"Leave Gizmodo AaaLLLOOONEEEEE... after all they have been through"

** head under a sheet with running eyeliner and a bad haircut**

JK love you guys

emanresu

Bravo to you Giz. The world is running low on smartasses and long on dumbasses. Here's to smartasses.

SeattleTed

Turning off the TV during the guy's presentation was tasteless and unfunny. Instead of apologising for your lack of judgement, you're crying because you got in trouble?

Please just stick to reporting on CE. We don't need your "pranks". Obviously your idea of what's funny is mightily skewed.

And you're preventing me from enjoying what used to be a great blog. Now it's all pranking, crying, and boobs.

wyldhoney

@ AZTRIGUY:

I remember when Gizmodo reviewed the TV-B-Gone and basically called its users "assholes". So Gizmodo, you gonna admit to what you are and move on or justify your reasons for being one?

Peppie

I am amazed that people think that authentic journalism has to come on network TV from someone in a suit. Those of you probably also think reality shows aren't scripted?! I could see my friends and I writing articles like these and yes occasionally pulling pranks. Real people giving me real information. Keep being yourselves. Good and Bad

senator133

Too many people are take this way too seriously. It is good to have "incidents" like this to cull out some of the suits reading this site.

Guests in the house of these companies??? Journals should be acting as "home inspector" reporting on "code violations." BTW, a skinny dip in the company's pool when no one is looking...now THAT would be funny!

Next thing you know, journalists will be wearing ties to work...pussies.

RainyDayInterns

@yeediddy:

I tend to agree with your response. However, I find it hard to believe that Gizmodo executed this prank not knowing the possible ramifications.

Let's see if they pull any of these "pranks" at Mac World. :)

yoshi

"When did journalists become the protectors of corporations?" -- Are you kidding me with this "us vs. the man" crap? You didn't piss on a corporation; you pissed on the audience. Those TVs were there to show stuff. People were there to see that stuff. If this was any other show, like a concert, there'd be no question that it's the audience, not the performer, that really got screwed.

"Consumer electronics Tech journalism is very tricky." -- I suppose turning off TV sets at an electronics show makes it easier. I mean, it's not like anyone there was covering TVs, right? And your all-encompassing remote only hit certain TVs, right?

"you earn your respect by fact finding, reporting, having untouchable integrity, provocative coverage and gaining readers through your reputation for those things." -- And by playing pranks.

BTW, good job on leaving your writer out to hang instead of pulling Gizmodo out of CES entirely. Shows a lot of integrity to let him take the fall by himself rather than have the whole company kicked out.

sumocat

So...

When some teenage hacker manages to screw up Gizmodo's front page, I suppose Giz is going to be really, really supportive and not bother filing any criminal complaints?

No - you're going to freak out and push for maximum prosecution under the law.

And, for the record, if I'd been the AV guy trying to figure out why all of those monitors were turning off spontaneously, I'd find your idiot writer and make him eat that remote (as it is, I'm going to make sure that everyone else in the business knows to screw Giz over as much as possible during trade shows and press conferences).

No, admitting it later won't get whoever it was out of the bad day you caused him, and someone probably got bitched out for not securing the IR ports of the monitor, even though nobody ever thought they needed to before.

There's a good chance at least one guy got fired because of your stupid little prank - people at trade shows are notoriously unforgiving of glitches in their presentations, and someone needed to be punished.

cirby

The Gizmodo prank was a bit childish and immature, reminded me of high school circa 1999. But a lifetime ban for an increasingly less relevant trade show seems just as immature; besides, the real story next year won't be at CES, but MacWorld.

ianmac47

You lost me at "having untouchable integrity".

djsyndrome

If you people honestly believe you people are "journalists" then your delusions of grandeur are worst than I had imagined. You are a blog, you are untrained, uneducated (in the methods of journalism) "fans" of technology. You don't check sources, you post rumors without thoughts to their consequences, and you repeatedly exhibit brand bias regarding particular products.

To take this "holier-than-thou" position is not only hypocritical, but decidedly pathetic when examining your body of work thus far.

Skemo

This is a very self-contradicting editorial

Consider this, you guys rarely take the heat for censorship on your site, and now after acting like the children that you quite frequently do, someone gets banned from "A CORPORATE TRADE SHOW FOR ELECTRONICS", which is very damning, considering you readers only come to this site for the Electro/Techno blogging. Luckily MacWorld is taking place around the same time as CES next year so you guys will actually have something to do. I just wonder what Engadget will do next year when they won't be able to rip you guys off for CES and simply re-post all your blogs, or is it Gizmodo that rips off Engadget? I forget.

Anyways, you guys could have acted in a more mature fashion, you had a responsibility to your readers, and now you will not be able to fulfill the promises that you have made to us, NO MORE CES, who cares, most of that stuff belongs on Crapgadget anyways.

Just make sure you don't pull this stuff at MacWorld or NAB!!!

TheCutSquad

Someone needs a history refresher course.

"Civil disobedience" is refusing to sit in the back of the bus. It's demanding the alleviation of poverty in India. It's sending a letter from the Birmingham jail.

Giz, don't embarrass yourself further by pretending that a sophomoric prank is some sort of protest on behalf of true journalists everywhere.

If you want to go to CES to fix tech journalism, I can think of any number of ways to do it. Even following Scoble around with a giant sign reading "Scoble is a shill" would have qualified as civil disobedience.

Disrupting presentations and secretly taping it doesn't do anything to fix the state of technology writing, and pretending ex post facto that's why you did it just digs your hole even deeper.

My advice: quit while you're [a] behind.

dotyoureyes

you guys all just need to calm down. go giz for playing the prank in the first place. a well executed prank is definately something to be proud of. as for being their "guest", fuck them. they are your guest. if they don't want real reporting, then they can shut their doors now and CES '08 can be the last. and B@TM@N. you are a tool. if you read every post giz has done about the iphone, you will realize that they never attempted to put their opinion on us. they simply reported the facts and let us make up our own minds. if you have a problem with what giz did then please, do us all a favor, reach behind you, get a firm grip, and pull that stick out of your ass. KEEP FIGHTING GIZ!!!

csgoat

"TVs turn back on when you press the power button a second time."

