I am tired of news media ignoring the story during the boring parts.

Seriously. All I fucking wanted was for some publication - any publication - to cover the Ubisoft Barcelona strikes, layoffs and more beyond the initial dramatic "oh shit look what that dumb slut Ubisoft did" coverage.

Here's the thing: The news isn't all Paris Hilton sex tapes and Britney Spears crotch-shots.

The news - at times - can (and should) be boring (please, can we fucking get Trump and the current glut of fascists out of office so we can go back to less incendiary politics).

Look, I get it. I worked in the newspaper and media industry for years (not as a writer.. No doubt thankfully for all involved). Shit is hard, and staffing keeps getting cut like a cannibal eating it's own damned fingers.

The fact that basic follow-ups aren't happening? Yeah, that kinda pissed me off when weeks later there is still nothing new on the Ubisoft Barcelona strikes and layoffs.

So.. I decided to fucking do it myself. After all, I run a gaming blog (you have checked out Nerfed Gamer News, haven't you?). I should be be able to sus out something.

I did some digging and found someone worth checking out, so I contacted them for details.

Things are still in flux, and I want to avoid revealing anything sensitive during potential negotiations, but I did fucking learn stuff.. From reaching out to one goddamned person!

Here's where you say a predictable line: "But Will, if you learned something, why aren't you sharing it?!? Doesn't that kinda indicate that the media may be doing the same thing as you?"

No, it doesn't, because of this one simple fact:

This one person I reached out to was easily discovered within 5 minutes, and the only press contact they've had was when the initial strike was happening.

That's it, and as far as I know? None of their other coworkers - ex or otherwise - have been contacted by any major media.

They've offered to send my contact info to the colleagues, so hopefully we'll get some more info soon.

My concluding point is this:

If I can sus out some important facts with a 5 minute search and another 5 minutes writing a goddamned e-mail, then what the fuck is stopping any real publication from doing the same?

If you're part of the Ubisoft Barcelona layoffs - or still work for Ubisoft Barcelona - I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me using my e-mail in the footer below. If you'd prefer to communicate via Signal, that's fine too; Just reach out via e-mail first as I don't publicly share my Signal contact info. If it weren't obvious, I'm not going to share details if you don't want it shared. I just want to know how things are going, and how I can help you while also raising awareness.

Also - If you're reading this and are the person I talked to (or got forwarded my contact info from this) - thanks again for talking with me. You fucking rock, and I know the shittiness of the world right now makes it harder.. I hope you all can finally find some stability and security and can get back to doing the shit you love doing soon without the world looming over your head with a bucket of boiling water.