The Shit Fight of the Day award goes to the ABC’s Good Game and its former host, Jeremy Ray, for hitting the front page of News.com.au over what could have been a quiet affair. Ray, who goes by the nickname Junglist, was recently replaced by Stephanie Bendixsen, an unknown in the worlds of journalism, TV and well, gaming in general. Turns out the whole thing was less than amicable, with Ray suggesting (okay, it was more accusing) the ABC of dumping him in exchange for, essentially, eye candy.

I’ve meet Junglist. Hell, I’ve meet him a few times. First when he interviewed me for a feature on MMOs in Season 2 of Good Game, and secondly when he and his co-host Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell hosted a ASUS-sponsored LAN at Atomic LIVE in 2007. He’s a great guy, very passionate about his craft and definitely heavily chop-laden when it comes to presenting. I can’t really comment on what he’s like to work with on a day-to-day basis, but I noticed nothing amiss when he grilled me about all things massively multi-player.

I should note this was around three years ago, maybe a little more.

While we’ll probably never know what happened in the depths of the ABC’s media bunker, we can try and put the pieces together.

First, we have the Team Good Game’s post on the show’s forums regarding the host exchange. Here’s a snippet:

For all sorts of reasons we are unable to tell you things that have happened over many months inside Team Good Game which have impacted on the production. That’s just real life folks. We know it leaves many questions unanswered but we have reached that point where we really can’t say any more than that.

The post goes on to say the decision was “forced” onto the team by ABC’s management. All in all, it’s reasonably diplomatic… except for the “behind the scenes” comment. That made me think.

Before I could do much more thinking, Ray came out with this on the GG’s forums:

I feel now as if I’m being professionally attacked, so here’s a truth bomb. In the meeting where I was told I would be replaced, the reason given was they wanted a girl on the show. “Mass appeal” was a direct quote from that meeting. After a half-hour of explaining how they’ll lose their hardcore following, they responded that yes, they knew this, but expected to make up the numbers with a new following. “A show can grow beyond its hardcore base”, is another direct quote.

The rest of the post sounds like a little venting. I have no doubt Ray is telling the truth here, and I also believe he was being honest when he told Fairfax’s Asher Moses that the ABC was pushing presenters to dramatically shorten their review cycle.

So, Junglist said his piece, not only on GG’s forums, but also to the press. Rather than stay quiet, the ABC decided to – as far as I can see – clear the matter up:

Now the broadcaster has dismissed the allegation by issuing a few choice words about the former host’s performance.

“The reason for replacing Jeremy Ray was ongoing behind the scenes performance based issues,” said a statement from ABC TV publicist Tony Brooks.

“Ray’s performance issues were severely impacting the quality and smooth-running of the show, as well as making life difficult for the rest of the team.

For now, that’s the meat of what’s gone on. As I said earlier, only Junglist and the ABC know for sure what transpired, but here’s my read on things. I should say this is pure speculation.

I believe that there may have been some issues between Ray and the ABC’s management, regarding Ray’s “performance” – whatever that may be, seeing as it doesn’t appear to have been his externally visible abilities. I also believe the ABC was keen to rejuvenate the show. The ABC may have let Ray go under the pretense of replacing him with another host, with the real issues put to one side for the sake of both parties. When Ray struck out at the broadcaster, the ABC decided not to hold back.

Sadly, I think it’s left Ray in a weaker position professionally, but a stronger one with the fan base. A shame the former is probably more important right now, considering the presenter’s current employment situation.

Like I said, this is just conjecture, and I wish Jeremy all the best. I reckon he’s a top bloke, and maybe this is an omen for him that something bigger and better is waiting on the horizon.