How did various media outlets report the FTC gaming report?

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 14th 2007 at 12:55PM }

Here's some light weekend reading about politics, the media and gaming. Earlier this week the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released a report about the gaming industry. The real fun for industry folk was seeing how all the various media outlets would report the news and what their headlines would be. Below is the list, shamelessly ripped-off from Dennis McCauley over at GamePolitics, of various media outlets and their take on the report:

FTC says content curbs fall short - L.A. Times
Report says the young buy violent games and movies - NY Times
FTC: self-regulation of violent content working - Beta News
Children still see ads for violent content - Advertising Age
FTC scolds marketers about violent content - AdWeek
FTC: violence still marketed to youths - Hollywood Reporter
Report: Violence still aimed at kids - Variety
FTC violence marketing report show general compliance - Broadcasting & Cable
FTC Report: Violence Still a Problem in Marketing - TV Week
FTC: game industry self-policing improving - GameSpot
FTC: M-rated games still marketed to minors - Next Generation
FTC: games are better regulated than music, movies - Ars Technica
FTC report: mixed reviews on industry's ability to self-regulate - Joystiq
FTC: game industry stricter than movies, music - Kotaku
FTC report praises, spanks video game industry - GamePolitics

As McCauley asks in his headline accompanying the list above, "Were these media outlets reading the same report?" The various headlines make us think of the classic question: If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to see it, does it make a sound? Some say yes, some say no, some say it explodes into various pieces, some say the Earth Mother picked it back up, some say there is no tree. The various headlines and the stores with them is a good read on the diversity of voice in the media -- especially when it comes to gaming.

Tags: advertising age, ars technica, ftc, game politics, game spot, joystiq, kotaku, lat times, media, new york times, next generation, reports, variety

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 14th 2007 1:11PM

I don't know the theory behind it exactly but yes the tree falling in the woods with no one around does make a sound. Ignoring that a tree in the WOODS would be surrounded by other trees and animals and that they could hear that sound, the very experiment itself makes the sound. Possibly linked to the Chaos Theory that thoughts have an affect on the world and the mere thought of the experiment of the tree falling down already has made a sound because you have already thought it has made a sound. To even test that a falling tree has made a sound would require a person to have set equipment to record if it made a sound or not and that influence would preclude a sound.

Mr Khan @ Apr 14th 2007 1:35PM

@ 1

Chaos theory is real, but it is so ubuiquitous and pervasive that it's just considered a given, the full effects of chaos theory are seen everywhere, all the time, and hardly distinguishable from normalcy

(ACTs make your head hurt)

but this seems pretty straightforward. Media outlets spin news in various ways, depending not on thier agenda, but on their percieved agenda, which their sponsors want them to adhere to

Liberal and Conservative media is a myth, its all about the money. Were Communist China to mail Rush Limbaugh $80 billion, he would swear off Conservative policies forever...

Anonymous @ Apr 14th 2007 1:40PM

They report the negative because that is what sells papers. It's unfortunate that even though the report mostly said that the self-policing was working, and that sales of violent video games (to minors) were way way down, that they'd report the one paper-selling negative (which is that kids still see advertisements for violent games).

Oh well, this is such a non-story that I doubt it made any actual headlines (or the front page of any newspapers). If national papers are anything like my local paper, then this story was relegated to the middle of the business section, where almost noone reads anyway. I don't envision anything negative coming from this press (although it couldn't help matters =/)

If certain anti-video game politicians get elected to the White House, then we are in for some pain. Until then, let them report what they will, because cooler heads are prevailing in Washington (so far)

Savok @ Apr 14th 2007 1:50PM

Yeah, "diversity".

This is why no one trusts the media anymore, fuck the facts, it's all about their own agendas.

geekRECON @ Apr 14th 2007 2:35PM

You completely miss the point of the "tree falling in a forest" riddle. It has nothing to do with chaos theory, Schroedinger's cat, or any other ponderance of physics or metaphysics. If no one is near the tree, it makes no "sound", but it does make a "sound pressure wave". The accepted definition of "sound" is something along the lines of "a sensation producted by a physical stimulus arriving at the auditory sensory organs". A "sound pressure wave" is the creation of vibrational energy due to friction or impact. Please research your riddles before misusing them.