True, but it gets annoying when you turn the TV back on, then it gets turned off again, so you turn it back on, then it is turned off again. Especially annoying since it was in the middle of a presentation. He got what he deserved, end of story. How would you guys like it if you guys were talking on your iPhones and the service cut out, so you call the person back but it gets cut out again...oh wait, that already happens with AT&T.

Peppie

Agreed. Boorish nonsense. Honestly, I think it is a mistake to criticize Gizmodo for pranks like this. Apparently if Gizmodo feels so entitled, they should just be sued. Let the courts sort it out. We won't have to listen to anything other than lawsuit complaints.

If they're lucky (and they just might be) none of the presenters will have the noodles to formulate monetary damages incurred... but I'd say the punitive damages should be severe. Just look at recent court rulings. Punitive seems to be flying high.

Cleverboy

Don't hurt yourself trying to pat your own back for your brave journalism. Maybe you could use your universal remote to get those hard to reach spots.

Seriously, the people who put on demos at CES work straight through the holiday to have a flawless demo in hopes that you, the quick-witted press, will say something nice about the products they've created. Demos are rehearsed, checked, and re-checked, and some jack-ass who is supposed to be impartial interfering messing with things is fairly uncool.

Now, when competitors do it... that's funny!

rbullwinkle

@ronnsprocket:

The people who are pissed off are "a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists"? (as quoted from Wikipedia)

Good one...zinger..

gibson424

You know, I'm pretty sure Giz can maintain its integrity without disrupting presentations. Pranks are something you pull on your friends and not on random folks at trade shows.

I suppose Giz would think it a pretty neat prank if I had a clicker that took its site offline. Yeah, didn't think so.

SinistarX

While I admit to almost crapping my pants laughing, I think where you disrupted a presentation where you crossed a line by wasting a lot of people's time.

The fact that you did it to a Motorola guy and not at the apple keynote, today, shows it to be pure bullying.

Denial of service attacks could be considered pretty funny too if you're on the right side of the prank.

mrdale

Its not a presentation on the cure for cancer. Its a bunch of crap.

Great prank Giz. I hope someone follows in your footsteps the next CES.
If I was going, I would be up for the task.

Dr.Danger

Whenever journalists get 'access' they see themselves as having moved upward socially from the scum they should be serving to the rich/famous/powerful they are now covering. Although this is an illusion, and the rich/famous/powerful they are covering hold them in utter contempt, nonetheless the journalist will now take themselves way too seriously and without realizing it will defend the powers that be.

Fuck the press.
(not you guys tho, Giz rocks. Stick it to man when ever you can)

FilthyHarry

this whole thing is blown out of proportion. It's not like they went around with a powerful mini electro magnet wiping all the HDDs in all the the devices at the show. They shut off a couple of TVs. TVs that will all sell well. All this proves is how paranoid the companies are.

slapBOXmaster

How does turning off the monitors at convention help you be "…the auditors of companies and their gadgets on behalf of the readers"?? This was done with the intent of causing mischief, it was not done as a "…homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting". It was simply a juvenile prank that no one thought would cause this amount of controversy and retribution. Now, in order to save face, your having to justify these actions by continuing to be "irreverent" and claiming it to be a stand for independent journalism. Justify it however you want, it was still just a prank and nothing more.

cmm

There are a couple of things everyone must understand before commenting on the prank and the response:

1) Consumer electronic companies rely heavily on the press to promote and proliferate awareness of their products. Without the media, these companies aren't the multi-billion dollar generating conglomerations they are today. Its a symbiotic relationship. Both the manufacturers and the media outlets that cover/study them depend on the others existence for survival and growth.

2) CES, by nature, is a frivolous, hyperbolic slurp fest that employs juvenile marketing tactics (booth babes, outrageous electricity-mongering displays, etc.) to draw attention to products that, at the end of the day, don't save lives.

3) An editor has a responsibility not only to protect the integrity of the work he/she publishes, but also to stand by their journalists in the face of adversity (see: Woodward, Bernstein, Watergate).

Yes, it was silly. Yes, many people (myself included) had a laugh at another's expense. And yes, it made some people a little uncomfortable. No one got fired, no one got hurt and only one person lost the privilege of spending 4 days in a shitty, run-down convention center in the middle of the fucking desert.

MPerlo9

I agree in standing up for journalistic principles, and fighting against pressure to give good reviews for bad products. That is what every courageous website should do.

But dont kid yourself, turning of TVs might be a load of fun, but it isnt journalism.

Andronix

@atomo: This country is so sheltered from reality.

I think the reality is when you mess around with something you shouldn't be doing you get in trouble. If I went to O'Hare and shut off all the arrival and departure screens shouldn't I face repercussions?

FuzzysFriedChicken

Good post, but is this like saying it's ok that you fired a spitball at the teacher because there are other kids in the school who are smoking pot and spraypainting the walls? Or because other kids are teachers pets and are unquestioningly obedient to authority? I'm with you on the "independent journalism" points, which are well stated, but I don't think being successful in that endeavor requires the use of pranks. MIT is famous for its pranks, often carried out at the expense of Harvard at the Yale game. All in good fun, but I think you are overstating the point in defense of some higher calling.

bandit

Well I don't want to make a comment on "Journalism." But I will say this. As long as we the readers are also the ones that purchase products and keep these companies in business, they are first and foremost a guest in OUR house. Not the other way around.

Also as a good example of tech (or I guess video game) journalism going down the tubes...IGN gave Guitar Hero 3 the "Best DLC of the year" award. Now I love GH3, but Rock Band's DLC blows it out of the water. I wonder how much Activision paid for that?

BonoMan

@IrisMR:

I think they should've made him pay the beer for a few execs but banning them from the place? Way way way too much of a punishment.

