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World of tech media, Gizmodo

Gizmorons, or, How to give Bloggers a Bad Name in One Easy Step



The face of journalism has been undergoing a massive shift over the past several years. From the days where news could only be written by lay men and women with writing skills, things have changed. Now blogs and websites exist that allow the experts in all fields to speak for their own field. But the internet has also allowed the layman the chance to do the same, participating in a way that is reminiscent of the journalistic cadetships of yesteryear.

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Naturally, this change is coming slowly, despite the onslaught of so many blogs the hairs on my head would be easier to count. We, as the internet generation of journalists, are fighting an uphill battle that, we will win, even if it takes longer than it should. It’s going to be even longer though if morons like those from Gizmodo continue as they did at the most recent International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. For those not as intimately entrenched within the world of tech media, Gizmodo is one of two gadget websites that vie for traffic (the other being Engadget, who normally always wins). Naturally, Gizmodo were at CES – it’s the biggest conference of the year for websites like that – under press passes for journalists, not bloggers. According to their smug blog post on the incident, magazine MAKE provided the Gizmodo team with several TV-B-Gone remote controls which, as the name suggests, switches off any television with a working LED port to communicate with. Richard Blakeley of Gizmodo was the culprit this time, as he walked through CES turning off TV’s, disturbing presentations and generally creating a public menace of himself. The Motorola press conference in particular suffered, as the presenters had to apologize to those present, and improvise, as their TV monitors continually shut off during the presentation. This is not a new discussion point, as the whole of the internet has gone up in flames, backing one side of the argument or the other. Was it simply harmless fun or was it detrimental? While the stunt itself may have proved funny in a limited arena, the length to which Blakeley took the prank was nothing but childish. And worse, it gives bloggers a bad name. While Gizmodo were there under journalistic credentials, they are publicly known as a tech blog. With bloggers already seen as amateurish by many in the medium, this does nothing to solidify our own rights within a journalistic world. As of last Friday, this release was published by the conference organizer, the Consumer Electronics Association; We have been informed of inappropriate behavior on the show floor by a credentialed media attendee from the Web site Gizmodo, owned by Gawker Media. Specifically, the Gizmodo staffer interfered with the exhibitor booth operations of numerous companies, including disrupting at least one press event. The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of CES media credentials and caused harm to CES exhibitors. This Gizmodo staffer has been identified and will be barred from attending any future CES events. Additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker Media are under discussion. Joshua Hill, a Geek’s-Geek from Melbourne, Australia, Josh is an aspiring author with dreams of publishing his epic fantasy, currently in the works, sometime in the next 5 years. A techie, nerd, sci-fi nut and bookworm.


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Guest Column Joshua Hill -- Bio and Archives

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