Oh yeah, don't trust the media!

Rubang B @ Apr 14th 2007 3:26PM

Heavens no! Video games ate my baby!

Bluebreaker @ Apr 14th 2007 5:01PM

I guess I'll get my news off of Youtube and Liveleak since there seems to be a Trust No One mentality when it comes to general Media.

Isn't the news more fun when the bias swings in your favor though, hmm?

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 14th 2007 5:54PM

@geekRECON
That is of course if you ignore the woods. Animals and trees and even the environment can feel the impact of the fallen tree. And don't give that the tree in the riddle is just independent and not interacting with anything, because then the tree cannot fall since it is just itself. The riddle paradox is that we're all connected and an impact of your actions or life is felt.

geekRECON @ Apr 14th 2007 7:36PM

hvnlysoldr >
The real question at hand is: Did Schrödinger' cat really die? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schroedinger%27s_cat) If it did, then he needs to answer to PETA before they slaughter a cat and throw it on his grave in protest.

John @ Apr 14th 2007 9:13PM

This is a great article. We can see instantly, by this summary, the assumptions or presumptions of any given media, by reading their headlines.

I would have been disappointed by LA Times, except I remember it got bought out recently by some right-wing group.

A great article, keep stuff like this coming! This shows the bizarre effects of a 'new' media (video games) on staunch outlets like newspapers.

Not to worry. Once the people invested in the 'negative' media understand that there is money to be made from video games, they won't give a rat's ass. They'll invest in them just like they invest in the foreign slave trade; they don't care whether it's appropriate or not, they only care whether they can make money. ANd they WILL make money.

Watch. In 2008, it will all change.

John @ Apr 14th 2007 9:15PM

@hvnlysoldr: you started your statement with, "I don't know."

I needn't read any further. You admitted that you don't know. Re-take that philosophy class.

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 14th 2007 9:47PM

@geekRECON that's a tough one. His cat is supposed to exist in a simultaneous state of life and death. The cat itself probably can figure out if he's dead or not. PETA is really funny sometimes.

@John Why do you assume I took a philosophy class in the first place? Since you didn't read it basically the tree isn't alone in the woods even if no person is around. Therefore its action impacts the woods when it falls.

Steve @ Apr 14th 2007 11:48PM

>> FTC says content curbs fall short - L.A. Times
>> Report says the young buy violent games and movies - NY Times

It's interesting that two of the most leftwing newspapers in the US (as if any aren't leftwing) would come down against the industry.

On the one hand, these papers would naturally want to see the government, federal level government, regulate the concept because that's what leftists do: they want government to regulate every aspect of our lives in the name of freedom. (i.e. I've never met a self-proclaimed liberal who was actually liberal)

On the other hand the industry is part of the entertainment industry. As we all know, the nation's National Socialist party and the celebrity elite walk hand-in-hand. Whenever the collectivist democrat party decides a policy it counts on the entertainment industry to tell everyone what to believe (for example look at the way everyone's now on Al Queda's side in the war). When do you ever see leaders of the democrat party ever condemn aspects of the entertainment industry (aside from the time they threated to pull Sinclair Broadcasting's broadcasting license if they aired Stolen Honor in 2004 which was not flattering to Comrade Kerry or the time in 2006 when the Dim leader in the Senate threatened similar actions against ABC if they didn't remove parts from the 9/11 Commission movie that made the Clintoon administration look bad.)

I've just got to wonder if the democrat party is setting up the gaming entertainment industry for political blackmail: comply and promote our agenda like the rest of the entertainment industry or we will hunt you down and punish you.

Naaah. Can't be. A hard hitting newsource like Rolling Stone, People, or US Weekly would have exposed this by now!