I fully assert my right and the right of all independent editors and journalists to freely express opinions and share data about Valnet or any of its media properties.
By Joshua Tyler
| Updated
Last week I told you about a cease and desist letter issued by Valnet, in which they demanded my silence. Valnet is the parent company of websites such as Screen Rant, Game Rant, Collider, Movie Web, and CBR. That letter (which can be read in full here) threatens legal action unless you comply with their demands to remove posts that reference your company and its websites.
Below are two examples of statements that Valnet requires to be removed. They cite many other examples in their complete cease and desist letter.
My lawyer has already drafted a response, which we sent to Valnet’s legal counsel. Our response clearly states that we believe Valnet’s claims are “frivolous,” as the publications cited are protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
We believe the letter issued by Valnet’s legal counsel is a clear attempt to silence open dialogue about the business practices of your company and its associated media entities like Screen Rant.
“The only thing that is “very clear” is that Mr. Tyler shared his opinions and the information he collected on the Internet. “It is also clear that your letter is an attempt to silence Mr. Tyler and prevent an open dialogue about Valnet’s business practices in the marketplace of ideas.”
I will not delete my posts, all of which contain opinions and other protected speech. I fully assert my right and the right of all independent editors and journalists to freely express opinions and share data about Valnet or any of its media properties.
It remains to be seen how Valnet will respond to this refusal to comply with their demands.
The full response sent to Valnet’s legal counsel is included below.
I worked for ScreenRant from 2020 to 2022. I was required to work full-time hours without hourly pay, had no healthcare, could never get approved for time off, and had to work through the premature birth of my child and the death of my father thanks to having no protections to protect pay while in those situations.
I worked as a senior writer, an editor, and a trainer, sometimes clocking 14 or more hours a day. If expectations weren’t met, you could lose the meager bonuses needed to make the job sustainable. You also were not allowed to work anywhere else despite being freelance, as it was considered a conflict of interest.
In my time there, they did everything they could to make earning a living almost impossible. There were NO salary or hourly positions available to grow into, so you could stack hours and hours of work trying to move forward and still be starving.
Valnet, much like Gamurs, is the picture of what has gone wrong throughout this industry. It is heartbreaking, and for those of us who built a career before it all went to pieces, emotionally devastating.
Valnet is a sweatshop hellbent on production. During my time as a trainer, I heard upper staff refer to new writers in ways that were abhorrent, and they openly admitted to expectations being unmeetable. “If it were easy, then everyone would get a bonus”.
In their eyes, were cattle, prodded with a hot stick for profits, led forward across desserts of poverty and exhaustion on promises of an oasis we would never reach.
My heart goes out to anyone still there.