Tag: gamergate

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Talking Targetgate on ABC 936 Hobart

ABC logoEarlier this week Target Australia announced that it was pulling Grand Theft Auto V from its shelves after an online petition gathered 41,000 signatures protesting the game’s depictions of violence against women. “Targetgate” soon became the label, of course — and it stuck even when Kmart Australia followed suit.

On Thursday I discussed the issue with Louise Saunders on ABC 936 Hobart, covering much the same territory as journalist Alex Kidman did in his opinion piece at Fat Duck Tech.

This is obviously a complex issue, especially in the wake of the continuing Gamergate furore, but because I’d previously discussed Gamergate on Download This Show, I felt reasonably well-prepared. I’m told I skirted around the edge of the rabbit hole without going down it.

I’d be interested to know whether you agree.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.2MB)

The audio is ©2014 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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Talking Gamergate and more on ABC Download This Show

Stilgherrian on Download This Show

ABC logoI’d originally intended to avoid the clusterfuck in a teacup that is the Gamergate controversy, but I was persuaded to talk about it on this week’s Download This Show on ABC Radio National, along with seemingly now regular parter in crime and CNet news editor Claire Reilly.

GamerGate: death threats, sexism, misinformation and one of the biggest storms of opinion on the internet in a very long time. Plus we’re about to become flooded with Smartwatch devices but why do they mostly need to tethered to a mobile phone? Why can’t you just replace a phone with a watch? And it’s an international agreement being negotiated in secret which could have a huge impact on our digital life. We unpick the recent leaks from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations.

One of the better summaries of Gamergate is Kyle Wagner’s The Future Of The Culture Wars Is Here, And It’s Gamergate, although I’m rather fond of the polemic Why #Gamergaters Piss Me The F*** Off by long-time gamer and former NFL player Chris Kluwe.

As the blurb says, we also spoke about a new smart device called the Rufus Cuff, and developments in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.6MB)

The audio is of course ©2014 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It’s served here directly from the ABC website.

As usual, one of the segments was also made into a video — the one on TPP — and that’s over the fold, immediately below.

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