For years I really enjoyed getting video-game and other pop-culture news from Kotaku. Over time the site went downhill, however. Acquired by G/O Media in 2019, from that point on there has been a deluge of annoying ads, an editorial exodus, and now the site won't even allow readers to comment as the news that yet another Editor in Chief is out (this one quit, some have been fired) due to how Kotaku is going to do a lot less news/opinion pieces and instead make bland game guides. It's quite a fall from grace for Kotaku, but G/O Media knows how to ruin good and popular things for sure, having previously dismantled Jezebel (which was bought by Paste, at least) and Deadspin, which is now going to be a sports gambling referral site.
At least we have an interesting newer site called Aftermath. It is subscriber-supported and features a lot of talent from websites such as Kotaku, Vice (a whole different story of an empire collapsing), and more. Journalism has been going through a lot these past years (censorship, corporate takeovers, AI) whether it is focused on politics, current events, or popular culture. Thankfully, there are always talented voices pushing against those only interested in fluff content that makes a quick buck as opposed to actual quality writing. It's just a shame to see formerly good sites reduced to a hot mess.
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