Media madness and what we can do about it

While it is easy (and often warranted) to blame Fox News for the crazy punditry that is produced by its articles and news segments, we often forget that just about every cable news network on the planet uses the same questionable methods in selecting “experts.” When it comes to hot button issues, the talking heads and the producers of those shows are going a million miles a minute trying to create segments to engage viewers that have attention spans equivalent to six-year-olds opening presents on Christmas morning.

When they are putting these segments together, someone hits the phone or email and looks for anyone willing to talk about the subject at hand, without much thought to whether or not they are knowledgeable at all. Many go on the show cold, with little or no knowledge of the topic they will be talking about and they are usually chosen because they are outspoken or confrontational.

If you need an example of this, look at the recent Fox News article featuring comments from Carole Lieberman. When Game | Life’s Wired pressed her on how much research she’d done on Bulletstorm prior to issuing her comments to Fox and what hard data she had to back up her claims, she stumbled, stammered, and avoided the question.

Sadly, not much research goes into these controversial topics prior to air due to time constraints. Most guests have hidden agendas too; they go on these shows to vent about their own personal views, plug a web site, or promote a new book. Yes, some of them are passionate about particular topics, but the facts on any given subject seem irrelevant to them. Producers do not care much for the truth either. Facts be damned – this is entertainment.

Honestly, when it comes to video game experts, there are not very many worth talking to. As much as I do not agree with Douglas Gentile (who has been studying media violence since 1999), he is at least more reasonable than the Jack Thompsons, Leland Yees, and pop psychologists like Lieberman. Similarly, the video game industry is in dire need of some serious experts who want to make themselves available for this kind of nonsense. Maybe these cable news networks do not know who to call (or maybe they want less knowledgeable people defending video games), but the most articulate among us are nowhere to be found. Reason and common sense can prevail if we have more people on television comfortable in their own skin. I am sure Ben Kuchera, Adam Sessler, Kyle Orland, Hal Halpin, Scott Jones, Leigh Alexander, and dozens of others would make themselves available if someone gave them a call.

The most disappointing part of all this is the muted response of the industry who may think this fight is beneath them. If the Supreme Court’s decision later this year supports the state of California the fight will become even more of an uphill battle.

My point is that we should always expect that ridiculous statements like “video games cause rape” or “Jared Loughner shot people because he played video games” will come out of these segments if the experts cable news producers go to people that know absolutely nothing about video games. We need to step up.

I understand that sometimes it does not matter; in the case of the whole Carole Lieberman story, Fox News heavily edited the comments of the experts they did contact. Still, we have to make every effort to get into this fight and defend what we love from all the lies, misinformation, and omissions that paint pictures about video games that are not based in reality.

Gamers also need to push back. It doesn’t cost you anything to write am email to Fox News or call your elected representative to complain in a thoughtful and constructive way. You may not think it can make a difference, but when thousands (or millions) of emails or phone calls pour in people take notice.

4 Comments on “Media madness and what we can do about it”

GW Says:

February 15, 2011 at 8:31 am
Actually, Adam Sessler WAS on Faux Noose as an “expert” when Fox tried to misrepresent Mass Effect as a sex game. He was basically limited to trying to speak while being cut off by the usual crap spewing anti-game “authorities” they had present.

Also, I’ve been at at least two press events where I saw Fox crews trolling for violent footage to shoot that they later used in anti-gaming segments. So even if you have the best intentions of speaking the TRUTH about M-rated games and who they’re made and marketed for, you’ll be dealing with a bunch of overpaid liars with an agenda that’s going to do nothing than hurt the industry and make otherwise “normal” gamers look like killers, rapists or whatever else the folks at Faux want to push on their gullible audience.

Reply
James Fudge Says:

February 15, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Thanks for your comments. First, I think you are referring to Geoff Keighley, who did a very decent job of debating Cooper Lawrence about Mass Effect (I could be wrong). I think he did a great job despite having to fight against a tide of misinformation.

We need more people on TV like him that can throw a few elbows during a segment. He got his point across. Could he have done a better job? Probably, but he went in there cold defending against someone he did not know anything about.

We can make excuses and say “oh but Fox News is insanity and we won’t get a fair shake there,” but this is a war. If you let a lie continue to be told unchallenged eventually everyone accepts it as truth.

The video game industry needs people like Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, who is smart enough to get in there and say what he wants to say. Fox News may disagree with the guy, but on every segment he has taken part in, he gets his points across to the viewer. All those Fox viewers respect him as a guest because they know he is going to approach most subjects with some logic and common sense. If he has one fault, he is occasionally too nice to the hosts.

Reply
Vake Xeacons Says:

February 15, 2011 at 2:42 pm
As a professional journalist, I’ve been keeping up on this BS for quite some time. I’m a gamer and a proud member of the ECA. Since my daughter was born, I’ve also been quite active in my local preschool, sitting on their policy committees a even governing board. Still, while my experience with children continues, my education is a bit lacking. How would I stand up against child psychologists? Those ECE classes are looking really good right about now.

Reply
James Fudge Says:

February 15, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Vake,

I know how you feel. We are the silent majority. We go to our places of comfort and complain about these things to each other and we assume that we will not be heard.

But imagine if every gamer in America emailed Fox News about its Bullet Storm piece, or left a comment on that article. Thousands (millions, even) of intelligent, thoughtful emails or comments on one article. That’s powerful.

Instead, our ilk Amazonbombs some author’s book or sends them over-the-top emails talking about committing rape. These emails are steeped in sarcasm, but it is lost on someone who could make a connection between video games and real-world sexual assault without a shred of evidence.

Sure, it gets their attention, but it also makes us look like a bunch of lunatics. We could do something real by just issuing intelligent responses en masse.

On a related note, I am glad to hear that you do good things in your community. More people should follow your example.

Reply

Nil Bid