Journalism in the World of Gaming

One sorely overlooked sector of the games industry is games journalism; journalists are often so busy eagerly announcing news that they never really get a chance to talk about themselves. In order to rectify this, I set out to interview John Apostol, founder of GAMElitist.com.

_Thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions. We already know that you work in games journalism, but what specifically is your role and why did you want it?_

**John Apostol**: My role is the Editor-in-Chief at GAMElitist.com. I also handle anything promotion and site related, pretty much making sure that we deliver fair and concise content to the public. Day-to-day, I read all of our content and edit for fact errors and style problems as they arise. I never specifically strove to be a leader but I rose to the occasion out of necessity and curiosity.

_So, how did you get into games journalism in the first place?_

**JA**: I came to start up my own gaming website after working for a similar site that sort of fell apart. From that experience, I learned how to do things right and how to do them wrong. I also learned of the way to approach publishers and developers. Sometime in July, I realized that I had a lot of free time and I wanted to try my hand at my own gaming website. I invested in the necessities and did my best to recruit a set of writers. Now here we are.

_What would your advice be to others on how to get into games journalism?_

**JA**: Games journalism has one important aspect that people seem to forget: journalism. The barrier to entry for this specific industry is low but there is a lot of muck out there that gets readily ignored. Even some of the bigger sites make glaring errors every now and then. If you want to be in this industry for the long haul then I advise you to take journalism courses and work on your overall writing. You’re covering gaming but first and foremost, you’re a journalist.

_Aside from the free games, what is the biggest perk to being a games journalist?_

**JA**: The greatest part of being a games journalist is knowing information before the public does. It’s also satisfying to read warm remarks on your work and find that people are interested in what you have to say. The free games that we receive aren’t really free because they come with a time commitment to review them. Still, we’re always excited when something new comes in for us.

_Finally, what kind of career path do you see games journalist jobs as leading to?_

**JA**: A games journalist can hone their craft and jump between publications as a freelancer or even stick with a publication as a full-time paid reporter. Journalism is a very independent job that leads into many opportunities to network. A games journalist, with a good amount of sample writing, should be able to find writing work as long as he or she is willing to search it out.