I am a journalism student at the University of South Dakota. Over the past several days, I have been following the antics of Florida lawyer, Jack Thompson.
Mr. Thompson has been quite outspoken over the last several years concerning censorship in the video game industry. His latest action of utmost concern was guaranteeing a $10,000 donation to charity, if a developer created a game showing video game players as murderers. Exactly one week later, a "mod team" created the very game, to Mr. Thompson's exactly specifications. His response? That the offer to charity was nothing more than "satire". In response, the owners of the videogame related website
www.penny-arcade.com went ahead and donated the $10,000 to charity out of their own pockets.
I'm sure many agree that reneging on a deal regarding charitable organizations is a serious moral offense.
Unfortunately, this story has seen virtually no audience from the mainstream media. In fact, Mr. Thompson appeared on CNN Monday night, and proceded to blast video games as an "expert". There is an obvious need for the general public to see both sides of this man, who is trying to crusade against the multi-billion dollar industry.
I ask that the Argus Leader at leasts looks into the possibility of covering this story.
I am not knowledgable regarding how free lancing program works, but if it's possible, I would be willing to write an article myself, with no financial reward. To me, this is a story that needs to be heard by the public.