Two former editors at Electronic Gaming Monthly have begun writing a blog about what happens behind the scenes in the game journalism: the techniques publishers use to get good previews and reviews, the punishments they inflict on those who attempt to stay free of their influence etc. Encouraging, in my view, is their opening the blog to voices representing the other side: PR/marketing people from big game companies articulating companies’ points of view (eg: “ought we not do SOMEthing to defend good work against trashing by journalists too lazy to play more than 2 levels of a 20 level game?)
It’s early days — too early to know how interesting this blog will ultimately be; but these first signs of an effort to bring transparency to game journalism and to look at the manipulations by both sides are encouraging.