I would have agreed until this post. If Giz apologized for any disruption and agreed to make it up to anyone inconvenienced -- okay, beer it is. But, I did not get even a slight hint of remorse for any inconvenience in this post, which makes me concerned that a future prank is possible. After reading this, I would be concerned about Giz showing up to my event.

Monty

So I suppose someone can DDOS your server as a prank, and you'll just laugh it off?

lunarworks

@Matt1978: It's called an opinion, you don't need to agree with it. I don't get this whole "we don't want you here". Who's we? The opinions on this are mixed...people should be able to express them..

dreamc

The prank was perfect. Don't listen to all these folks that apparently fell oddly and wound up with a stick in their ass. I'm building my own super-duper turner-offer from the plans at Make right now. If you are banned, there is an army of unknowns that rise to the challenge.

porktree

Thank you, Brian. You rule. This country is so sheltered from reality. It's people like those at Gizmodo who keep the "powers" in check and remind us all that we have a choice and are not powerless sheep. Keep up the good work.

atomo

say...
wasn't the Giz camera guy the one with the clicker? lol

dOk

I like to have a little fun as much as the next guy, but I always take responsibility for my actions. I agree with THEDISMALSCIENCE.

car47

Sorry, Brian. I've been a supporter of Gizmodo, you've done some stuff I would call good journalism and I'm fine with having fun.

But messing with people's demonstrations isn't fun. I've done those demos, it's a stressful job, and you made it tougher on some poor schlub likely out of his element trying to display stuff. Yeah, it was only one time and the guy probably did lots of the demos, but if I make your life tougher for only a short period, I've still made your life tougher just to have fun.

And I won't give you a pass on the wall of TVs, or the guy playing Guitar Hero. I've known techs keeping displays like that going, and there's a moment of panic when things go wrong. So when you try to fix them, you check the things that could go wrong on their own, you check the connections, you check the signals. Checking if some immature idiot thought it'd be funny to mess with you so hit the off switch isn't high on the list.

Pranks are fun, and if you'd been playing around at one of the after-show parties I'd say it could have been fun. If you'd had a private demo with someone and played around so the only person who would have seen the supposedly malfunctioning hardware, also cool. But on a show floor, not cool.

Bad judgement, but bad judgement happens. If your response on the reaction had been "You know, on reflection, that wasn't a good thing to do to the people running the booths and the companies, and we're sorry", it would probably have all blown over. But instead, you're placing it as some sort of grand strike for freedom.

It wasn't. It was some people being jerks, and then being proud of being jerks. And so the question I need to ask is, do I trust people who are proud of being jerks?

Gadgetdon

@dreamc: Quit reading this blog. We don't want you here.

matt1978

I read Gizmodo a lot, hardly ever comment, but this one i still don't understand Gizmodo's reaction...still seems proud of what they have done.
Relating it to journalism only seems a way of justifying completely unprofessional behaviour. This has nothing to do with the way other journalists are doing their work or reporting on things. With things like this you create a view of Gizmodo with it's readers (which probably also are the very companies that you report on) that it's not a professional site and that you can have a severe lack of knowing how far boundaries are.
Interviewing Bill Gates and asking them the questions other journalists aren't asking has nothing to do with this so called "joke". A journalist will ask specific questions if there is a need to, not because he doesn't dare to ask them. Not seeing other journalists asking specific questions doesn't mean they don't get asked. They might get a "no comment" or "next question" answer back that they then don't report about as they might need to do more research or get answers through different means.
As for the title "Banned for life and loving it", can't understand why you would be proud of not being allowed to come somewhere anymore. It's like not being allowed in the neighbourhood of another person anymore because you stalked them and then bragging about it...can't understand this attitude at all. It's your right to handle it the way you do, which i respect....but don't agree upon. Hope this is the last "prank" gone wrong from Gizmodo (after the tubgirl thing) as it's very disappointing to see this from a site which manages to always have the latest news on gadgets.

dreamc

well said GIZ! I agree... you have to play hardball sometimes, and intergity is key. And in the end, it is a Tech conference... they know the technology is out there to turn off tv's they should be prepared, leaders even in the technology that they are trying to sell.

Throw the hammer Giz... Throw it right at the M'F'n Screen!

nystreetfilms

You pretty much just ruined the whole "bloggers are journalists, too" thing. I believe that, but how the hell are people going to respect you as journalists if you act like this? Secondly, You can't get guff for the prank and then write this big long post about how it meant something. It didn't mean anything. You had a TV-B-Gone from Make and thought it'd be funny. You invented the cause after the effect.

Yeah, the video was funny, and maybe if you were just a random guest at CES, it wouldn't have been as big of a deal, but you're there to do a job -- a job that's more fun than most people's already -- and now you compare yourself to the likes of Rosa Parks and Ghandi by slapping the label of "civil disobedience" on a prank I pulled in grammar school?

Geoff

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION!!
RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION!!

(whatever)

Go Giz!

strider_mt2k

@Monty: I think they should've made him pay the beer for a few execs but banning them from the place? Way way way too much of a punishment.

IrisMR

@StupidityTries: That was my thought, too.

Love the site, love the writing -- but referring to that prank as "civil disobedience" is laughably stupid and pretentious. Or are you seriously equating your grade-school prank to Ghandi and the black people who were, oh, half-eaten by dogs for protesting poll taxes and whites-only lunch counters?

Seriously, get off your high horse. "Civil disobedience" my fat ass.

daver4470

I REALLY like this article. I want to echo Brian's point. There are alot of press that PRETEND to be Holier Than Thou. Usually they have a pretty easy time getting over on the genereal public. The reality is these sources are generally corrupt one way or another. I've seen it first hand as a soldier. That being said I don't want the news to force feed me commercials. I visit Gizmodo daily becuase I get articles from guys like me shared with a community of people like me.

senator133

You guys pulled a Jr. High prank, and they banned one of your folks for it? I think you got off with a slap on the wrist. Yes, it was amusing in a teenager sort of mentality, but it was also disurptive and well deserving of the punishment. If you went in there and started putting black curtains on all of the TV's to make them unviewable, how long before the bouncer would have collected you? It is the same thing.

