It’s been said to me in the past that I’ve had a gift for the written word, and certainly I enjoy writing.  I’ll freely admit that part of that is a narcissistic desire to simply hear myself “talk,” but nor do I take dramatic efforts to lure in an audience.  If you want to hear what I have to say, you know what corner I’ll be standing on; come on down.

In college I decided that becoming a writer would be a decent “backup career.”  After all, you don’t necessarily need a degree in the form, simply a way with words and some knowhow.  Back in the day, I used to look at my video game magazines or mega-sites like IGN or GameSpot and say, “I could do that.”  To that end, I took a magazine writing course to dip my toes in the water and get at least some form of training.  In fact, during a very short period in high school, I used to write for teen site Kiwibox.com.

The journalistic environment has changed dramatically in just these past few years.  Though not strictly “news” sites, blogs and their writers have gained massive presence and have earned the respect of the industry.  No longer are they fan pages regurgitating news from other sources; they can now stand toe to toe interviewing their subjects and reveal scoops of their own. 

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that many blogs are staffed or run by traditional journalists or writers, like Brian Crecente (Kotaku; from Rocky Mountain News) or N’Gai Croal (Newsweek).  Others came from grass-roots fan sites and were fortunate to cultivate an audience (IGN’s Peer Schneider came from Nintendojo, who, to be fair, does have a degree in Journalism).

What’s so special about blogs?  Their informal nature and speed-of-thought publishing means news and information arrives to the reader instantaneously.  There’s no immediate pressure to check sources, no haughty-taughty style guide, no need to measure to fill a minimum or maximum number of words for a print space.  Rumors are just fine as long as they’re presented as such; confirmations can be run later.

Maybe in my early-20’s I’m already an old fogey, but I still like traditional printed media.  I like the tactile feel of paper and flipping through pages.  For reference manuals, nothing beats bookmarking a couple different sections with some fingers and rapidly flipping back and forth.  When sitting in a waiting room or airport, I’d rather hold my arms open with a newspaper or magazine than burn my lap with a “laptop” computer or strain my eyes and constantly flick to scroll on my smartphone.  Reading internet comments these days, I see I’m not alone thinking that, if anything, magazines are still great for passing time while on the can.

The problem with printed media is that if a particular publication’s raison d’etre is to provide news, thanks to printing lead times, most of the information is no longer “new.”  The most vocal of online commenters have already abandoned print.  “Why pay for what’s online free and sooner?”  Well, that’s a tough arguement to debate.

What I enjoy about print are the feature articles.  Page after page of thoughtfully written and researched information in a hopefully eye-pleasing layout with large, glossy images.  But content is content, right?  And why can’t that simply be put online instead.  The Escapist tried to be an online magazine in a very literal sense, complete with wide page spreads, numerous columns per page, and large graphics.  Unfortunately, that’s simply not ergonomic for computer reading; it’s a different format.

Is print media on the way out?  Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) closed their doors just short of printing their 20th anniversary issue.  Aforementioned Brian Crecente’s Rocky Mountain News will be publishing their last issue tomorrow after 150 years in the newspaper business (this news is what prompted me to write this entry).  Armchair critics say that print is dead or needs to quickly adapt to the new online world.  Many have already, and almost all outlets have even turned their reporters and columnists into bloggers.  Is it implied that print cannot exist anymore?

As I said in a previous entry, my goal with this blog is to build my “brand” and my “voice.”  If I gain an audience, maybe someone in there would offer me a job.  Earlier this week, it was suggested that maybe I should reach out to some local news outlets and see if they need a video game writer.  Afterall, it was always my backup plan.  When I made that plan, though, I was planning to aim at larger commercial outlets, such as newspapers or magazines.  Just like everything else in the new America, opportunities are no longer as abundant.  However, there is still value in being “known.”  Though you can’t strike it rich being an internet celebrity (as famously told on last night’s South Park rerun), at least you’re not anonymous.

During my job hunting this past month, the well is pretty dry.  I’m planning on going to San Francisco next month for GDC and speaking with recruiters at their career pavilion.  I have my doubts about whether or not these companies can afford to actually hire anyone soon, but at least no longer would I be just a faceless name on one of hundreds of job applications.