Parents' Guide to

The Westport Independent

By Neilie Johnson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

News simulator shows how the media can shape reality.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Paid Simulation Games
The Westport Independent Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • The Westport Independent - App - Screenshot 1
  • The Westport Independent - App - Screenshot 2
  • The Westport Independent - App - Screenshot 3
  • The Westport Independent - App - Screenshot 4
  • The Westport Independent - App - Screenshot 5

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

ParrotMom
ParrotMom Adult
June 18, 2019
age 13+

Lots of smoking present in game

The common sense media rating does not mention the heavy use of tobacco during game play. Every time you start the app you are presented with a large image of an ash tray with lots of used up cigarette buds. The are also multiple instances of your in game character smoking in a large dark room with other people. There is also some language which includes sh-t and f--k. I would rate this game for teens due to the tobacco use.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

THE WESTPORT INDEPENDENT lets kids become the editor of a fictional newspaper in charge of deciding which stories see the light of day and how they're spun. Players have 12 weeks before a "Public Culture" bill is enforced by the government: a bill that dictates the kinds of news that can be shared with the public and that will shut down any media outlets that refuse to comply. Each week, players are given a handful of news stories and allowed to choose a few to print. Before going to press, players can decide whether to report the stories in full or selectively edit them to support one political faction or another. They can also choose between a plain, factual headline or a more sensational one. During the layout phase, players can choose the order in which articles appear, and can customize both story content and advertising to appeal to specific subsets of the population. Depending on their choices, players can lose their employees' loyalty, change public opinion, or bring the government down upon them.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This simple simulator focuses on telling a good story and letting kids experience how news outlets hold the power of perception in their pens. The Westport Independent puts you in charge of making complicated, life-and-death decisions. It doesn't seem that way at first; you're just the editor of a local newspaper tasked with raising your papers' profile and selling as many papers as you can. The arrival of a certain "Public Culture" bill, though, raises the idea of "appropriate" content, as well as the stakes of publication. From then on, every decision you make has the potential to, at least, alienate your employees (who all have their own political beliefs) and, at most, bring government agents to your door. If you want to play it safe, you can fixate on fluff -- celebrity gossip and the like -- but if you want to report the big stories, you'll have to take sides. That means acting as a government mouthpiece, spinning stories to make certain groups seem beneficial and even heroic, or helping the populace by telling the unvarnished truth. It's not easy: The Westport Independent makes clear the risk you take reporting on things like industrial safety, joblessness, and police brutality. And what's great about it is that it makes you responsible for what the public knows and expertly demonstrates how complicated (and dangerous) it is to do the right thing. It also introduces the idea of distribution, and how money can affect how media outlets convey the news. Parents can help kids connect the dots between the newspaper in the game and the current, varied forms of news that exist today, including clickbait and misinformation. In our media-soaked political climate, The Westport Independent is a great tool for teaching kids how important it is to have a free press, as well as how media spin alters our perception of reality.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about freedom of the press in The Westport Independent and in real life. What does freedom of the press mean?

  • Think about why freedom of the press is important. What happens to societies when governments suppress the media?

  • Discuss the importance of truthful reporting. What happens to our confidence in the press if it "spins" stories to fit a certain political narrative?

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

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