Monty

Turning off a big wall of TVs? no big deal.

Turning off TVs while someone is actively presenting using them is just kind of a douchebag move.

fuzzycuffs

Yeah, you guys are known for your "great taste in pranks"...
Tub-girl's appearance on Kotaku was a real knee-slapper... or maybe not.

StupidityTries

"When did journalists become the protectors of corporations?"

Journalists aren't the defenders of corporations.
But journalists don't turn off TVs, pull pranks.

This is a slap on the wrists, you want to go to trade shows you have to not interfere with trade shows...

And it is just common sense. If you invited me over to your house and I kept turning off the TV while you were watching it would you invite me back... I don't think so...

DocGratis

Wow, some of you people are wayyyyy too uptight. I saw the video when it was posted, thought it was funny and moved on. Now I see that the story was picked up by a multitude of websites and here I think to myself, don't "journalists" have better things to write about?

highfloydelity

Maybe someone should shut down Gizmodo periodically a few times a day against Giz's will. I mean they can just turn it back on, no harm done, right? I'm sure Gawker's advertisers will laugh and just shrug it off.

disgustepated

Bottom lines:
1) It was funny
2) Gizmodo was granted FULL press credentials
3) Gizmodo made themselves the story

I assume many here are also Deadspin readers, so would it have been funny if Will Leitch, had shot a laser pointer into TO's eyes and made him cry after the Dallas game?
Of course! But nobody would ever consider Will a journalist again.

As it was, journalists covered the story as it happened, provided their own commentary and it was still funny.

The root of this issue is that Gizmodo does not deserve press credentials.

But they do write a helluva good blog.

ikarl67

Pranks FTW.

themightykorean

Yeahbuwhat?

That's a pretty self-contradicting editorial.

Sophomoric != hard hitting reporting. As a reader, I would prefer better, more independent coverage without the distraction of such "pranks". Big business is probably very happy with the prank; it gives them another reason/excuse to dismiss real press coverage. Well done.

Please, stick to reporting and leave the fart jokes at home...

Rener

This is the kind of honest blogging i requiere every day go Gizmodo GO!

Aberracus

Wow - just wow.

You sent a guy into CES with the intent to disrupt keynotes, demos and exhibits and then try to justify it as paying "homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting"? In what bizzaro world does that kind of logic make sense?

Does clicking off monitors and wrecking demos really prove to the world that Giz isn't kowtowing to the man? I think if you ran a survey here, you'd find that most readers thought that it was juvenile and sophmoric and that you deserve all the shit you're getting / going to get.

Now I'm not saying that it wasn't funny - b/c it was very funny. Which would be a success if Giz was a COMEDY SITE. You guys cover ELECTRONICS GADGETS and COMPUTERS. Nice job trying to cover your fuck up.

yeediddy

I've been a loyal fan of the giz, and a few of the other Gawker flavors for quite a while now. I have to say that a big part of the reason I can relate so well here and find the articles interesting is the fact that there are people behind each of the stories.

I've gotten to the point where I can usually tell the author by the voice without glancing at the by-line, and that's important to me as a reader. I get sick of magazines and newspapers that all seem to be part of the corporate machine (Rupert Murdoch's or otherwise).

Juvenile as it may have been I still thought the prank was funny and this only solidifies my attachment to giz because you all have personality and that's what counts in this game (besides journalistic skills, which I believe you have in spades).

Keep on keepin' on!

bourgeoisie

Mmm, I'm going to register at blogspot then refer to myself as a journalist. I'm big, I'm important! I'm a damn journalist! *bashes fists against keyboard*

rockosolido

You are the wind beneath my wings Brian.

BLAKELEY

@chrisaroz:

They should burn in hell for turning off TV sets! All hail the might god, television, and his might god, the dollar!

Saboth

I don't understand why people get all uppity about what happens at CES. Like, do people that go to best buy to buy shit care that ZOMG SAMSUNGS TV WAS TURNED OFFED BY SOME GUI OMFG!

no

no they don't

I think everyone needs to, well, John McCrea of Cake says it best - "Shut the fuck up"

nachobel

You're invited to someone else's party, you piss in the punchbowl, and you act indignant when they toss you out? I like Gizmodo as an info site, but your juvenile lack of respect for others should result in the entire organization being permanently banned. Grow up, guys.

cliffbig

I'm pretty sure this will increase Gizmodo's fan base

napes22

You guys just don't get the whole "risk vs reward" thing, do you?

If your going to pull a prank, you have to be willing to except the risk that something bad may happen.

Stop sounding so indignant when you get caught, it make you look like infantile.

nospamsam

Umm... When was this "industry" ever "defined by pranksters"?

evilsnowman

The prank was funny. props. for all the bashers, lighten up!

MrBlahBlah

I thought the prank was VERY funny. I also thought it was uncalled for. Read the comments on the original post and you will see that I am not alone. Turning off some display units is one thing, but messing with somebodies presentation is another. It was a lot more funny during the presentations, but a lot more uncalled for. Having said that, I am sure that these companies will be coming armed with some black electrical tape next year to combat this problem. Easy solution.

stonefry

@Keebler: Yeah, but unless Giz has passes to the projection room, they're gonna have a hard time screwing with it :p

Kaiser-Machead

@Keebler: Agreed. When I first watched the video I kept waiting for the punchline. It was like watching Scrubs, awkward and just entertaining enough to finish watching once.

Johnny Chimpo

It was a prank done in good humor and with no ill intent. It wasn't like the Gizmodo team turned off all the TVs at Pioneer and Panasonic because they have had a hatred for all "P" companies. A prank. A joke. Something done in jest that makes people chuckle. Perhaps loosening all the mounting screws on all the TVs would be a different story, but using a gadget to turn off another gadget has inherent humor. Am I the only one who turned off TVs in classrooms in junior high with my Casio calculator watch?

