- Home Movies: The Medium Of Memories in
Media Insider on
12/23/2025
I never met my maternal grandfather, and never knew my father. But on 8mm home movies, there they were: moving, laughing and living.
- Lilith Fair: A Quarter Century, A Different World Ago in
Media Insider on
12/16/2025
A recent documentary on the music festival is a very timely statement on both the strength and fragility of community.
- The Long-Term Fallout From MAGA: One Canadian's Perspective in
Media Insider on
12/09/2025
Canadians want to buy Canadian rather than American, but it's really hard to do that. Canadian goods are harder to find and typically cost more.
- It's Tough To Consume Conscientiously in
Media Insider on
12/02/2025
How do we balance our beliefs about what is wrong and right with our desire to consume? Which do we care more about?
- The Raging Ripple Effects Of Airbnb in
Media Insider on
11/25/2025
Let's talk about the impact of simple ideas that can now scale massively thanks to the networked world we live in.
- Why I Hate Marketing in
Media Insider on
11/18/2025
Marketing has slipped further and further into an ethical quagmire, with emotional manipulation and false claims now the norm.
- 'I'd Rather Not Know': The Cost Of Being Incurious in
Media Insider on
11/11/2025
An incurious brain is one that is stagnant and inflexible. The more curious we are, the better tied we are to reality.
- Bots And Agents: The Present And Future Of AI in
Media Insider on
11/04/2025
After experiencing an AI fail, I learn the difference between a bot and an agent.
- Being In The Room Where It Happens in
Media Insider on
10/28/2025
After attending a hybrid conference in-person, I realize what made my experience better than a virtual attendee's.
- Saying Goodbye To Our Icons in
Media Insider on
10/21/2025
Losing Diane Keaton and Robert Redford felt sadder, more personal than other deaths. It was as if I had lost people I knew.
- 'I'd Rather Not Know': The Cost Of Being Incurious
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
11/11/2025)
Gian -My feeling is that things are definitely trending to the negative - at the same time as our information environment amplifies bad news of all types. So climate disasters - global unrest - political polarization - dystopian technology trends - degradation of social infrastructure - take your pick of things to keep you up at night.
- Media Modeling Of Masculinity
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
05/27/2025)
DanFirst of all, thanks for your response. While we definitely see things differently, I appreciate the time you took to lay out your points. I think the biggest difference is in the lens we are using. You are in the media environment and are comparing media influence from now to what we had a few decades ago. I'm looking at impact on human behavior over a much, much longer time frame, back to our evolutionary roots. Trying to compare the two and saying one view is right while the other is wrong is doomed to fail. It's not even comparing apples and oranges - more like comparing apples with quantum physics.
As far as references and citations of specific influencers, the study I cited has all this noted. I would suggest going through that if you're interested in the particular influencers looked at in the study. You may disagree with my feeling that our current media environment is leading us down some very dangerous paths. I have been watching these patterns emerge for decades and now that my paycheck doesn't depend on defending them, I am far from optimistic about our future. The lack of reciprocity and physical connection is part of that. Yes, that's my opinion - but that's the purpose of the column.
- Kaila Colbin, Signing Off
by
Kaila Colbin
(Media Insider on
04/18/2025)
Thank you for your insights and humanity Kaila. I very much appreciated both!
- Trump, The Media, And The Problem Of 'Pretty Good'
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
03/11/2025)
Dan - I have just one question - and I'm genuinely curious - where do you get your information from? What sources?
- Trump, The Media, And The Problem Of 'Pretty Good'
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
03/11/2025)
Thanks for that CNN breakdown Ed. I agree on CNN - they are the closest to objective that I've seen in a primarily ad supported platform. I don't think I labelled them as "left wing - lying" - but there is definitely a bias there. That's fair - all news outlets have a bias and CNN's is the least noticeable. I am using Media in it's broadest sense - anywhere that people get their information from. I think all the comments agree that it is a toxic environment and lead to the situation we find ourselves in today. At the heart of it is depending on ad sales for revenue and profitability.
- Is This The Time To Say No?
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
01/21/2025)
Thomas, if you had actually read the post, you would have understood that what I was objecting to was the recent moves by Big Tech. I've been writing about the threat to democracy for the past 10 years plus. I'm good with my stand. You?
- 2024: A Media Insider Review
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
01/07/2025)
Thanks Cory! There will be plenty to write about, I'm sure. The world doesn't seem to be getting any saner.
- Postmortem Of A Trump Sound Bite
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
03/19/2024)
Jay and George - I get that Trump is a lightening rod candidate and that his actions are reprehensible - believe me when I tell you you're preaching to the choir here. But that wasn't the point of the post. The point was that the coverage was inaccurate given what he said and that is symptomatic of the issue when you rely on media for information. Yes, Tone, context and history matter. But none of those things are license to misreport and misrepresent. That's squarely on the media and platforms. Worse, by doing this, you're actually helping Trump spread his message.
- My Award For The Most Human Movie Of The Year
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
03/12/2024)
Jim - I loved Past Lives. In some ways, it was my favourite from among the nominated movies. The fact that it had a Canadian director was another plus for me - for purely personal reasons.
- When The News Hits Home
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
08/22/2023)
Thanks Christine - we're reading from the same page but I suspect we're preaching to the choir.