Can The Mainstream Media Report On Video Games Properly?

I am concerned. Not gravely concerned, but still concerned. I check CNN and other news organizations to get the latest updates on the various conflicts happening in our world. Curiosity got the better of me and I typed in video games in the search bar. Not that I would expect them to have a comprehensive video games page with reviews and industry talk, but their page was limited. Only six posts for the entire month of March. That small number is disconcerting. Therefore, why is it the largest news organizations refuse to report on video game news?

I get that the world of video game journalism is a niche market and won't generate the huge traffic to websites like the crisis in Libya or the Japanese earthquake will. But my interpretation of a news organization's role in society is to report on everything, not the news that generates the most money. It's sad to see the green stuff dictate what gets covered and what doesn't. This may be the only time I give Fox News any credit, but at least the channel reports on video games. Creating needless controversy is great to mock, and the Mass Effect debate has become folklore.

On CNN, you'll never see a report in the technology section on a game review or sales. It's all about the damned smartphone and useless apps nobody will ever use. I have never even seen a report on the massive success Angry Birds, a smartphone game that everyone in the tech field acknowledges. Fox News will create a controversy when there is no controversy - a sad and trivial attempt to create shock value. Mass Effect never had full-frontal nudity, which is what the channel falsely claimed, and yet they still went on the talking point without doing research. Fox News also accused Modern Warfare 2 of placing you in the role of a terrorist without doing proper research. Fox led the story with the idea of playing as a terrorist, which given the environment with the wars in the Middle East, people were bound to pay attention. And get pissed off. Again though, wrongly reported. In fact, you play as a CIA operate infiltrating the terrorist cell, and conflicting decisions are part of the job. Failure to keep up the disguise means certain death.

It's the nature of reporting today. Sadly, whatever will create the most buzz is chosen over the most heartwarming, gut-wrenching stories out there, and big business is to blame. News organizations struggle daily for viewership and it will only increase drastically when a tragedy happens. NATO's involvement in Libya and global response to the Japanese earthquake get massive coverage on CNN, and rightfully so. But we also see the upcoming royal wedding get a lot of coverage as well when there is nothing to talk about. The only people more excited for the wedding than the networks are British royal subjects. The general public couldn't give a fuck.

Sorry for the terribly long rant. I love journalism and I hate to see where the current state the industry finds itself in. Regardless, video game news should be reported on more. Or a proper news network should be created to fill the niche. G4 tried but failed miserably. Give us a 24-hour technology-oriented news network. It would be successful - all the Apple nerds would follow it religiously and us video game nerds would catch a sneak peek once in a while.

That's all for today. Ciao!