Explaining the Duke Nukem controversy

Kevin Bumgarner, the editor of the Dallas Business Journal, writes about the controversy surrounding the paper’s story about a local game company and its release date for an upcoming game.

Bumgarner wrote, “Technology has forever changed the rules of engagement between media outlets and the companies they cover, with repercussions — and opportunities — for all those involved.

“Most noticeably, both the DBJ and 3D Realms wasted little time in communicating updates to our audiences. And, unlike the snail’s pace progression of events that would have unfolded pre-Internet 2.0, all the decisions were made in real time.

“Sometimes, I see ‘purists’ complaining about this new direction as they fret about the future of traditional journalism. But, as newspaper publishers and television general managers get used to a world where they don’t call all the shots, it is clear that our role doesn’t have to diminish.

“We were able to feed news immediately to an audience eager for the information, and as a result our traffic spiked. The story and its ensuing response from 3D Realms accounted for about 25% of our Web site’s total traffic for the week ending Feb. 8. We got mentions on a variety of Web sites — local and otherwise — that drove our traffic.”

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