Appearances Are Everything?
December 20th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
While I’m not really into the way Matt Casamassina’s personal life has been dredged up onto the Internet today, it gets back to a lot of the issues of disclosure I mentioned when e-mailing back and forth with MTV’s Stephen Totilo. This episode gives you a tiny taste of what happens when people discover something that probably should have been made public in a more prominent way, on the organization’s terms, not on a media watchdog site.
By not having a satisfactory disclosure policy in place, Casamassina’s employers failed to protect him and have done his readers a disservice. But I don’t mean to single out IGN here, that’s really not the point. This could probably happen anywhere. As far as I know, none of the major gaming publications have an official, publicly-stated policy on disclosures regarding potential conflicts of interest.
“Potential” is the key word there. No one with any sense is claiming that Casamassina’s work is actually tainted. It’s easy to see that he’s a passionate guy that appears to really enjoy his work and takes great care when it comes to covering games. Plus, he and I seemed to share the same taste in sunglasses, if I remember correctly. Unfortunately for all involved, the appearance of impropriety is indistinguishable from actual impropriety when it comes to stuff like this.
So, dear reader, I bring it to you. Ultimately, it’s you who gets to speak out when you feel like you’re not getting the whole story. What would you do in this case? What do you want to know about the people and companies that bring you your game news? Where would you draw the line?
December 20th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
It was only a matter of time until this kind of thing started happening around the gaming media.
It is really pathetic but this is what happens when there is nothing else to talk about amongs 120000 blogs regurgitating the same line or press release. But Matt C.’s blessing to have his significant other work in the field he loves so much turned into some conspiracy is sad and I hope will blow over.
Its a lesson to what used to be a pretty shielded medium as well .. I am hearing more and more over podcasts and more candid channels enthusiast press defending themselves from comments that readers make online about thier opinions or integrity.
That said eveyone gave Super Mario Galaxy a 10 ;).
December 20th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Everyone tends to scandalize every single little detail these days and blows it out of proportion. I personally have no problem Matt C’s position with his wife, IMO it probably makes him more conscientious on articles he writes about the platform, to make sure who his wife is doesn’t eschew the view of the article.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Wow Jeff, ya know you could make a site like GameSpot and people would flock to it right? You’ve got the power! Gratz on 50k gamerscore!
December 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
not that big of a concern to me but we shall see what happens in the future with all his work it should be interesting.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
You need a policy in place that has full disclosure when there may be a conflict of interest. Such as when someone is reporting on a company and they own stock in said company.
It’s just common sense, nowadays. With the internet(s) it’s not a matter if, it’s a matter of when everything will come out. These things are are necessary to be disclosed up front, if they want to be taken as professionals. It’s impossible to be totally impartial, so at least think enough of your readership to give them the facts upfront and let them decide. More times than not, if I find out something after the fact, that’s when my radar goes up and I become suspicious.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
i dont know it happens everywer with just about everything thers not much we can do about it besides hope the people let it go…i will admit this kind of shit pisses me off but then again idk shit happens im sorry tht people hav to act like that about the shit but people are stupid.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Hey Jeff,
just wanted to say it’s really cool to see you being able to comment on former competitors now. I imagine it would have been considered bad sportsmanship or something like that if you posted this back on the old gamespot blog.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Boycott
There is a conflict of interest there. I’m definatly not saying that the dude is taking review advice from his wife but the conflict exists.
This is a bit like your situation. Should we know or shouldn’t we. I beleive we should. If your in any public forum you’ve chosen that. You might not like it but tough.
Shit hot blog post. more of them…
December 20th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I don’t even think this is much of an issue.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
One person’s marriage potentially conflicting with the content they present is a small drop in a big sea. The scale of this story affects me to such a small extent that I don’t particularly care. We’re only human, and putting myself in Casamassina’s shoes, I would hate to be forever scrutinized, or, even, ostracized from a job I am passionate about because of my personal, intimate relationships.
With that said, if that relationship was of a more “professional” nature, then I would indeed care, because that is usually indicative of a more widespread problem.
So, Jeff, to answer your question, I don’t care to know about a potential conflict of interest dealing with someone’s personal life because those are usually isolated incidents. But if there is a conflict of interest stemming from a monetary/business relationship, then I think its imperative for anyone publishing that content, especially if it is presented as journalistically integrous, to inform the public of it’s existence.