Like most things these days, overreaction is the only acceptable reaction for some. Would anyone have been particularly surprised if someone got tazed over something like this? I wouldn't. Bottom line is that people need to gain a bit of perspective. Was it childish, of course. Was it malicious, no way. And without malice, you really can't get too upset and should just laugh it off. All my junior high teachers did... I never got expelled.

JCove

I think it's a good response, Brian, but still a bit flawed. You speak of integrity, but I honestly don't see it reflected in the prank and ensuing response. The TVs on the video wall was funny, and the guy playing Guitar Hero was hilarious, but the Motorola stunt was out of line. I make customer presentations and know how stressful they can be, especially when things go wrong. That could have had a serious impact on the presenter (compensation) and the company (impressions on a botched presentation). You say that Moto is ok with it, but the fact is it could have turned out a lot worse and you were irresponsible to take that kind of chance.

But, more than the act itself, I think what bothers me most of all has been your response to this. Obviously, from comments from readers and from other sites, people feel strongly on both sides of the argument. But the comment that you told the video guy not to interfere with presentations aside, he did it and you posted it still implies that you condoned it. You are the editor of the site and responsible for all of the content on it. Something goes up, it infers that it has your approval.

And, true, you don't get more access by sucking up and bowing to the companies and products that you are supposed to be reporting . . . sorry, blogging . . . objectively on. You do earn respect by being impartial, having good solid reviews, and integrity. You don't, in my opinion, earn respect or access by fucking with a company during their presentation at a trade show. Between that and the "tubgirl" thing during the Kotaku Halo 3 match, you've certainly lost some respect from me.

I can't say that I'm not coming back to the site, like I said you have done solid reviews of products (Battle-Modos and the HDMI cable testing). Fact is it's hard to find a good independent voice out there that is willing to call it like it is. Where you don't do that all the time (you are certainly guilty of regurgitation press-releases with nothing but a witty comment added to make it "edgy"), you do hit the mark sometimes with good balanced reporting and reviews.

One last thing, is it in any way ironic that when you reviewed the TV-B-Gone device back in 2004, you hated it and called people who use it "assholes"? Your bottom line assessment? "The TV-B-Gone has a single purpose: to power off televisions whenever the user feels like being a dick". Well, seems like you were being the dick this time, and fully unapologetic about doing it.

[gizmodo.com]

AZTriGuy

I think that you did a good thing @ CES with that prank. People need to learn to laugh!

portalis

Can any of you guys read?? One person got banned, not all of Giz. Hell Moto doesn't even care!

You girls all act like the shot the pope, get over it.

color_guru

I got one of those remotes for xmas. Soon I shall travel to the sports bars....

solartaco

Wow, People actually think this was ok. It seems half the people who visit gizmodo like anarchy. Extreme wording maybe but still true. It is called proffesional courtesy. They let you in to review their products, hoping for good publicity for what ever they may be selling. And you instead not only ruin someones presentation;(just cruel to a speaker) But also got in the way of other people trying to enjoy the show.

Why do people think these things are ok just because it happens to a corporation? This mentality that screwing the corporatation is ok because it is big and evil is just childish. That speaker was just trying to do his job, stressed out. And gizmodo "journalist" ruins his day, and maybe his job.

/sarcasm on
yeah, great job gizmodo.
/sarcasm off

AaronC

Well, seeing how next year's CES and MacWorld overlap, I guess you already have your dedicated MacWorld staffer pretty much decided on a year in advance :D

Blue_Six

The prank was definitely more juvenile than funny. The interesting thing to me is that you spent most of the post trying to justify your actions. You paint yourself as a misunderstood rebel. Sorry if I don't raise my power fist to the guy who's "stickin it to the man" with his clever toy.

varion

@Pope John Peeps II:

Isn't the post above the best proof of that?

It's more self-righteous than every post on livejournal at the same time.

TheDismalScience

You guys fucked up plain and simple. Now you have the balls to put yourselves on a pedestal and say you had a deeper reason for doing that shit? You just came up with that crap for your post. You all wanted to be funny (which it was at first), but interrupting presentations is ridiculous.

This is the problem with journalists in nearly every industry, they take their jobs and responsibilities for granted. I think most of the readers here would have LOVED to go to CES. I know I would have. To have the chance to check out all the latest and greatest (and some not so great) tech that will be coming out would be awesome. Yet alot of writers bitched about going to CES and how it was boring, or they were tired of the show. Find a new job then. You all abused the privileges you were given and were, in my mind, punished too leniently. I'd ban you all for life. You dealt a bad blow to bloggers everywhere. Good luck being taken seriously in the future.

Raziel66

I don't get how being "non-mainstream" requires you to be immature jerks and disrupt presentations. Reporters should not take an active role in events, and they sure as hell do not go and cause non-reporting-related problems during them. You've done a huge dis-service to all the bloggers who are trying to make blogging a legitimate form of news.

As far as I'm concerned, they should ban everyone from Gawker Media from the next CES.

Erwos

This is a complete rationalization by Brian. He doesn't have things nearly as figured out as he thinks he does.

T-man

Whatever harm you did to these companies is outweighed by the hike in sales you've no doubt done for TVBGones.

bigslide

Based off several articles that CES was basically crap with pretty lighting, being banned may not be such a bad thing.....

fusedinertia

Farting in church. Now suffer in hell for all eternity.
corporations = religion.

You go girlfriends!

geschmidtt

The tech industry, and assorted satellite nerds, are so packed full of self-importance that events like this are necessary to let them no that the world will continue to spin without them.

This thread is proof of that.

Pope John Peeps II

God belss Giz, each and every one of you!

dopoognora

Heres the link for anyone who missed the video.

[gizmodo.com]

Seriously, as immature as it might have been, I would probably have done the exact same thing.

eebs

Regardless how anyone feels about the IR prank at CES, Brian makes some very good points about journalism. It's not about repeating the wishes of these companies. But more about reporting the facts, being honest and getting the companies being reported on to be honest with their customers and the readers.

