Long blogpost ahead. The executive summary: I did a newspaper article which got picked up in other (news) media. Which is, of course, really flattering. But I also learned a lot about the inner workings of the news media. And as I am planning on writing about game journalism in my PhD and because I have a general interest in news media, I wrote this down in order to vent some heartfelt joy, surprise, and a little bit of anger. Here’s how it went down.

Where to start? As I am slowly gaining healthpoints and recovering from being under the weather for weeks, I found some time to do a story on the Wii. Yes, they’re in short supply and their third-party line-up sucks, but it is a marvelous machine. And best of all, it is inclusive technology.

To demonstrate the Wii’s casual capabilities I went over to Ordina, one of the biggest ‘consultancy, ICT and outsourcing’ companies in the Netherlands. At their HQ they have a dedicated health manager, Erik van der Ploeg, who oversees all kinds of health regulations and looks out for the general well being of Ordina employees. As it turns out they use the Nintendo Wii to relax between breaks and to have a tiny bit of exercise during the day. Most of the 1100 employees in the Ordina HQ work behind computers. The main objective: a happy employee is not a sick employee. Whether it works? Too early to tell, but seeing the Wii in use all day for over half a year is in many respects telling.

The result of my visit is a full page article in today’s Dagblad De Pers. The story, “Spelen in de koffiecorner”, is online and in .pdf, (see page 19). I had a really good feeling about the article because it shows that playing games, especially on the Wii, is a force for good. Gaming within a company setting bypasses any discussion on gender, digital divides, addiction, violence, military masculinity, cheating or any other (preferably) negative stereotype you may think off when I say ‘playing games’. It is just plain fun. Waste of time? Common, watching television is a waste of time. Being in traffic, having boring meetings, deleting spam, that is waste of time. Playing 20 minutes on the Wii in a lunch break? That, seems to me, is brilliant company policy. What better way to relax after doing some number crunching (or writing on your PhD for that matter) than playing a game of Wii Tennis?

Joy! I turned out that my story got picked up immediately by my “colleagues” in the press. Dutch radio got it (3FM), a national newspaper picked it up (Parool), it will be on public broadcasting (TV) tonight and some other outlets contacted Ordina. RTL Boulevard (prime time TV gossip magazine) wanted to report on it, but that (thank God) didn’t fall through. But, great! I am humbled and honored. Look ma! I started a miniature media hype. And it isn’t (as of yet) on addiction nor on violence. Nobody mentions my name, nor that of De Pers. But that’s the way it goes.

Surprise! They had this Wii since May 2007. Did I make ‘new news’? Nope. Sorry, it isn’t that big of a story. It might be an entertaining story. But there probably are many more companies which have a Wii. The Ordina story is interesting because someone put some thought into it all and transformed the Wii into company policy. But to go to the exact same company as if they reinvented the Wii or something..?

Anger! As you know, I am, and hopefully will be for some time, at the core an academic. Journalism, and I am referring to the genre of daily news (news papers, radio, news shows on TV), is all fun and games, but it lacks nuance. It trades hype over substance. It is short term rather than long term. My goal, as a journalist, is to change that. (Yes I do actually live in an ivory tower with a stunning princess and a fearsome dragon/cat). I am an academic trying to be a journalist, not the other way around. Don’t make me choose, because academia, at the core, has some pretty solid ground rules.

So what’s the fuzz about? Check out this story: “Gamen in de pauze” by NOS Headlines. I compared the two stories here on my site, (yes I have too much time on my hand). Imho, it is a copy of my article. It is the exact same argument, same wording, same perspective, even the same freaking coffee room. So thanks, NOS headlines for ripping me of my hard earned IP. Not that I am a copyright freak. All my journalistic stuff is even under a freaking Creative Commons license. I only ask for a citation.

In academia it is called plagiarism, which is, in my view, a Capital Sin. In retail it is called theft. And in journalism? Modus operandi, standard procedure? By coincidence I spoke to several journalists today. They shrugged. Move on, next story. Shit happens. You should be happy they copied your story! What are you whining about?

They are right. It is a bump in the road. That’s the way it goes. Never I’ve felt so glad to say that I am an academic.