As an example, let's take a look at event coverage (and specifically what we did at BlizzCon). Events are becoming more frequent in the gaming industry (or at least it seems that way) largely due to the trivialization of E3 which formerly was the end-all be-all of game conventions, so I've gotten a lot of experience with this kind of feature this year especially. Usually, you and a crew of your fellow editors will roll down to some huge convention center where there are a bunch of kiosks set up with games at various stages of development. There is typically a room in that convention center labeled "PRESS" that is simultaneously your prison and safe haven for the duration of the convention. Fortunately, you (or more likely your boss) will probably already have divvied up coverage responsibilities before you get there, so once the show begins you simply have to make your appointments and write things up in the PRESS room. With few variations, this is how it goes down: you see, you write, you see, you write, you see... well, you get the idea.

What's an Embargo?

One last thing that I want to sneak in here because my brain keeps brushing up against it, but I haven't mentioned it because it doesn't seem to fit in any one of these categories is the subject of embargoes. I'm frequently under the impression that the general public is completely unaware of the fact that these embargoes exist, so I'll explain them a bit here. You're undoubtedly aware that public relations and marketing are two related industries that deal with, among other things, controlling the dissemination of information about a product or company. When we want to get a copy of The Darkness for review, it's easiest to ask the public relations company responsible for handling that game (sometimes internal, but game companies also hire outside PR firms to handle things occasionally). The flipside of this is that these companies will usually have some "requests." Of course, sometimes they are not requests at all... sometimes they are non-disclosure agreements (or NDAs) which you must sign in order to gain access to the content that you need to do your job. These requests or NDAs have a very specific function and almost always include an embargo on your coverage, which means that you cannot publish anything until a specified date.


This is why I still cannot tell my cherished podcast listeners what game Embargo Codename: Maraca Depth Charge refers to and I won't be able to until we reach the embargo date (but rest assured, I most certainly will). Do we have to stick to these embargo dates? Well, not technically (unless it is in an NDA, which is a legally binding document with stated consequences for breaking it), but it's a courtesy that we all try to follow in the interest of positive working relationships. One reason that these embargoes exist is because we media outlets are so competitive with one another for exclusive content and so are constantly pushing for PR to give us something nobody else has so that we and only we can deliver it to you, our exceptionally deserving readers. There's no way for that to happen when we all go to the same event and see the same thing unless there is a specific date for us all to publish, so we (in some cases begrudgingly) accept these limitations as a part of the job. Regardless as to whether or not you think this is fair, you will need to accept them as well, or you won't be doing this job for long, of that I can assure you.

Wow... that was a pretty ominous sentence. It's really not that crazy, but it is something that I wanted to go into some depth on because I hear such wild rumors circulate outside of the industry on forum boards, reader emails and so forth. I hear that exclusives are given out for money or review scores are bumped because of payoffs in the form of advertising revenue, but, you know what? I have never witnessed anything of the kind in my long years doing this job, and believe me, I've been looking (we call that investigative journalism).

Three pages later, I think I'm done with these categories and embargoes and thusly ends yet another My So-Called Live. As always, I hope that you've enjoyed it and would appreciate any feedback you have. Simply email me if you have any comments on this or anything else I've written (including the Blue Dragon review, which is coming, I promise!). Thanks for joining me, I'll see y'all in two weeks.