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CNET doesn't seem to have the greatest track record with editorial independence. Wasn't there a big blowup at gamespot a few years ago too?

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameSpot#Gerstmann_dismissal

GameSpot terminated their Editorial Director after giving a game a less-than-glowing review. However, this occurred before CBS purchased CNET.

Interestingly, Gerstmann went on to found GiantBomb [1] as part of Shelby Bonnie's (CNET co-founder) Whiskey Media group with a whole bunch of ex-GameSpot people who left in the wake of Gerstmann's dismissal. GiantBomb was recently acquired by CBS and is now part of CBSi, with Gerstmann and the rest of the GiantBomb editorial and production team intact.

Gerstmann and GameSpot's John Davidson spoke quite candidly about the acquisition [2] at the time, including the thorny issue of Gerstman's previous departure from GameSpot. Makes for an interesting watch if you remember when the original scandal broke over the original Kane & Lynch review.

[1] http://www.giantbomb.com

[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GagFPnSG0j4

And Giant Bomb seems to be doing really well under CBSi. I was really nervous when I heard about the purchase last year, but the quality has been consistently great.

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