It's bad enough the news media is mouthbreathing anything the top administration has to say. We don't need that in the CE and gadget world.

chillywilly

F'ing brilliant response. You're a head and shoulders above the rest, BLam (and Giz)

MPerlo9

@Kaiser-Machead:
Projector's use remotes too ;)

Keebler

nice response.

You people that got pissed off or are still pissed are worthless. get your priorities together. you suits/wimps are the biggest fucking yuppies i have ever seen. money is only is good as what you do with it.

i really hate all of you. and your fucking mothers. i hope your dogs get hit by cars.

ronnsprocket

I understand the ban, I get your long winded justification (I call bullshit though, it was just a funny prank you didn't sit there and say to yourselves "hmm how can we make the most effective statement about the blurred lines between advertising and trade show coverage".), I understand the people who are upset on both sides.

What I don't get is how you can take this holier than thou approach and espouse your journalistic integrity. Gizmodo is a funny a blog that's all. Hell, you tubgirled Kotaku. Get off your high horse and look int he mirror.

Argyle

@Keebler: Generally, the computer used on stage is a Mac Pro, which has no IR port, and the big screen is just a projection, so no remote control for that :P Prank-proof keynote FTW.

Kaiser-Machead

That sure is a lot of big words to use for justifying being an immature kid and acting like a moron.

BoinK

I guess what I'm wondering, and what would really confirm in my mind that I support Gizmodo, would be if the presentation they disrupted were one given multiple times a day as opposed to something where the guy just had one shot to get his point across.

TheRunningboard7

Sorry Brian, you make a good point about corporations influence on journalists, but it has nothing to do with your prank- it is totally off topic.

The fact is, your prank was immature- and I am really offended that you would compare your prank to something Woz would do. Your prank required little to no imagination or ingenuity- you didn't even make the clickers yourselves! You were just acting like little children.

Be creative in your pranks, and I'll applaud. Right now, your prank was immature, and this feature was as well- I am disappointed.

fussball

1st) Someone went balls to the wall and did it... it was wrong looking at it from the other side, somewhat funny from your side and both from the outsiders POV

2nd) You were stupid enough to post the activity for the world to see and then even more stupid to claim it as your own.

3rd) You are crying like a little biatch because some people that were affected by YOUR actions didn't see it the same way as you did.

Cry all you want but you guys not only did the deed BUT you also posted it on the tubes for the world to see...

Don't be little whiners about it... suck it up and take your fair punishment and get the guy a pass with a different name next year AND DON'T POST WHAT STUPID STUFF HE DOES NEXT TIME AROUND FOR EVERYONE TO SEE.

Realtor Dude

It was a funny prank and I'm glad the people of Giz realize that they don't have to act like every other straight laced news/tech site. If I wanted to be bored with tech news then I'd go to engadget.

tehmark

You're presenting a false dichotomy here. Pulling childish pranks on the show floor, disrupting the earnest work of others, is not a necessary ingredient in your schtick. By all means, continue to maintain your independence, your irreverence, your uniqueness. But this pranked crossed the line, and you deserve to get smacked for it. Suck it up.

mcg1969

@Kaiser-Machead:
Hahaha, Giz, please please try this at Macworld! Turning off the presentation on a lowly motorola rep I find not too funny... but on Steve Jobs... HA!

Keebler

All you did was make peoples' jobs harder. You didn't have some deep message behind the prank. You just thought it would get some laughs. Don't be bitter when this was the obvious outcome.

gibson424

Summary of the above article: You get banned because you don't let them get you unbanned?

celloids

@reverland:
Well put.

Keebler

Why those pesky little Moth*^#@#$ers i am going to ...

.....wait how do you get banned from something that, for a whole year, does not even exist.

tmncon

how is turning off a bunch of TVs related to "good journalism"??? I'm sure if I were the people manning these booths, frantically trying to figure out why all of their TVs suddenly turned off, I'd be incredibly upset instead of applauding your action as some form of "civil disobedience".

Aram

Right on.

Thanks for sticking to your guns. I will never stop reading Giz in favor of that watered-down "legitimate" media.

In fact, I haven't even read one of those legit publications since... well...a long time now (10years...11 years?)

Your refusal to bend over and take it, and to meet your detractors by looking them straight in the eye and moving forward is the best.

as they said in the 90's - "fuck'em if they can't take a joke"

ecypher

You guys should've had me do this, this way you'd be free from any obligations, and if/when I'm banned, I won't care since I won't be covering the stuff next time. Think Giz think!

Kaiser-Machead

well.. I think it was MAX fun to do that prank.. but doing it under several presentations might be crossing the line.. I dont know.. anyways.. enjoyed you video! :P

ohhh. and Ive heart that Blakeley got banned and that they are discussing if Giz is allowed inside next year atall.. lol

D_Zarster

@B@tM@n: If I recall, Giz's official iPhone review was and I'm paraphrasing here: nice, but don't buy just yet.

phi

He can have my CES invite for next year! :)

Looking at the pics and reading the blurbs saves me from having to walk the 5 billion miles of floor space at the LV convention center looking for a couple of cool things.
Plus the swag budget seems to have dropped to nil.

RG_Shrike

Good. Giz showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are not professionals by any means. They have no right to be at a show like this and should be banned if they think that such behavior is at all acceptable at such an event. Good job on destroying any professionalism you might have once had by acting like a bunch of children.

All actions have consequences. Deal with it.

siorai

there seems to be a lot of people around here with sticks up their asses.

conglomerate

Lighten up Francis....

axiomatic

Can't pull this at Macworld. Apple probably pairs their equipment with specific remotes so a TV-BGone would be useless X-D

Kaiser-Machead

TLDR

edd

Every year ES becomes more and more banal corporate pablum and I seek out better coverage that calls them on their crap.

Jason

I would side with Gizmodo if the joke was remotely funny, but it was childish, and equivalent to bringing a laser pointer to CES and zapping people between the eyes.

Personally, I couldn't care less, or think less, of Gizmodo for being banned, but this self-righteous BS column is more then I can can stomach.