Will that ever happen? Probably not. Given the amount of conglomerates running the show now, I’m not naive enough to believe that it will. Which is why I think the onus falls on the public being presented the content to consider factors such as the size of the publication, it’s track record, and its advertising partners before accepting any information as honest; and, ultimately, one should always consider a variety of sources. I mean, if you visit one site and trust it’s content at face value, then, frankly, you deserve to be deceived.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Here’s what I care about when it comes to gaming communities:
1) Least biased reviews I can get with some quirky thrown in
2) Least sexism I can get, which is why I am canceling my EGM subscription (see Jan 08 in Letters entitled A/S/L?) and avoid Game Trailer talk
3) Awesome personalities and events
4) Whether or not the said personalities are fairing well/being treated awesomely
People can still harbor little bias, yet have strong ties to companies, so as long as the said individual keeps things relatively balanced while reviewing, he could marry Britney Spears for all I care. I take that back for she need not continue to reproduce with another marriage excuse.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I agree that an open full disclosure policy is the best way. Unfortunately, a senior editor being married to an employee of a major player in the market would always be an issue, but when the editor’s employer (in this case IGN) can say that they’ve known about it all along and that the editor made it clear from the start, I think it eliminates many of the issues. How much would be made public would be up to the editor and his/her employer, but as long as they could both point to a clearly stated written agreement accepting the existence of a ‘potential’ conflict of interest I think that would be acceptable.
December 20th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
The line must be drawn [url=http://www.gamespot.com/] HERE! [/url]
December 20th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I guess I was wrong. It appears there is an issue.
December 20th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
The knee jerk reaction in this case is, “I knew it!” - but that’s generally because I don’t like IGN, and it’s easier to continue hating something you already hate (though, to be fair, that’s nothing personal against Matt himself).
Even if they came right out and said, “Yeah, Matt got married but it doesn’t effect his position professionally,” I think people would still assume it did. Like how, generally, very few people trust Nintendo Power. The editorial staff of the magazine could swear up and down that they were independant or whatever, but the magazine still is (or at least was) made by Nintendo personally.
And while Cassamassina being married to what is essentially Nintendo PR is different than being published by Nintendo, it still should make people look at what he says with a little more scrutiny, even though I doubt his wife actually cares what he says. What does matter is that her employer might care what he says, and there may come a time when they try and use her as business leverage with him. Sure, it’s low - but business can and does get low down and dirty like that.
You are right, though; keeping it a secret just makes it look worse. Even if this would put his opinion in jeopardy regarding Nintendo products, hiding it makes it look like IGN knew it might effect his judgement. As if they’re hiding it because they thought it was related to something worth hiding.
In the long run, though, I don’t think this really matters. Compared to the ten other bombshells to drop over the past month or so, this is relatively small stuff. Matt’s gonna keep gushing about Nintendo and complaining that Sakurai should let IGN post Smash Brothers Brawl updates instead of using the smashbros.com blog, with or without a wife in Nintendo PR.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Beyond employment history, and possibly vaccination records, I personally do not think readers should be requiring further information from editorial staff.
There are exceptions, however, such as the case of an IGN staffer married to a nintendo exec. The same thing occured several years ago when all the Ford Explorers with Firestone tires were flipping over like $2 whores. It came out that a Ford exec was married to someone high up in Firestone. What I think readers should remember is that those cases were exceptional.
I have never once thought I needed to know an editor’s family tree, however I do expect to know an editor’s relationship to major publishers. Generally, such relationships ares based upon the aforementioned employment history, however the involvement of family deserves disclosure.
Even there though, I see limits. If my editor’s kid brother is testing over at Ubisoft, that doesn’t require a news article or even a blog post. We ought to save our scrutiny for real issues, not conspiracy theories.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
No one can entirely disconnect himself from the outside world, be 100% objective.
Infect, everyone got many motive to say and even think the way they do.
That being said - a journalist of any kind - should try and remain true to the facts.
In gaming reviews - facts are indeed entirely subjective however that does not approve acting in non professional way.
To me, that fine line between personal conflict and being true objective - should not be discussed.
General integrity should be.
Zedprime
Creator of http://www.kanelynchsucks.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkJYgZaTZw8
December 20th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Game reviewers, writers and editors are as big as celebrities and rock stars.
All that matters is as long as the reviews fits my taste in games, I’ll read it and stick to it.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
[...] newly-independent (some might now say emancipated) Jeff Gerstmann has posted his thoughts on the whole Matt Cassamassina-is-married-to-Nintendo’s-PR-company-VP story… but more [...]
