Nerd Union started as a group of friends hanging out in college. As we grew up, moved away, and got real jobs, we decided to come back together for a podcast in June 2014. That podcast, regardless of how bad and rambling it was, grew into our website, Nerd Union. Discussing what is happening in the geek-o-sphere is our passion. We like to prod and examine, dissect, and discuss what goes on with the things we love be they movies, TV shows, comics, video, or tabletop games. But more importantly, we feel like it’s a underserved segment.
I imagine right now you’re saying, “Hold up, nerdy things like comics have become mainstays of Hollywood. How is that underserved.” To that, I say yes, it is.
The reason is because nerd culture has been co-opted by advertisers and movie studios in order to sell to a broader demographic. They push shows like Big Bang Theory, or have their resident weird geek do their tech support on a show full of normies. The delightful weirdness of the comics gets watered down for mass audience appeal, and video games are becoming the most reductive of mediums.
We want to challenge that.
We want to provide unflitered content that’s not watered down by mass appeal, and we want to provide true reviews. If a video game is garbage we will tell you, not because they aren’t paying us to tell you it’s great, but because it’s true. Mainly, we want to talk about things that no one else discusses, because that interests us, and we think it’ll interest you.
Our Coverage
We, of course, do reviews of TV shows and movies that are of interest to our readers (which will include tent-poles), but we focus on gaming. We review board games that you may have never heard of, or cover a video game in an honest way. We discuss tips and strategies on how to play those games. We also discuss fan films, and talk to their creators, as well as discussing nerd culture in general. We are never paid for our reviews, nor do we post paid editorials. We’re honest and give your our honest opinion. We have been approached to have paid content on the site, and we refused to do it, because it’s not ethical. We will, however, review your game/movie/comic/etc if you ask us to, but just because we may have a relationship with the content creator doesn’t mean that it’s not our honest opinion.
We also make sure than when we review something, it’s a complete review. We don’t half ass things, which means our reviews take longer than most, but we feel like we owe it to the creators, and our audience, to get it right. Words have weight, and we don’t aim to use those without due cause and justification.
Our Podcasts and Video Series
We are also constructing a podcast network through our fledging parent network Zephyr Media Group. Currently we have State of the Nerd Union, our flagship reporting show that covers everything under-the-sun regarding nerd content. Our other series, like Super Blerd Variety Hour, The Rundown, and Content Not Found offer a wide range of news options, racially and orientation diverse perspectives on nerd culture and it’s wide range of mediums.
Editorial Standards
- Our team works in a variety of different fields, have biases towards different projects and brands. While some of that can create really great content as lovers of a movie or brand, it can also represent a blindspot. For that reason, our writing style makes note of that when it could be a problem (recognize and identify the bias) and making a disclaimer if we feel as a team that the conflict goes beyond being an appreciative fan (or if we’re being satirical regarding our love/dedication).
- For reviews, we will note when we have received free access to the material or event in question. While press passes are an industry standard across different mediums, if we received additional perks (All-Access passes), swag bags, or generally any gifts that could potential affect our reviews, we’ll make note of that and make a disclaimer in the review.
- As we expand our tech coverage, we will disclose (when legally possible) any conflicts they may have arose from our coverage and any pressure we received to change or alter our opinion and reviews. Failure to disclose that or address it with the offending party would be
- We love to work with our fans and discuss ideas or essays that we may have coming up that they inspired through our Q&A sessions, livestreams on Twitch, etc. Fans will be properly notified and given acknowledgment for the genesis of any article ideas. No compensation will considered in these forum conversations.
- We make mistake. There’s always going to be the possibility that we could say something that will offend or inadvertently cause harm or was researched with the available information, only to find that we missed something. When that happens, you can be certain that we will address the issue promptly by update the article with a retraction (and/or keeping the content as is with a disclaimer as context for future readers)