Fox News Reviewer immediately fired for early review

[Bodhesatva]

DKII said:
Bod I'm not sure your argument is at all related to your example here. He wasn't fired for breaking an embargo or for inflating his score in order to get an early/exclusive review. He was fired for illegally pirating the movie in order to review it.

And I'm also not sure why you think it's up to the publishers to enforce journalistic ethics. They're not journalists. They're PR. It's up to the media to be ethical and not alter their writing/criticism based on conditions laid out by the publishers.

 

 As to your first point: again DK, I don't think you understand what I'm discussing. I'm questioning why we gaming fans encourage, goad and prod reviewers to bring us the earliest possible information about new projects at any cost, even using "leaks" and "rumors" and accepting exclusive reviews. That sort of behavior isn't encouraged or accepted in film criticism.

As to your second point, that's patently absurd. If I offer you free copies of my games if you give my games a good review, I can't then claim "I'm not doing anything wrong, but if you accept this free game, you are." Obviously it's wrong to accept bribes (or, if you'd prefer, "favors") just as it is wrong to offer them.

Keep in mind that journalistic ethics aren't binding, DK. Even for a journalist, there is no explicit penalty for breaking them. It's just a matter of respect. You can be as sleazy a journalist as you desire -- and there certainly are a good number that are willing to be very sleazy -- but you can't expect to be respected in return. Most of the sleaziest are considered just that: tabloid sleaze. Similarly, is Ubisoft's behavior, for example, illegal? No, things don't have to be illegal to be wrong. I can go around calling you awful names and telling you you're a terrible person all day long: that makes me a jerk, but it's not illegal (as long as I don't follow you around. That's harrasment. If I just say it to your face every time you happen to pass by me, that's completely within my rights). In the same way, publishers can offer "favors" to critics all day long, and there will be no legal consequences, but it's not ethical.