That said, I like Heidi, find nothing really wrong with what people (the beat, newsarama, cbr, etc.) are doing, and I think any astute comic book fan would easily be able to distinguish the articles that are clear marketing and those that actually have something to say that isn’t a sales pitch.

I don’t think anyone can call foul as long as there is open discussion about this and no one is trying to hide this fact.

I recall the Comics Buyer’s Guide mentioning something similar back in the early 90s… Marvel stopped sending review copies because they didn’t like the reviews.
If the big boys won’t let you play with their football, take up golf. There are a lot of other companies, some MUCH bigger than DC and Marvel, producing graphic novels. There are smaller companies where early exposure creates trust for the future.
Ignore the head cheerleader, and she might wonder why she’s being ignored, and try to get your notice. Meanwhile, talk with the interesting people who hang out in the library.

I recall the Comics Buyer’s Guide mentioning something similar back in the early 90s… Marvel stopped sending review copies because they didn’t like the reviews.
If the big boys won’t let you play with their football, take up golf. There are a lot of other companies, some MUCH bigger than DC and Marvel, producing graphic novels. There are smaller companies where early exposure creates trust for the future.
Ignore the head cheerleader, and she might wonder why she’s being ignored, and try to get your notice. Meanwhile, talk with the interesting people who hang out in the library.

Oh, and what HABE said. We’ve had a mainstream press on bended knee for at least the last half-dozen years (and before that they attacked whom their masters told them to even if there was no reason to do so). It’s not like they’re setting any sort of example for cultural critics.

My biggest pet peeve, besides parroting press releases, is when otherwise qualified and interesting reviewers completely ignore the art in a comic they’re reviewing. If you don’t have the vocab or knowledge to talk about art, maybe you should either acquire it or consider being a prose book reviewer instead…

Each site and magazine has it’s pros and cons, but I think all in all that the comic industry has the journalism contigent that it deserves. Sure, more (as in quality, not quantity) would be great for the small fraction of us who want to read that kind of real news rather than EW-style entertainment news, but there’s honestly not the financial backing to fund such a venture.

I’d be first in line to read/write/consume for such a venture, but as heidi says “the cost-to-benefit ratio of such an enterprise would not be worth it right now.”

Define “breaking”?

Part of the problem with comics “journalism” is that there isn’t a lot of “news” to cover. It’s mostly PR fluff, along with reviews and interviews of various length and depth. When there is news of interest, it’s often ignored or under-reported, because it’s such a small, incestuous industry, people are reluctant to go on the record about anything.

There’s also not a significant audience clamoring for real comics news, either, so it’s a double-edged sword. If nobody really cares, why should anybody care?

That said, I think the web is the best place for anything specifically targeting the comics world these days. The audience is way too fractured, with a huge gulf between the direct market and mainstream consumer — geographically and demographically — for something like Comic Foundry to work in print. A broader focus on pop culture might work, sort of like Geek Monthly is attempting, but I wouldn’t bet any of my own money on that one. Giant Robot has been mentioned ot me on several occasions as a good example of how it could be done, but I’m not familiar with it.

You’ll need to develop your own sources and your own reporters who can sniff out an actual story and not canned PR. And once you do that, you will no longer get cooperation from “official” sources, or at least that’s the way it was when I was working on the Pulse.

Anyone have any helpful hints?

Actually, Wizard.com is a severely underrated search engine. I’m guessing by your comment that you haven’t fully explored its full algorithmic brilliance.