no obligation to give an interview subject a reshoot, or to edit out embarrassing or revealing interstitial moments.
To do so is merely a courtesy. Indeed, it may raise ethical issues to *agree* to such limitations in advance; consider the debates about reporters who interview powerful individuals yet agree "not to go there" with certain topics.
But therein lies the first clue as to why Lucas was wrong. Note I said "powerful people." It's much easier, and simply decent, to extend these courtesies to interview subjects who are *not* powerful, who did not expect (nor have any reason to expect) a hostile interview.
If one did this with the executive leadership of Riot, that's valid. Such tactics might be justified in the pursuit of a story that exposes dissembling or spin. But this was an editor who has no real power over the company culture, nor was she at the heart of any recent scandal.
Thus, if she stops her answer and asks for a do-over, or asks (or even *implies*) that what she just said shouldn't be out there, it's both courteous *and* ethical to grant these requests. Anything else is exploitation.
I have said it before and I will say it again, as I know a lot of men in gaming journalism follow me: **This is why women in this industry do not trust you.**
We see this, we talk about this; what we say is often not flattering.
We see this, we talk about this; what we say is often not flattering.
And I say this as someone who has reported on hard stories in gaming and gotten people to go on the record about really awful shit. It is not fun, it is not glamorous, I still get terrors. Those stories are a knot of regrets and pain for me. I think of them when I drink.
I still agonise over it all: what if I made a mistake? What if I hurt someone in an attempt to tell this story? What galls me is that men like Lucas don't seem to have that problem. They seem to see only the potential glory that comes with exploiting these stories.
And none of my friends and colleagues in this industry, none, want to be "that woman" who becomes the face of a tragedy, or who will forever have their name associated with a terrible event, or the lowest point in their lives. It's hell. It never ends.
We don't want to be your "rawness."
