The above image is NOT actual Street Fighter 4 game footage.

I want to apologize to our readers for my recent rant regarding a blog post by 1up Editor, James Mielke. While my comments were made in the heat of the moment, to be clear, I was not defending the actions of the individual who stole the exclusive content.

My attempt to defend Kotaku (and blogs in general) was specific to the comment made about “only wanting traffic”, because all sites want traffic and all publications want subscribed readers. That said, I do not agree (nor have I ever agreed) with publishing one side of a story as fact without getting the other sides comments. While I thought that point was made clear in my rant, I wanted to take this opportunity to make sure that our readers understood that.

One reader complaint which I fielded was in regards to us giving fired Nintendo blogger Jessica Zenner a platform to explain her side of the story. The reader cited this as an example of us “just wanting traffic”. This is something that I stand behind, and furthermore is something that I believe is a perfect example of a journalists responsibility to make every attempt to tell both sides of the story.

I was also taken aback by the notion that bloggers are not real journalists. I believe that there are excellent writers out there who happen to write for blog sites. Writers with ethics who feel obligated to do things the right way. I know this because I have several of them here.

In most cases, a blog starts out as a means for individuals (who don’t have the access or ability to build and maintain a full traditional website) to share information with their readers. Upon reaching a certain point in their growth, some blog sites decide to change format, while others decide to remain a blog.

Granted blogs have a more free flowing layout, which lends itself well to speed, but the traditional format has its advantages as well. One of them being predetermined “feature” space. This, paired with high levels of traffic, a dedicated reader base, and yes … hard work and persistence is how top tier exclusives are often obtained.

So while smaller blogs/sites will rarely have access to these types of exclusives, they can still add value to their respective channels. In closing, it is my belief that the content, not format, is what makes or breaks a site.

Chad-

• Gametap Taps Out Editorial Staff
• Mirror’s Edge set to be the First in a Series; Level Editor hinted at for Second Title
• Andrew Podolsky, Editor (US)
• Custom Soundtracks Rock High Velocity Bowling, TimeShift Demo Adds In-Game Messaging Support
• EA Rep Says Forum Ban Won’t “Automatically” Get You Banned from their Games
• Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools beta launched
• EA Forcing Good Behavior: Get Banned on their Forum and You’re Banned from their Games
• No Final Fantasy XIII At E3 2007?

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