Kotaku is running with a rumor that Mass Effect, the highly anticipated sci-fi shooter/RPG hybrid, has been delayed from a rumored July-ish release date (oh please oh please oh please), to a September (SON OF A BITCH) release date. Reaction has been decidedly disappointed, and understandably so. It’s a highly anticipated game from a studio that has a very good history of making amazing games with compelling stories and customization, and, well, it looks amazing.

However, in the comments section of the Kotaku story, a commenter claiming to be a Bioware employee has felt the need to clearly state that Bioware, the creators/developers of Mass Effect, have announced no release date for the title, and that people shouldn’t jump to conclusions. So who do we believe? Kotaku’s source is an uncorroborated story on Computerandvideogames.com, not necessarily the most reliable of sources for news, but the contradiction comes from a commenter on a news story on a blog (and the irony of pointing this out does not escape me).

I think this just points to the importance of at least some degree of journalistic practice outside of simply writing a story based on one source. I’ve mentioned previously that standard practice for conventional news media is to try to get at least three sources prior to running with it in press. This is what is known in the professional journalism establishment as “covering your ass”. It’s harder to refute a story that has three unrelated, reliable sources of confirmation, and while this can slow down the news cycle while confirmation is obtained, it also cuts down on retractions or follow up stories where a site tries to ameliorate how stupid they look for running with a random story on the internet.

People often complain about how the bigger sites may take a day or more to print news that the blog sites run almost immediately, but perhaps this could be explained by the higher editorial, ethical, and professional standards that are in place at larger sites. I would rather have a story that I know was researched or at least fact checked or followed up on than a story I got 12 hours earlier, but maybe that’s just me.

-Aegies