You guys aren't martyrs or true "journalists"; you are "bloggers".

The prank had NO message, don't try to pull this BS; from above: "Our prank pays homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting. And no matter how much access the companies give us, we won't ever stop being irreverent."

Scaramanga

You're confusing intent with justification, Mr. Lam.

Just so we're perfectly clear on this issue, you invaded this trade show with malicious intent because you and your publication are juvenile. You are childish and silly, and wanted to have fun at the expense of professionals. As the managing editor of a major income generator, you are responsible for the activities of your editors. This half-ass "spirit of journalism" justification for boorish nonsense at an important event for every aspect of your industry is the most complete failure to manage I've seen in blogging.

Dragging competitors through the mud in response to negative press surrounding your immature behavior just cements Gizmodo's status as the Bush League of gadget journalism. This is a total failure to take responsiblity coupled with a desperate strawman. Should have been a mea culpa, sir.

TheDismalScience

The philosophy is sound, but hardly a justification. It was a prank and, as professionals, these antics should be avoided.

But the blog world was a little quick to jump on this as a gross misuse of credential, access.

I find these petty slapfights tiresome. Along with all the Joe Schmoe armchair critics that only care when their sensibilities aren't being catered to. And only then do they boldly declare "I won't be reading [this blog] anymore."

aydiosmio

I personally thought it made for a great watch... so are the people making and supporting these presentations so technically inefficient that they have to put such blame on giz?? Its not like they set all the monitors to explode.. Not a self proclaimed technology savant but if I see the TV go off I immediately try to put it back on (im a genious, yeah right)... Well at the end of the day CES could have used this highlighting that its still a symposium for creativity and not a drone for big business..

evilR3

A ban for something so... harmless? They're rising hell as if you installed cameras in the women's bathrooms and aired 'em on the TVs.

...did you?

IrisMR

I'm pleased you were able to get Gates to open up. I'm also glad you're around to lambaste products and policies that need doing so. No question, this is certainly commendable.

I guess I don't see how what could be seen as ethical lapses by other negates this act of actively interfering with companies' displays. This, to me, would be, paramount to walking around the cell phone area of CES with a jammer.

Monoplex

You guys kick ass.

Nice comment on Engadget ;-)

quiksilver180

@bigslide: lol, being banned from Macworld would be the least of their problems.

Luuey

OK Giz, here's my take on this whole hot mess.

1) The press (mainstream and those attempting to be mainstream) are trying to distance themselves from your actions using words like "legitimate", etc. Of course how legitimate was it for all of them (and you guys too) to overhype things like the iPhone before anyone had ever seen or used it?

2) While I certainly have a level of sympathy for anyone taking excessive flack for what I consider to be a fairly harmless prank (even the Motorolla prank because all they were doing was pitching to people who will give good reviews regardless because it's the only service they offer); but don't go putting yourselves up on the cross. You're not martyrs, don't play the part.

3) Your level of future access should be unhampered because these events are open to the consuming public, right? So I don't see how individuals will be prevented from securing interviews and etc.

logruszed

This article is hilarious. It's like you're defending yourself from a sock attack with an M1-A1 Abrams. Relax, Giz, the punishment fit the crime; no need to cry about it.

car47

So banning an individual for disrupting a professional presentation is ridiculous? Even most elementary students know if you do something like that you are going to get in trouble. But nice overly wordy justification there Brian. Pretty ridiculous.

Luuey

I applaud you guys on this one, if anything I'll be visiting the Giz more often (if that's humanly possible). I, in all of my maturity (or lack thereof) thought the "prank" was hilarious. Keep up the good work.

codykniffen

You guys blatantly bragged about the pranks on one of the biggest tech blogs around. Were you not expecting to get in trouble for being annoying to most everyone there? Those people are trying to make money for their company and without them, you wouldn't have shit else to write about.

You fucked up, now deal with it.

jkrewdotcom

I still don't get what was so hilarious about this elementary school stunt?

MonkeySeeMonkeyDo

Bringeth forth the Banhammer!!! And lo, the world doesn't really care.

Electroqueen

There are two sides, I mean press conferences should not be interfered with, and according to Brian, he told his camera guy not to mess with the press. It was a mistake. But bottom line ,I think, is when you have this type of event you should do some prevention. Remote watches are sold cheaply, programs for any cellphone/PDA with an IR port exist, and interference from another like TV remote can cause problems. Tech guys should have disabled the IR or at least used some electrical tape.

Elderwulf

Giz delivers fantastic review, the honesty is why I read it. But let's not try to equate what was really a stupid stunt to your BG interview or ID'ing crapgadget.

This execution was fair and swift. Suck it up and write it off to sleepness nights/booze/porn affected lapse of judgement. I'd hate to see you guys get banned from future interviews on the account of this stupid stunt.

TrafficGeek

I'd like to see you pull this at MacWorld while Uncle Stevie is giving his keynote.

bigslide

For turning off a fucking telly?! Jeez.

Keep on fighting the good fight, Giz.

djtooshay

Fight the power and stuff!

Xenocide

I think I would be more supportive of you guys if you hadn't turned off the TV while the guy was in the middle of a presentation. Turning off the walls was hilarious and turning off some of the display tvs where people were playing games was funny, but the look on that Motorola guy's face was gut wrenching. That's the only part I thought you went over the line with.

reverland

@jdr: Some of the best journalists in history were exactly that. Weirdos who did weird things to poke the estblishment and see what happened.

Pope John Peeps II

A giz writer? .. they should ban you all

ire

I watched the video, it was funny at first but I suppose there's a thin line between a prank and all out disruption. I don't agree that journalists are 'guests' and I think these companies would do better to shrug it off and show consumers they have a sense of humor. Overall, you guys should have quit after the first 100 TVs no?

bigslide

I support this highly humorous approach to technology. And I think most real tech people on every side of the fence do too. So keep on ignoring the trash.

openfly

Cry me a river. Journalists aren't the protectors of corporations but they also aren't supposed to be pranksters -- harmless or otherwise. Then again, you guys aren't journalists.

jdr

"Many of our harshest critics have done far worse than clicking off a few TVs. I'm talking about ethical lapses such as accepting paid junkets to Japan by Nikon, or free trips to Korea by Samsung. Turning a blind eye to Apple's mistakes when they didn't make an iPhone SDK and sought to lock down the handset. Stock prices torn downward by publishing incorrect leaked info."

