- RedMonkey999
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I contacted NPR with my opinions, and I suggest that if you feel strongly about this, that you do the same.
NPR's contact page: http://www.npr.org/contact/
My letter:
Dear NPR Staff,
On the January 8th, 2008 edition of All Things Considered, I heard the segment "Best-Selling Book Shows 'Halo' Game's Wide Appeal" by Chana Joffe-Walt. After listening to the entire segment, I decided to address several issues raised by Ms. Joffe-Walt's sloppy and unprofessional approach to the subject matter of her story.
As a 20 year old, literate, videogame-playing, male college student, I fit right into the target demographic for consumers of videogames and products spun off of videogame content (products such as books for instance). Therefore it may be no surprise to Ms. Joffe-Walt that I have indeed played all of the Halo games, that I have read all of the Halo books to date, and that I have a fairly extensive knowledge of the Halo story from start to finish (at least the portions made public by Bungie). However, judging by the tone of Ms. Joffe-Walt's recent story, it may be a surprise to her that I do in fact read, that I'm generally intelligent, and that I'm living a normal life (interacting with other members of society in a fashion that is considered normal and socially acceptable, complete with a girlfriend, some keys to carry in my pocket, a car, my own apartment, and even a job...surprise!). It may be an even bigger surprise to her that I also listen to NPR, the station that happened to be broadcasting the segment in which she did her best to insult the intelligence of the entire videogame playing demographic. For example, at one point during her interview with Joseph Staten she posed the question "Do gamers read?" She goes on to say "...Geeks, in other words, you're dealing with geeks..." I don't claim to be an expert on journalistic technique, but it seems rather callous and counter-productive to insult the intelligence or the social status of your audience.
Besides taking shots at video gamers in general, Ms. Joffe-Walt's tone during most of the segment conveyed a sense of contempt for what she was reporting on, and her apparent lack of knowledge on the story's subject matter made it obvious that she spent little time researching before hand. This lazy and unprofessional approach to journalism degrades All Things Considered, and the entirety of NPR when it is aired on what is otherwise a highly respected show and radio station. While insulted by Ms. Joffe-Walt's comments, and saddened by the style of journalism she exhibited on NPR's All Things Considered, I'm not looking for an apology. I’m just asking that future stories by Ms. Joffe-Walt for NPR, and stories about videogames in particular, reflect the high standards of journalism found in the rest of NPR's, and All Things Considered's, reports.