Jason Schreier

No, I was not editor, but I was a news editor. So I was kind of, I oversaw a little bit of the domain, but the editor in chief was Stephen Totillo. He ran the site.

Yeah, Stephen was fantastic. He's the one who hired me. I'm still a close friend of mine today. And he and I worked very closely together for a very long time. And in fact, I did not enjoy management at all, nor do I think I'm particularly good at it. And my job as news editor, it wasn't really management. There was a little bit of middle management involved, but it wasn't really management.

Yeah, Stephen was fantastic. He's the one who hired me. I'm still a close friend of mine today. And he and I worked very closely together for a very long time. And in fact, I did not enjoy management at all, nor do I think I'm particularly good at it. And my job as news editor, it wasn't really management. There was a little bit of middle management involved, but it wasn't really management.

But I very much prefer to be reporting, which I enjoy a lot more.

But I very much prefer to be reporting, which I enjoy a lot more.

So I'll tell you the story of what happened. So during my first few years at Kotaku, I started Kotaku in 2012. And during my first couple of years there, I was doing some reporting, trying to break news, trying to tell stories that were a little bit different, a little bit distinct from your kind of typical games news outlets.

So I'll tell you the story of what happened. So during my first few years at Kotaku, I started Kotaku in 2012. And during my first couple of years there, I was doing some reporting, trying to break news, trying to tell stories that were a little bit different, a little bit distinct from your kind of typical games news outlets.

And one of the things I did was in 2015, towards the end of the year, I published a story about the making of Destiny 1 and why that game's story was such a debacle and all the rewrites and last minute changes and all the drama behind the scenes there. And after I published that, what happened was... a guy named Charlie reached out and he, I had talked to him before. He's a literary agent.

And one of the things I did was in 2015, towards the end of the year, I published a story about the making of Destiny 1 and why that game's story was such a debacle and all the rewrites and last minute changes and all the drama behind the scenes there. And after I published that, what happened was... a guy named Charlie reached out and he, I had talked to him before. He's a literary agent.

I had known him in the past and he was like, hey, what if you do a book that is like stories like this? And I was like, oh, okay, that could be interesting. And then from there, he and I started putting together a pitch and a proposal and all the other kind of hoops you have to jump through to get a book signed.

I had known him in the past and he was like, hey, what if you do a book that is like stories like this? And I was like, oh, okay, that could be interesting. And then from there, he and I started putting together a pitch and a proposal and all the other kind of hoops you have to jump through to get a book signed.

And then by, I think, four or five, six months after that, I don't remember exactly, I had signed a deal with HarperCollins to write that book. And I did it on the side while I was working at Kotaku throughout. 2016 and into 2017.

And then by, I think, four or five, six months after that, I don't remember exactly, I had signed a deal with HarperCollins to write that book. And I did it on the side while I was working at Kotaku throughout. 2016 and into 2017.

Well, it depends, right? There's the front door and the back door. The front door is whenever I reach out to PR folks and I say, hey, you got a game coming out. Can I talk to the director of that game? Or can I talk to the studio head or whatever? And I'm sure they're a little bit cautious, um, in ways that maybe they wouldn't be if my reputation wasn't what it was.

Well, it depends, right? There's the front door and the back door. The front door is whenever I reach out to PR folks and I say, hey, you got a game coming out. Can I talk to the director of that game? Or can I talk to the studio head or whatever? And I'm sure they're a little bit cautious, um, in ways that maybe they wouldn't be if my reputation wasn't what it was.

But I also think they recognize the benefit in having me talk to some of these people because they know that I have a platform and I can reach a fair number of readers with those interviews. So I think there's benefit for them for participating in that sort of thing.

But I also think they recognize the benefit in having me talk to some of these people because they know that I have a platform and I can reach a fair number of readers with those interviews. So I think there's benefit for them for participating in that sort of thing.

But yes, definitely some hesitance, some kind of caution from the PR folks and the people whose job it is to control the message of their companies.

But yes, definitely some hesitance, some kind of caution from the PR folks and the people whose job it is to control the message of their companies.

Whereas the backdoor, if I'm reaching out to developers privately on background and saying, hey, I want to talk to you, maybe you can be anonymous for this story because you would get in trouble if you were caught talking to me, that I think people are more inclined to talk to me because of my body of work because they have seen what I've done before and they know that I have a reputation that I won't burn sources, that I work really hard to protect people.