December 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I think it’s important for the readers to know of something like this (a videogame reviewer being married to a employee of a videogame publisher). But that’s all I would need to know. I believe Matt deserves privacy when it comes to his personal relationship. But something like that should be known. Even if it is for those “just in case” instances like what has happened now.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
It’s only potentially scandalous. It is completely acceptable if no influence is asserted. Look at James Carville and Mary Matalin, they are married and both at opposite sides of the political spectrum. They seam to do just fine.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
What do I want to know about the people and companies that bring me my game news? Well, that all depends.
In terms of determining validity and integrity, hardly anything. Video game websites at this time have reputations, and almost all of those reputations are good. In no way does Casamassina’s marriage effect my views of the site he works for.
On the other hand, I am a fan of some editors on video game websites, and I am interested in what interests them in or beyond the realm of video games. If those editors want to start a blog, or something crazy ridiculous like that, I will happily listen to what they have to say.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:02 am
This story just feels hugely inappropriate. Private lives are the one thing that should escape the public domain on the whole and only come to light when there’s actual, factual proof and evidence.
Most people either work at keeping their private lives out of their marriage lives and most times their relationship depends on that. This story should NEVER be run! Because at it’s heart its merely speculation on prospective injustice, and thats way to vague to warrant any merit.
So what was the point of running this story?
Was it as a Journalistic hero’s innate thirst for truth for the people? Or was it merely cashing in a current trend targeting the integrity of enthusiast press?
This story is fundamentally balls because not only does it target individuals instead of the face-less organisations, it invades the barrier between public and personal and down to basics makes life difficult for a young married couple!
Horrible really, and massively pointless!
December 21st, 2007 at 12:26 am
I’m a Government Drone by trade. And the first thing they teach us when working with Venders is “Perception is reality”. So you always have to be careful with disclosure and acceptance of any gifts. I’ve turned down cups of coffee because it might send the wrong message out to other Venders in public situations.
I don’t envy the position some in the industry are facing now that the numbers, sales and marketing is so sky high. I don’t think we are near the 80’s crash in the next 2 years, however, there has to be a dip sometime soon. Corrections in the market are normal after all. And that is when the Game Journalists will really be taken to the wood shed. Carl “Cosmos” Sagen’s “Billions and Billions” never had a more apt refrence for the dollar amounts at stake in the 2 year future. Giving a company leverage through a personal relationship is a low tactic indeed but is it a real surprise to see some knee jerking in light of recent events? Again.. no envy.
To think that if someone told you 5 years ago to “Go Google yourself” would have such a difrent meaning.. Now it is more of the standard background check than a unique insult. It is also why social networking online is sooo a double edged sword.
The moral of the story I guess is “Just say No” to having a personal life. Who knew that abstinence
could be a condition of the job rather than a bi product of playing games? LOL
December 21st, 2007 at 2:40 am
你好jeff，很高兴这里看到你的blog，虽然你离开了Gamespot，但我感觉非常非常可惜，在这里可以看到你真是非常高兴，对不起本人英文水平非常差抱歉只能使用中文留言，祝你好远，新年快乐！
December 21st, 2007 at 5:11 am
They should fire him, just like they did you. He deserves it!
Or not, because jesus, does anyone really truly believe she sits there going “No oral until you start giving good reviews!”?
December 21st, 2007 at 7:05 am
I think it is important to let the public know about conflict of interest such as a situation as this. I think it should be mention at the end of the reviews if there is a good friend or family member works at the game studio it should be mention. If Matt does not want to revel anything about his personnel life he probably has a option to change departments (IGN is a big site).
A lot of people are getting piss off of this topic because they think it is a personnel attack against Matt but it isn’t. I would want the same for everyone. I think less people should stop just shutting while he doesn’t do this or that. Let’s just use this to start a conversation on how to improve gaming journalism because it needs it.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:34 am
I see this coming
December 21st, 2007 at 10:22 am
In this case, I’m going to plead indifference, because IGN is the worst gaming site I’ve ever read and I wouldn’t take their word on any game, ever. Should their readers know what Matt does in his private life? Probably not. Was scandal inevitable either way? Probably.
But seriously, IGN is awful beyond words.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Just because his wife works for a PR firm that does Nintendo’s PR doesn’t mean it directly correlates to biased reviewing. It isn’t like she actually works for Nintendo.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Matt’s wife is not a Nintendo exec. She is an VP at Golin Harris, a large PR firm that happens to have Nintendo as one of their clients. This story is quickly spiraling out of control from it’s original report. Some of that probably coming from the name of the initial article (IGN Editor Married to Nintendo PR Executive) but the rest coming from people not knowing how to read.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:46 pm
The way I see it, this is, like so many things on the internet, a complete knee-jerk reaction to something that ultimately doesn’t matter. I’m sure they knew what they were getting into when they began they’re relationship. I have trust in their professionalism. They’re adults. Not children, like the people whining about this.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Whilst its none of our business and it must suck to be one of the two people involved - we have to consider this hypothetically.
