If it were only so simple!

The monumental unveiling of the anticipated return of Street Fighter was supposed to be a joyful event, one that eager fans had been patiently waiting over ten years to realize. But there are those unwilling to wait just a little bit longer. In an age where information moves at the speed of light, patience is a lesson learned when rumor and hastiness collide.

At the center of that controversy is Brazilian freelance writer Douglas Pereira, owner of independent website Blogeek and responsible for pre-empting the exclusive unveiling of the Ziff-Davis Media controlled Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) controlled event. Branded a thief by the media conglomerate and many online media, Pereira speaks out about his role in the debacle for the first time with us.

We here at Popzara are grateful to you for allowing us to open this dialogue regarding what can only be described as a very sticky situation for those who regularly follow the fascinating world of videogame journalism. I think to better understand just why we’re all here today, why not give our readers a brief description about yourself and just what you do?

Douglas Pereira: Hi, and thanks for the opportunity. I am a freelancer writer here in Brazil for about two years. I started in a PlayStation oriented magazine and then started to write for many others. Recently, many freelancers lost their “quasi-jobs” here and I decided to start a gaming blog, blogeek.com.br, as the independent scene is getting bigger in our country. The site is online for one month and we already have some good readers. Short answer: I am the owner of the site that published those pictures about Street Fighter IV.

The term journalist is tossed around quite frequently these days, often wearing a surprising number of identities such as serving as a prerequisite to attend industry trade-shows, to justifying the posting of questionable material in a variety of online forums.

In your opinion what criteria is required for the title of journalist, and would you consider yourself one?

DP: I think the title of journalist should be credited for those who pursue the truth, but, above everything, for those who try to be as most impartial as possible. I don’t believe in full impartiality, but people should try to get as far as they can on it. And no, I do not consider myself a journalist. Not just because I don’t have a diploma, but also because I see that nowadays this term is being used for many things that shouldn’t. There’s a lot of journalists here that want me to be partial and others that are calling me a jerk because I did not reveal my source! I just love games and try to write interesting stories about them with honesty, a little of opinion and care about what readers deserve.

Speaking directly of the incident that began all this trouble, you claim that you were first approached by a third-party source with information and media related to the impending exclusive content of Ziff-Davis publication EGM’s coverage of Street Fighter IV.

Your conclusion was one that excluded you from any consequence of circulating such media to your readers, as you were never directly under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) pertaining to these particular images in the first place. Would you call this is a fair assessment of the situation?

DP: That’s pretty much correct. I questioned my source if I. It was evident that somehow he got that from Ziff Davis. But he is not a hacker. So, if he entered, and gave me some info and two pictures, I should post them, because I did not do anything directly to Ziff Davis. For example, would the journalist who got the information from Deepthroat think “oh, I don’t think White House will like it, you shouldn’t tell me all these things”? I wasn’t under NDA, and didn’t enter the FTP myself. It’s their problem with their security, not mine.

So what happened after you initially posted these images to your website?

DP: Nothing happened, actually. I posted just the info first, and nobody cared about it. Then I posted the images and nothing happened, too. It just became a mess when Destructoid and Kotaku, respected sites that everybody knows and like, linked to my site, and the entire internet was publishing the images. Then Futuro Comunicação, the publisher of the Brazilian version of EGM, came after me with telegrams (I didn’t even know that it still exists), phone calls, and many threats, accusing me of theft. I took down the site, like they asked me, because they were also threatening the editor-in-chief of EGM Brasil, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken down the site.

Assuming your version of these events is indeed accurate, given your history with Ziff-Davis and EGM in particular, weren’t you at least concerned about the possible conflict of interest in publishing exclusive content from a company in which you had been employed?

DP: I was never really employed. I wrote every month to them, but didn’t sign anything. Ever. But yes, I thought that it should have some repercussion, but mainly from here, not from all around the world. As long as I didn’t get the pictures myself, nor they have any concrete proof that I did this, I felt that I should go with the story and post the info.

Did you, as EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu claims, steal these images and information from a company server using an illegally obtained password with the intention to scoop the company’s exclusive release?

DP: No, I did not. I’m a freelancer. Why would someone be that stupid to leave a password of something that important to a freelancer? And I don’t go to EGM Brasil offices for almost three months. How could I have the password? If I already have, I could have leaked info three months ago, and not dare to make this with such a big franchise as Street Fighter.

He claims that not only have you admitted to creating the story of an independent source, but that they have IP logs that prove your theft of their propriety data. Are any of these claims correct, and if not, why would Hsu make such a statement?

DP: They’re all wrong. I want him to show the IP and see if this is mine. And do you know why they don’t have my IP? First, because generally IPs here in Brazil are dynamic, they change every day. And second, because I don’t even have internet at home. They don’t have any proof that I was the one who did this, and they don’t have much of a clue of who entered their FTP, so they will be saying anything until they find my source. Or maybe someone told him wrong information and he gone with it without double-checking. I respect Hsu, I really do, and it’s hard to think he would say these thing just to set me up. I really don’t believe it.

Have you been in direct contact with anyone from Ziff-Davis Media since this incident first began, Hsu or otherwise?

DP: I received one e-mail from Ziff Davis’ IP Manager, Tara Garfinkle. It was a note stating that they acknowledged that I removed the pictures and that I should make a statement that I would not post those things again. Since they were still threatening, I replied saying so. Here is the full answer I gave to Mrs. Garfinkle:

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Hi, Tara.

