For many the idea of games journalism is something of an oxymoron. Critics paint the video game press as a horde of pimply fly-by-night fanboys – incapable of stringing two worlds together let alone solid reporting. They couldn't be more wrong. I'd argue that those interested in video games are incredibly well served by outstanding news outlets, blogs and magazines. And this uptick in respectable writing about game isn't due solely to the fact that Variety and The Village Voice have finally jumped on the video game bandwagon (though their presence is more than welcome). No, outlets like Gamasutra, Wired and Ziff Davis' 1UP and EGM have consistently delivered outstanding coverage for years. Seth Schiesel's work at the New York Times has made great strides in helping the public accept games as part of the cultural landscape. His and Dean Takahashi's tech-centric work at the San Jose Mercury News (and now Venture Beat) have solidified gaming's foothold in the public consciousness. We probably wouldn't be reading a Los Angeles Times story about womens' roles in the game business if it weren't for the example set by bolder editors.

I could go on for ever. N'Gai Croal at Newsweek has provided consistent, thoughtful analysis of games not just as business, fad, but as culture. Wired magazine, both in print and online, provides gaming coverage with that unique post-Well San Francisco perspective. This laundry list of great games reporting is far from complete. But it does seem to leave out a fair share of the enthusiast press. Kotaku, part of the Gawker Media blogging empire, are popular whipping boys for their reporting style. They post first, fast and frequently. They often run with rumors. But they're also quick to swat them down. Where many gaming sites parrot the reports of others, Kotaku frequently vets their stories with statements, denials or explanations from the horse's mouth. I'm a fan of MTV's game reporting. I'm continually amazed by Patrick Klepek's ability to sniff out original angles. While many of us walk away from press events with by-the-numbers previews he consistently writes thoughtful, inquisitive stories about forthcoming games. His piece "How Cave Story Became a Wii Ware Game" is a great example.

When I browse my RSS reader everyday, I'm consistently impressed by the quality and originality of the reporting being done by the video game press. I say this not only as a member of the gaming press but as a fan. In addition to all the games reporting I read as part of my job (and to sate my love of games as a hobby) I also read tons of news about movies, music and television. I can honestly say that games are covered just as well, if not better, than other forms of entertainment. Don't go thinking that those guys writing about movies are that much more serious about journalism just because their medium has been around fifty years longer. My RSS feed was rife with rumors and speculation about the casting and plot of the next Batman movie, despite the fact that not a single iota of work has been done on the sequel. Rumors that Johnny Depp would play the Riddler were carried by respectable newspapers around the world. Games aren't the only medium that feed this kind of reporting. If anything, the fact that we have an organization as capable and agile as Kotaku to keep tabs on this kind of thing is a sure sign that we've arrived.

Of course, this leaves out much of the enthusiast press. I'd say we're pretty well set up there as well. 1UP/EGM and Game Informer deliver solid, informative and reasonably comprehensive reporting for the geek set. With Edge on better newsstands that's quite a bit of variety. Movies, I'd argue, have long been lacking a great magazine. With Film Threat long dead and Premier magazine a pale shadow of its former self, dedicated cinefiles have long been forced to import Sight and Sound. Only music is better served on newsstands. And on the web video game websites trounce those who cover music and movies. There's tons of great music writing on the web, but it's horribly fragmented. And movie news and criticism just isn't as lively online. I have certain nostalgic affection for Ain't It Cool News, but you'd be stretching to say that the kind of news gathering going on there, and even at Slashfilm, is somehow superior to that of Joystiq or Kotaku.

Let's set aside the idea of entertainment reporting for a second. Do critics of game journalism think they're getting good news when they watch CNN and Fox News? I'd argue that both are a waste of bandwidth – more infotainment than hard news, more filibustering between commercial breaks than actual reporting. If you want quality news you have to look for it in The Economist, better newspapers, by scouring Google news and listening to public radio. The reader has to do a little work if they want the best news. The same goes for games journalism. At first glance our work is going to look shoddy and shallow – the same first impression you'd get from turning on cable news to a pair of screaming heads. Dig a tiny bit though and you'll find a wealth of games journalism to suit nearly any taste or interest. You couldn't have made quite the same claim ten years ago. That's something.

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Media Coverage is an opinion column. The opinions expressed in this column are solely the opinions of the columnist and are not necessarily the opinions of GameDaily.com.