Game Journalists Beholden to Publishers?

Paul Tassi says that instances of companies exerting pressure on gaming journalists for positive reviews are very rare.  To that I say, they only need exist to impact other journalists.  An autocratic regime only needs to beat and teargas one group of protesters before all other potential protesters take notice.  I would guarantee that every game journo knows of the “few” stories out there of this happening.  How could it not be in the back of your mind as you write reviews on a game of a goliath like EA or Activision that are so critical to your future access to the latest and greatest games?  If nothing else, it provides for a sentinel effect.  I can’t say it’s rare or common, but simple human nature (self preservation etc) would indicate that it at least matters.

Please don’t misunderstand me in that I am not saying any mainstream journalists are bad people or in any way deceitful.  Without knowing any of them, my guess would be that they are all perfectly fine people, but they are still obviously operating under a clear conflict of interest (acknowledged or otherwise).  There are probably lots of people in similar situations across any number of industries who are able to maintain professionalism, but that conflict of interest still exists, and no one should hold any illusions to the contrary.