The site will be up again, without the 2 posts containing Street Fighter IV material. I really don't think it's the right thing to do, I found a source who gave me the info, and I published the article and I didn't care if it was from EGM, Game Informer or whatever. I just wanted to give information to people.

Anyway, the content has been taken down, and I don't think it will happen again.

So, are we all set?
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See? I did not admit anything. I don’t know why Dan Hsu would say this.

Do you feel that you were effectively censored by Ziff-Davis?

DP: Yes, for sure. The boss of Futuro Comunicação sent me some e-mails a telegram, and threats were coming all along. Hsu said in his statement to Kotaku that he wouldn’t care that much about me if I had a source. I had, but they didn’t care about it and forced me to put the site down. And they just wanted Blogeek to go down. Why didn’t they do the same thing to other sites, making them remove the pictures? Sorry for making this question, but did they send any letter to your site?

Is it safe to assume your freelance status with EGM Brazil has expired?

DP: Probably. I think even if it gets proved that I just published the pics, the bosses of the publisher wouldn’t accept me to write again. Which I think is sad. They are not a good administration anyway.

After the initial ‘cease and desist’ order from Ziff-Davis you opted to take down the Blogeek website temporarily, but have since restored it. If you were convinced of your innocence on this matter, why give into their demands and shut down your outlet of creative expression?

DP: As I said, they were threatening me really hard at Futuro. They said they had the power to send the police to my house, that Capcom and Ziff Davis lawyers were in a meeting to see what they would do to me, that I had to pray for nothing to happen. I was a little scared. I didn’t know exactly if they could come with something against me even if I just published the images. I know that taking the site down made me a suspect, but I had to, because, like I said before, the threats were not just against me.

In our editorial review of the whole affair (link), we came down pretty hard on the Kotaku website for their surprisingly flippant handling of presenting information to their readers, in particular the condemning of Ziff-Davis without first attempting to verify the validity of your claims.

We know that you initially contacted various independent media sources (Kotaku included) to gain support for what you feel was bullying by a powerful media enterprise, some of whom were quick to throw their initial support to Blogeek and your rights as a journalist. However, since Dan Hsu’s proclamation of your apparent guilt have switched focus and have effectively admitted their rush to judgment. In some cases some of those websites who initially supported you have since ceased all updates on this story.

I’m curious to know your opinion on the status of independent media (websites, blogs, etc) versus the more traditional and commercially linked media outlets and publications and more specifically how they handle breaking news.

DP: Every website, blogs, magazines, TV shows or whatever works with information can be wrong sometimes. Just to clarify, Kotaku’s boss Brian Cresente contacted me asking if what Dan Hsu said was true, but I was not online at the moment to answer. I replied the email on Saturday, but I think he wasn’t able to access it or something. Maybe they were not that right to tell my story without checking with Ziff first (though I still confirm what I said there), but it was even wrong to come and publish something that put so many people against me just because the other guy came to “shed some light” on it.

Oh, sorry to skip the core of the question. Well, you can’t stop the internet, specially the gaming media. If something is news today, tomorrow will be called OLD or something. The big sites have resources to deeply cover and have exclusive stories, they have the power. Independent sites have the advantage to be cooler and give exactly what their readers want, and the readers want it FAST, and even faster when they have breaking news. That’s why I don’t blame them that much.

In this case it’s a lot easier to believe in the editor-in-chief than in a “tiny Brazilian blog”. And gaming print media is dying, everybody can see this. They won’t be able to compete with the web, and I think they should focus less on breaking news and try to get more elaborated content, like those that non-gaming magazines do, but with games. This way, everybody would have their place in industry. In the end, it’s all about who the readers want to be their source of news.

Do you think there’s going to be future litigious action with Ziff-Davis Media on this matter, or has there already been a resolution to satisfy all parties?

DP: I hope not. We are kinda settled. I removed the pictures and they sent that letter saying that was just a warning and that was all. I could put the images again, but I don’t want to cause trouble to other people who has nothing to do with this. They are now trying to figure out who leaked the content. But if they try something on me, they’ll have to prove.

On a related note, just how excited are you about Street Fighter IV? Has this whole situation taken the wind out of what should have been a pretty exciting moment for you?

DP: Oh, I’m definitely excited about SFIV! Everybody is. The information we have until now are nice – tough I do not like that the parry system won’t come back. I’m a fan of fighting games, it’s good to see Ryu and Ken back to work. The game must be in early development, the graphics will get better. Capcom will listen to the fans a make a good game.

Douglas, we appreciate you taking the time to discuss this incident with us in depth, and hope that the truth behind what transpired will come to light. We feel the merits of this particular story lay in the reminder of the often foolish rush and perceived need to present information deemed necessary at the expense of truth and validity. Substance and mutual respect may have an increasingly irrelevant role in this hasty world of instantaneous information and market share, but they will always be the tools of the true journalistic trade, of whose consumers should expect nothing less.

Thank you again for your time, and we’ll leave the last words to you. Take it away!

DP: I really want to thank Joel and Popzara for the opportunity to get some things clear. You realized that it’s not exactly about who is right or wrong, but to put all the sides together and then readers will decide. I have to say that I didn’t know your site until Thursday, but I can see that you are serious people. Keep up with the good job and see you!