A letter to my former co-workers
By Shoe
It’s come to my attention — according to a couple of my friends and former co-workers — that some of my posts here have implied the integrity over at Ziff Davis Media should come into question now that I’m no longer there. I know I brought up one very specific incident that happened a while back that I wasn’t personally happy about, but I want to make this public apology to that crew if that (and anything else that I have written) turned into a broader paint-strokes sort of thing.
Integrity? Ziff Davis is where I learned it, man. If it weren’t for the company’s rules and policies…and if it weren’t for the guidance of my co-workers there, I wouldn’t be where I am at today. I’ve been vocal about a lot of gaming journalism stuff in the past, but it’s always been on behalf of the outlet I’ve been representing (mainly EGM, of course). Ziff is the one who laid down rules like “can’t accept flights/hotels/gifts/etc.” And Ziff would’ve canned my ass if they knew I accepted exclusives for positive scores or anything like that.
Sure, I’ve added additional rules while I was in charge there…stuff that hit certain gray areas that corporate policies didn’t cover, such as what we do with the free games that we were allowed to keep. But I know those rules are still in effect over there.
I meant it when I wrote here that 1UP.com is one of the sites that I read regularly, and that’s not because I’m friends with the staff…. Honestly, it’s because I trust them as reporters and reviewers. When I’m at Best Buy looking at a game that I forgot that I wanted, I’ll pull out the iPhone and check 1UP for the review. And EGM is literally the only game magazine that I read through now (when I can snag a copy from those guys…I actually haven’t subscribed because I can usually get a free issue from them before it has hit any mailboxes). Like I said on a recent Player One podcast…I really like the work they’ve done at the mag since I left.
I said it before: ZDM has been great to me. That experience I wouldn’t trade for anything (except maybe the chance to beat up the dude who hacked my Xbox Live account). So I feel shitty if my ramblings have somehow dragged their reputations down. I don’t have any other ulterior motive to write this other than to clear that up. It’s a great bunch of guys and girls there who work their asses off every day…people whom I really miss working with.
