Gamers, bizarrely, feel like a persecuted group. I say bizarrely not because they can’t find potential evidence, but because it’s fairly ridiculous for any group heavily courted by the media with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to feel too persecuted by the media. It isn’t like the media completely ignores gamers (like, say, the disabled), but instead that most major news stories involving gaming seem to lend toward the negative side. Is there a good reason why? You bet.

First, one must understand that without a detailed statistical analysis it is difficult to claim the mainstream media has a negative bent towards gamers. Any perceptions are just that-personal views shaped by anecdotal evidence. That, of course, doesn’t mean the perception is inaccurate, just not proven.

Second, one has to define what they mean by the “mainstream” media. For example, are magazines such as EGM, Maxim, and others that cater to large male demographics considered mainstream, or is the debate only concerning Newsweek, MSNBC, and The New York Times? If the former, then the argument that the mainstream media has it out for gamers seems much less defendable, as both these publications obviously feature gaming coverage and tend to sell well. If the latter, then one might have a better argument that such media outlets tend to focus on the bad rather than the positive.

Third, what does one define as “hate” or a negative bias? Is simply reporting stories with a negative focus considered hate? Or does the proportion of stories matter? For example, reporting stories with a negative crime focus about a certain part of town over and over again is not necessarily a bias against that population or geographical region. Indeed, it may be as simple as most crime occurs in said area and therefore the news coverage pie chart will tend to be skewed in its favor (or disfavor, as the case may be). This is all to say; it may simply be that gamers and games produce more negative news than positive. Of course, such arguments assume that gamers are somehow naturally more a negative population than film buffs or music lovers. While possible, on the surface this seems unlikely as there is apparently so much overlap.

So, for the sake of argument, assume that there is statistical proof of a negative tint to gaming news. Assume that the mainstream press is defined as those media outlets with the widest appeal (broadcast and cable news, newspapers, newsweeklies, etc.). Assume that there is indeed a negative bias, and not simply not gamers our raising more trouble than other media devotees. Why would the media hate on gamers?

The simplest answer is that gamers are young. For the mainstream media, at least, they tend to not be part of the reached demographic. An argument might be that if treated with more respect they would join, but for now many young people simply ignore the mainstream media significantly, if not entirely. Of course, the simplest answer ignores the fact that many newspapers have started gaming columns and blogs to reach out to this audience.

The more complicated answer is that many older people, those running the mainstream media, note a certain level of apathy and nihilism in the younger generation. While such accusations can quickly be countered by the high numbers of young people who do volunteer work and the fevered excitement among many young people in this year’s presidential election; many would point to the continued occurrences of school shootings and other violent or plain juvenile lashing outs by young people. This is to say nothing of the mainstream media’s own arrogance that leads it to believe that because fewer people are paying attention to the media it produces, then they must be less informed and disillusioned.

Of course, as with any misunderstanding both parties are partly to blame. Gamers do indeed lash out at anyone who calls into question almost any aspect of their hobby. Film fans tend to be far more reserved, and by contrast make the gamers seem even more extreme. A bit of tact and restraint would go a long way toward changing attitudes. Additionally, more positive news actually created within the gaming community would do wonders. Projects such as Child’s Play are a wonderful first step, but more needs to be done and not simply in the charity realm. Films get cut a lot of slack for the hard R-rated films because in turn Hollywood produces so many moral message movies (try saying that three times fast). A mirror can do wonders for one’s image.

It’s trite and lazy to say there are no easy answers. Easy answers come in both groups understanding one another better. That doesn’t come from smear campaigns in either print or online. It comes from both devoting a bit of time to knowing how the other works, and what makes them tick. It also comes from gamers screwing up less and giving the media easy headlines. Sort of like how the media made this headline so easy.

Related posts:

1. Mainstream media’s mythical hatred for gamers
2. Sly reporter infuriates gamers by questioning their literacy
3. Why gamers don’t deserve respect, yet
4. Video games and sex mix like oil and water
5. 25 reasons gamers annoy non-gamers

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