Over at the Disposable Media homepage, Gillen points out, they've posted an article about the state of the game print media (confusingly enough, called 'Disposable Media?') in Issue 7 [.PDF link] of the, uhm, virtual magazine.

Anyhow, the start of the piece asks: "By instilling such power in what remains a largely unknown entity, have we essentially handed over the gaming press to a generation of illiterate 13 year olds broadcasting from their bedrooms?" Potential literates like the aforementioned PC Gamer-esque Kieron Gillen, as well as GI.biz and Eurogamer's lovable Irishman Rob Fahey then comment, and make some good points about the speed and relative accuracy of print vs. online.

There's some amusing quotes in there, too: "Ever concerned with snatching enough hits to generate advertising revenue, many such websites have a set tally of news that must be uploaded daily. If an editor demands 6-10 stories a day but, in reality, there is nothing to cover, inevitably that site – and indeed those who mirror its coverage – is flooded with hearsay and speculation to fill the quota." Dammit, we really must ramp up the hearsay on Gamasutra!

But, slight hyperbole aside, it's interesting to hear considered opinions on this massive shift, albeit from an online publication obviously enamored with the print medium. Whither now the considered, in-depth New Yorker-style article on the Web, eh? [It's possible to do them, but often difficult to monetize them if page views are your currency. Not inconceivable, though!]