Hrmmm... Weren't you and the entire Giz fanboy nation one of the groups to completely disregard and ignore the lack of iPhone sdk and PUSH it on us consumers as the Jesus phone? Nothing like hearing about confirmations of what we "the objective and skeptical" consumers suspected. Just like any other media outlet... you sell out and sell out your audience to buy bad products.

Everyone of the offenses you claim others to have done-you have done, the unquestionable iPhone, the publishing of false information affecting the market etc.

-I thought the pranks were hilarious but you shouldn't have named the contributor who did it.

B@tM@n

internet drama = more ad clicks

slick

werk

Very, very nice response. Very.

Pope John Peeps II

@konakazi:
Yeah, take a look back over the past week.

Keebler

so who got banned? the Giz or just the guy with the clicker? Plus, the prank was so good, the price was to be expected. :) I can't believe no one thought of it before. hehe...

froggy

Although I agree with the free-spirited nature of blogs etc, disrupting a formal presentation multiple times is a tad different and more awkward than funny.

Keebler

haha.. I read that he got kicked out 5 hours ago on a Danish technewz site.. :P

D_Zarster

Given that only one Giz staffer was banned, I think the CES organizers recognize that this wasn't a serious offense -- but SOMEone needed their "pound of flesh" (hence the single staffer penalty).

J0hnP

Is there another article I missed that really details the prank? I get that someone turned off a screen from the image and the remote mention. Am I missing some epic LULZ article about the prank itself? :)

konakazi

Whatever makes you feel better about it...

chrisaroz

Nice one Giz. I think you should fight the powers that be and sneak in next year...

FlashSandbox

Jesus - et tu?

What are you guys all smoking over there?

I understand and and am empathize with the ongoing battle b/w traditional media and new school blogging - but to try to use establish "turning off tvs at a conventional" as a means of protest is not only futile, but stupid.

Brian, Jesus, and all the other writers / contributors should just STFU and let this boil over - b/c you guys are not making things better by justifying an event that 12 year olds would do.

yeediddy

Couldn't they just put some tape over the IR port?

cmsjustin

"Civil disobedience," please. Your *sshattery was for your own amusement, not for any noble statements about tech news or blogging.

Beth Griese

I loved the prank, though he was a bit mean to Motorola, and I agree with what you say here Brian, but how did he get caught? Was it because of posting the video? Because thats the only part that seems dumb here.

WCD_Thor

I started reading everyone else's comments, until I realized it would take an hour.

My two-cents:

1) Yes, what Gizmodo's agent did is nothing compared to being in the pocket of the companies while pretending to be reporter.

2) The prank sounds like something a 12-year-old would do, and I don't really see anything more in it.

Just sayin'. BTW, do you guys pass up great stuff (trips & gadgets) if/when they are offered to you? I'm just curious. After condemning the practice, you're going to have to make sure the entire staff doesn't accept anything from any companies...

liquidsoapdispenser

I still love you Giz. Of course it's that same kind of "only a mom" love that one has for their scrawny, red headed, freckle faced, big eared, super clumbsy, not very bright, offspring.

robinandtami

/me playing the smallest violin in the world.

necrolingua

Lam, if you guys want to call yourselves journalists, you've got to show some integrity and professionalism. You're a fucking baby. Take your lumps and STFU. I guaran-fucking-tee that if a Motorola rep was intentionally crashing your web server and costing you clicks, you'd be on the horn to the President ASAP. Grow up...

JRo

This has got to be lamest sack-of-horse-shit excuse for "journalism" I have ever seen.

I can't believe that
1. You did this childish crap in the first place
2. Posted it on the web so everyone can see how childish you are
3. Further demonstrate how childish you are by whining like a kid who just got spanked...and trying to excuse your behavior because "Johnny did something worse, and he didn't get in trouble".

Grow the hell up. I'm pissed that I have to go to engadget now because Giz is entirely too pre-school for me.

crucifix99

I wonder how the Giz would feel if someone started turning off web servers you host your content on. I'll be back when Gizmodo graduates from 8th grade.

Joe Alien

While this was a solid rant, I think a LOT of the impact of it is lost by framing it in the context of this incident. You chose a time where you are probably at a low when it comes to credibility in the gadget reporting world to try and "change the scene"... good luck with it. I said it in the first thread, and others have said it here- I was with you guys right up to the Motorola presentation. That's cool that they don't have any hard feelings, but it was still a pretty douchey move.

All that being said, I guess you gotta cross the line sometimes to know where it is. Keep on keepin' on, dudes. Just make sure the next time you get kicked out of somewhere that it's for a good reason.

sardonicbastard

@mindgrapes: You know something? You're absolutely right, but even with this hit to their credibility, they're still better than 90% of the other "journalists" out there, mainstream or not.

I swear, every time I read a press release regurgitated as a news item, every time I read a blowjob of a review given by some lackey who got a free press junket out of the deal, every time I see a major Presidential scandal passed on by the mainstream media because they think the President would be fun to drink beers with, I just want to scream, "I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

HeartBurnKid

Between this and the Tubgirl incident, Gizmodo doesnt make professional bloggers look credible, especially when a lot of them are fighting for the same credentials and rights as journalists.

...i think the fact that the giz staffer is selling his badge on Craigslist pretty much pegs the maturity level. Comparing this to "No iPhone SDK" is also moronic.

Scott

Cry more cryfaces. Just because you chose to be douchebags in a seperate way from less ethical competitors doesn't make what you did hip or cool or some awesome and legitimatizing noble fight against the evil powers.

Gygaxis