Civflection: Journalism on Civ
The CivWiki Newsletter is more than just a newsletter. Really, it’s a serverwide institution. The longevity of the newsletter, and the official backing of the permanent CivWiki organization, has given it a level of reliability and community-trust that no other product offers. Nations and players come and go. But the newsletter has always been there each week to recount those comings-and-goings.
Until now, that is.
While the newsletter isn’t disappearing, it is evolving, now taking the form of a monthly product more akin to a magazine. Along with the news-stories and polls of the normal newsletter, it’ll also have new features, like this column you’re writing now. Still, even if the newsletter isn’t going away, it’s still a major change in the preeminent journalism of the server. The newsletter has proven to be the New York Times of Civ journalism, in a way, and I think the community will come to appreciate it even more now that it comes once a month rather than once a week.
But of course, just like the NYT isn’t the only newspaper, the newsletter isn’t the only journalism produced on the server either. In fact, a number of new publications have popped up in recent times as well. Each one is interesting in their own ways, because they each offer a different form and template in the product they offer. It’s interesting to take a look at each one to see what that form is, and what can be learned from each ‘model’.
The first one I want to discuss is the Bedford Herald, which represents probably the most common form of newspaper in Civ, being the national paper. National papers are papers run by, and primarily intended for, domestic consumption. That’s not to say they don’t include international affairs or are hidden from the international community. Rather, they are primarily centered around their own community, with international affairs being the bonus. I myself ran one once on CivReigns called the Laurentian Dispatch, so I feel I know a thing or two about this model.
The strengths of the national model are obvious. By giving the community its own explicitly national publication, they have a distinct source for national news, reporting, and just a distinct communal product they can point to and share. You read about your compatriot’s builds, about elections, about your own government. It’s an invaluable product for that country’s community, providing a perfect chance for participation and a place for anyone to reach the broader community.
But, just like it serves as a product for the community, a newspaper also reflects the strength of that community. For a publication to center around domestic affairs, there has to be enough domestic affairs to talk about, especially if it’s frequently published. Build showcases require builds, domestic affairs requires domestic happenings. Players unwilling to write for or provide content for the newspaper weaken its output and its worth. National newspapers require a strong and active national community to function, which is why they are usually only found in large, active communities.
The Bedford Herald is a pretty traditional version of one, particularly in the way it’s made. It is made to look like an actual newspaper, and has great production quality in that regard. However, another form of Civ Journalism can be found in the Diamond Chronicler. This newspaper is similar in more-or-less being a national model, focused on the Imperial Federation. Its news output has been so valuable that it has been used in court trials. However, it is the template that’s particularly interesting.
Rather than looking like a real newspaper, the DC is a completely discord-only newspaper. The news comes through Discord announcements, they’ve held interviews on discord; the whole nine yards. While it’s certainly less flashy and visually impressive compared to the real newspaper organization, the simplicity makes it easy to update and arrange. No time has to be spent on making it look pretty; its straight text directly delivered through the Discord.
This reflects a broader development that’s occurred, where the subreddit has really been underutilized recently. Instead, a lot of nations will just say their news in the ‘announcements’ section of their Discord, and let that be that. I specifically remember reading one of the weekly newsletters and finding some announcement like this, I think related to Icenia? Although I can’t exactly remember.
In my opinion, this is a pretty negative trend. Requiring players to be part of a gazillion Discords to keep up with current events is a hassle. If everything was just posted to the subreddit it would be a lot more accessible and easy. Not to mention it’s a lot easier for historical preservation. As someone with an interest in Civ history, looking at old Reddit posts can be a key source in digging up old events.
Still, the Discord newspaper format has proven effective for the DC, and I suspect others will use it as well.
Another really interesting development has been the AP Media Company. The Alenarith Protectorate had already been hosting Icenian Senate Debates before this company was announced. But they consolidated a bit and made it official by funding this new venture, which plans to pay reporters/writers from across the server to write on current events. Of particular interest are some possible audio/visual productions. I’m specifically reminded of the old ‘ANN News’ that Owain_X did on CivClassics. Something like that, being part comedic, part informative, would be really cool to see.
While it isn’t journalism, I have to mention talk tuah CivTalk, the new podcast that just launched. As of writing this, they’ve only released one episode. But I think it has a lot of potential. Civ has always been a server of personal ambitions, ideas, and relationships. A podcast to tell those stories has limitless potential, considering how many kooky characters this genre has spawned.
So, in the end? I think that the future of CivMC journalism is actually looking quite bright. Although the newsletter is changing, it remains a consistent fixture for the community. Meanwhile, a number of new outlets and publications have sprung up, all with different focuses and ideas. Where each of these go remains to be seen; Civ newspapers have a trend of experiencing burnout and stopping, unfortunately. But hopefully, all of these have bright futures ahead!
Pandastical is a Civ player who has played since CivUniverse, primarily in the nations of Acadia and the Imperial Federation. Recently, he’s gotten interested in researching Civ history. His Discord is @mat_civ, and his reddit is u/Sea-Discipline-6113.
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