Three Speech, Sony, and journalism’s slippery slope

Why should you care about this thing about a blog called Three Speech and Sony? Well, Sony fans may like the all-Sony content, but Simonc on GameSetWatch has some issues with the blog. Specifically, it has to do with an interview with Sony’s Phil Harrison and journalistic ethics.

The problem lies in that it not only chooses sides, but also raises questions about integrity issues. Simonc writes, “Well, GamesIndustry.biz’s story on the interview reveals that Harrison was speaking to GamesIndustry.biz’ Rob Fahey as part of an interview being serialised on semi-official Sony blog Three Speech.” This little detail, while seemingly inconsequential, holds a lot of weight when you’re looking at news.

There are two basic reasons. First, Simonc found the site to be owned by Ramp Industry, a PR firm that has worked with Sony in the past. When a site claims, ” People are free to say what they want here. We wonÂ’t censor content so long as this space is used constructively,” this becomes a matter of divergent interests. How can it be constructive for Sony if questions that might necessarily show weakness on Sony’s part are allowed on the blog and the interview?

Second, the difference in the interests a reporter and a company not only puts the integrity of the site’s ability to allow free speech in question, but also interferes with the fair and balanced stance of a news reporter. As Simonc writes, “Why weren’t there any difficult comparative questions asked about Xbox Live Arcade in the Harrison interview on E-Distribution?”

In other words, how can a reporter or news blogger be nonpartisan if his actions lie dangerously close to skewing his overall coverage for or against one entity or another? As Simonc writes to Sony and bloggers and journalists everywhere, “You need to state your agenda, or don’t come and play at all (see: Fragdolls), and journalists need to be aware of the ethical problems lying there-in, because Sony’s profit motive lies above any interest in fairness on their part.”

Why should you care about this thing about a blog called Three Speech and Sony? Well, Sony fans may like the all-Sony content, but Simonc on GameSetWatch has some issues with the blog. Specifically, it has to do with an interview with Sony’s Phil Harrison and journalistic ethics.

The problem lies in that it not only chooses sides, but also raises questions about integrity issues. Simonc writes, “Well, GamesIndustry.biz’s story on the interview reveals that Harrison was speaking to GamesIndustry.biz’ Rob Fahey as part of an interview being serialised on semi-official Sony blog Three Speech.” This little detail, while seemingly inconsequential, holds a lot of weight when you’re looking at news.

There are two basic reasons. First, Simonc found the site to be owned by Ramp Industry, a PR firm that has worked with Sony in the past. When a site claims, ” People are free to say what they want here. We wonÂ’t censor content so long as this space is used constructively,” this becomes a matter of divergent interests. How can it be constructive for Sony if questions that might necessarily show weakness on Sony’s part are allowed on the blog and the interview?

Second, the difference in the interests a reporter and a company not only puts the integrity of the site’s ability to allow free speech in question, but also interferes with the fair and balanced stance of a news reporter. As Simonc writes, “Why weren’t there any difficult comparative questions asked about Xbox Live Arcade in the Harrison interview on E-Distribution?”

In other words, how can a reporter or news blogger be nonpartisan if his actions lie dangerously close to skewing his overall coverage for or against one entity or another? As Simonc writes to Sony and bloggers and journalists everywhere, “You need to state your agenda, or don’t come and play at all (see: Fragdolls), and journalists need to be aware of the ethical problems lying there-in, because Sony’s profit motive lies above any interest in fairness on their part.”