Hello World - A Message From Esports Illustrated
Hello World!
My name is Kali Scales, and I am the Editor in Chief of Esports Illustrated. If you haven’t heard of us, that’s probably because we’re very new. In fact, we’re officially launching right now!
So, what is Esports Illustrated?
Through its in-depth reporting, behind-the-scenes coverage, and stunning photography, Sports Illustrated became a household name in sports. Our goal now at Esports Illustrated is to stand true to those principles while creating an entertaining and fun look into the world of esports and gaming.
My background has taken me from podcasting, to terrestrial radio, to journalism, to Twitch, but I’ve always worked within gaming. For my entire life, video games have been my passion, and for the last 16 years, I’ve had the honor of calling them my career as well. From humble origins as a Final Fantasy XI podcaster to here, I’m very proud to continue my journey with Esports Illustrated.
Since our content plans will ultimately speak for themselves, I won’t spend time now discussing them. Instead, I want to talk to you about the pillars upon which we are building Esports Illustrated. They are as follows:
- Fun - Ours were the first generations to truly embrace video games as not only an art form, but as a lasting part of our lives. Today, we follow esports now for the same reason our parents followed their favorite sports teams. We love the games, and we love the people that play them. To that end, we vow to never take ourselves too seriously, and to remember that at our core, this is about fun.
- Inclusive - Gaming is huge, and encompasses just about everyone. No matter your background, there’s a good chance that gaming has touched your life in some way. This space is dedicated to being for everyone, and we will always err on the side of being inclusive instead of exclusive.
- Tough, but fair - I’ve been in the industry long enough to know that abusive practices thrive in darkness. And it is often only the bravery of the journalists risking their careers that eventually shines a light on these things. We are committed to tough, but fair coverage of the companies and leagues that dominate this space.
- Ethical - This one is short and simple, at least in theory. We commit to researching our topics, checking our sources and facts, and making corrections when we get something wrong.
Finally, I just want to take a moment to address something I wish more people would. Ultimately, we are a human-run organization. And as such, we’re not perfect. Occasionally, we’re going to make mistakes. Naturally, we’ll make sure it’s as infrequent as possible, but it will happen. When it does, we’ll do all in our power to own it, try to make it right, and then improve.
On a personal note, I consider it one of the highlights of my career that the first Editor in Chief of Esports Illustrated is a trans woman. I look forward to doing my absolute best to deliver to you all a product you can enjoy, and something you can find trust and love for.
And that’s it. That’s all I’ve got for you. You shouldn’t hear from me too often beyond this, as from here, I’ll turn you over to the wonderful content staff we’re putting together. They are some of the most talented people in the industry, and I’m so very excited for you to get to meet them all.
Thank you everyone for your time.
TL;DR - We're making some esports stuff. It's gonna be cool.
