Our Advocacy Work
May 30th, 2022
The staff and board of Informed Opinions join all of Ottawa, many thousands of women, and the extended Greenberg family in mourning the passing of Shirley Greenberg. An inspirational feminist advocate, role model and philanthropist, her generosity has made — and continues to make — a profound difference in the lives of countless women. […]
read more...Remembering Inspirational Feminist Advocate, Shirley Greenberg
Our Advocacy Work
January 20th, 2022
In the context of Informed Opinions’ work to combat the #ToxicHush of online hate, we’re deeply conscious of how much abuse many outspoken women and gender-diverse journalists, bloggers and influencers receive. Noting a recent tweet by longtime feminist columnist, Heather Mallick about blocking words on Twitter, we reached out to learn more… Do you remember […]
read more...Blocking Online Abuse: Q&A with Toronto Star columnist Heather Mallick
Improve your Writing
July 7th, 2020
Don’t stop me, even if you have heard this one before: It’s 1992. I’ve just joined the board of MediaWatch, Informed Opinions’ predecessor. A TV reporter calls to say the Miss Canada pageant has just been cancelled and he needs someone who is not a beauty contestant to come on TV to talk about it. […]
read more...My first op ed… on the Miss Canada beauty pageant
Our Advocacy Work
May 21st, 2020
Meg moved quickly behind me to close the door to her office not wanting her staff to overhear. I had showed up in advance of the MediaWatch board meeting in 1990 to let her know that even though I’d only joined the board six months previously, I would be resigning at this, my second meeting. […]
read more...Tell your mentors how much you appreciate their impact while you can
Our Advocacy Work
April 8th, 2015
On the rare occasions when I get slammed on Twitter or condemned by an anonymous troll, I sometimes console myself that at least the criticism isn’t splashed across every news website, broadcast and paper in the country. That’s why it pained me to see the unfortunate off-the-cuff remark Nancy Ruth made last week to a scrum of reporters feed […]
read more...Some context on a favourite feminist philanthropist
Our Advocacy Work
July 6th, 2012
Don’t take my word for it… On the retrograde troll front, I defer to hip hop DJ and vlogger, Jay Smooth, who recently weighed in on the classic, cautionary Internet story involving media critic, Anita Sarkeesian. He offers a compelling and persuasive analysis of an issue I’ve tackled before— but does so from a distinctly male gamer perspective. […]
read more...Deferring to Jay Smooth on trolls
Our Advocacy Work
May 4th, 2012
So you’ve crafted your insights into an engaging and persuasive op ed, and the comment editor of your local newspaper has published the piece. Your inbox is now receiving congratulatory notes from friends and colleagues, and maybe even a query or two from broadcast media wanting you to expand on your subject on air. So […]
read more...Ignoring the haters
Our Advocacy Work
October 30th, 2011
Last week Rick Mercer inspired a welcome debate about whether or not gays and lesbians who survived the hell that high school often is for them to become successful leaders in their field have an obligation to own their sexual orientation in a public way. Although sympathetic to queer teachers and politicians, business leaders and […]
read more...Do feminists have an obligation to “out” themselves?
