Not all leaks are created equal: A critique of Richard Lewis's philosophy

The responsibility falls on the journalists to assess what good and harm leaks can do, and act accordingly.

The problem with society in general is that the ones with the power to effect change also need to have the moral consciousness to use it responsibly. The human tendency for abuse of power is so common that modern day governments rely on checks and balances because they know an individual can't be trusted to take responsibility. To quote our childhood superhero Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."

The privilege of being the first one to begin circulation of information carries enormous power to influence the public perception of said information. The evidence is clear: There are numerous Reddit posts parroting the same thing mentioned somewhere else by entertainment content. It's disappointing and very worrying to me that the journalist circle in League, in times of controversy, has great difficulty admitting fault and apologizing. They are quick to sidestep criticism through a variety of devices, including:

  • Remarking on the general benefit of journalism in the scene, thereby steering the topic away from a specific instance of blunder.
  • Claim that their mistakes were misinterpreted, thereby removing any accountability for the results of their actions, usually widespread drama, polarizing hate, or confusion.
  • In a controversial issue, emphasize the blame on the other side, weighting their criticism in a one-sided manner to distract attention from themselves.

The confusing part for readers is that there is truth on both sides. Journalism does have benefits in this industry. It is important to have someone who can dig out interesting information as well as bring transparency to injustices. However, it's equally important to recognize that these are people who wield a lot of influence in the community. It's important we take a vested interest in whom we want to represent us.

For the journalist, it's probably difficult to accept why they should be held to a higher standard than anyone else, why their personal sites like Twitter are relevant to their professional jobs. The thing is, as journalists they aren't just average internet-users anymore, just as celebrities or politicians aren't either. On the one hand, you enjoy great benefits. When you write a post, make a vlog, do just about anything: people listen. The average Redditor struggles for a top post or for their opinions to be heard in a way that a famous journalist will never have to. On the other hand, you have a tradeoff of disadvantages. When you write a post, make a vlog, do just about anything: people are still listening. The average Redditor tweets something? Nothing happens; no favorites or retweets. Not so for a celebrity. Your fan base doesn't turn itself off when you write on Twitter. You are still reaching the community. When your words can move entire segments of a community, you have a responsibility for your actions. It's disappointing to see journalists try to reap all the benefits of being a celebrity in the community, but reject the responsibility that comes with it.

Journalists are people and will make mistakes; this is to be expected and is okay. What's troubling to me is how the general rhetoric among the entire journalist scene when a mistake is made is that the journalists weren't really at fault. I have yet to see anyone from within the journalist circle have the moral sense to the community to step forward and readily admit a mistake, or have the courage to criticize another journalist's actions, without being obligated by a corporate entity. This troubles me because when people in power make a mistake, we want to see some accountability that will reassure us it won't happen again. What we don't want is to be called idiots for criticizing them, or have pages-long stories dancing around an issue when all that's required is an "I'm sorry, won’t happen again."

To be clear: I'm a fan of the content. I think it’s a great motivator of discussion and entertainment, which is awesome for this community to have. If I sound brusque, it’s because I’m not softening the words for convenience of communication, which is a philosophy the current journalists ascribe to themselves. I don’t think good content justifies being above criticism when a mistake is made.
There are already plenty of "journalists" out there in common media who make a career out of manipulating the masses. It can happen in League of Legends if we hold our moral bar low as a community. Let's not pretend journalism is always a purely benevolent endeavor, and stop this paradigm where being critical of journalists means you’re attacking journalism as a whole, as if its existence is so fragile it’s on the verge of extinction. We shouldn’t play favorites and hold their hand on this and let dubious actions go by just because we like some of their other work. That’s not objectively correct, either. On the other token, if you’re a journalist and have the whole community going one way for the wrong reason or create discontent as a result of your actions, then just man up and admit you’re responsible. There have been mistakes made in the past that were easily covered up by a quick apology and never repeating them. These things can be avoided if there’s pressure to do so, if we change our perception of what journalism does and what criticizing it means for us.

Anyways, that's my take on journalism in the community. Props to anyone who read through it all. I just didn't want to devolve discussion into a hate back and forth on essentially RL's leaks without bringing up some fundamental issues at hand in how we perceive journalism and its role in the community.

/r/leagueoflegends Thread