More importantly, these reviews are opinions - their word is not final, you can listen or shun their opinions as you see fit. Especially with sites like gamespot and IGN where these reviews are accessible to the public for FREE we must remember that we are NOT ENTITLED to completely fair honest coverage - and there is no such thing anyway - but that we are being offered a free opinion.
So befora y’all start jumping on the bandwagon remember that its none of your business and if you dont like it then buy the game yourself and make up your own damn mind.
December 21st, 2007 at 5:14 pm
I heard Matt’s daughter was dating Leonardo DiCaprio.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Everyone’s all up in this with their OMGWTFBBQ!11! It isn’t like the guy has been trying to hide it; he just doesn’t start everything he writes with “My wife works for…” I don’t know… I rarely read anything over at IGN so in a sense I don’t really care, but at the same time I feel for the guy. I want to believe that there are things such as honesty and integrity still left in most of us out there. I want to believe that there can be a potential conflict of interest but that the people involve choose to do the “right thing.” Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what I think so long as IGN management are OK with it. If they feel that the situation isn’t causing readers to go to other sites, what do they care?
December 21st, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I would never suspect Matt’s marriage of tainting his work, but I would want to know the facts… the fact that IGN avoided disclosing this makes me think that they didn’t want it to be publicly known, and if he isn’t letting it affect his work then why wouldn’t they want it disclosed?
December 21st, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Jeru, I heard the exact same thing, but about Godot. Do you think they’re twins?
December 21st, 2007 at 10:00 pm
This is so meta.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:49 pm
hey i found jeff everyone, hes over here.
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:10 am
I can’t help wonder where they’d include this info, at the end of every piece he produces? Doesn’t seem reasonable to me.
That said, potential conflicts of interest should be handled by the one(s) in charge at IGN, if they feel this could make content he produces biased they should have him producing something else where it wouldn’t be an issue.
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:39 am
Hey Jeff. Did you see this?
Not directly related but interesting that IGN is covering it so openly. (minus the disclaimer)
http://insider.ign.com/articles/842/842879p1.html
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:32 pm
i’ve heard that Matt from IGN was dating a Nintendo PR rep or something so i never bothered with his reviews. there’s some bias with him when it comes to Nintendo’s first party games, imo
January 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I think this was a potential conflict of interest and IGN and Nintendo failed their employees by not making it part of public record. As you said, no one here actually thinks there was any shenanigans going on, but items like this shouldn’t have to be “found out” after the fact. In the event of potential other issues happening to either company down the road, finding this out during a later investigation would only muddy the waters and make both companies look far worse.
i.e. Public Disclosure or bust, it’s common sense.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:05 am
…yeah, this one’s a conflict of interest.
I know he doesn’t mean it - he’s in a lot bigger contract than his job by walking down the aisle, and it’s never just about games at that point. I’m sure they love each other and all, and I wish them the best in their lives together.
The problem is one of these two needs a new job.
One is a video game reviewer. The other is a video game Public Relations person. It looks bad on its face. He clearly has access he shouldn’t have; she certainly has opportunity to heavily influence a review she shouldn’t have.
First and foremost, this should have been disclosed a lot earlier by both individuals; in particular, the one in the media where journalistic integrity would come into play. From here, there needed to be a quiet, polite severance package, or, failing that, an editorial decision to keep him off Nintendo’s games. If it were a generic Nintendo employee, I would simply say disclosure is appropriate, but a PR person? No. That one can’t happen. No one wants to do that; I wouldn’t want to be the one to break it to him. The fact remains that it needs to be done.
This video gaming journalism’s got issues. One involves this blog’s humble owner. (To Mr. Gerstmann: **** CNet and we’re behind you.) We’ve got advertising directly tied to the reviews with no alternate plans forthcoming and no ombudsmen to be found. And, now, this. I understand the medium covered started in the late 70’s, but do we need to go through reinventing the wheel to clean this stupidity up?
January 27th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
This is all so pointless. Matt is going to continue publishing his OWN opinions on the games he reviews. Apparently Gerstmann’s never had a lover, for the dude in the relationship hardly ever listens to his girls demands beyond the first year or so together. I’m just kidding Jeff, but seriously, this isn’t important at all. I don’t think anything can increase Matt’s already strong love for Nintendo.