Colin Hastings is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo.

"As an activist researcher, Colin Hastings unfolds for us how it happens that digital media journalists produce and circulate stories about HIV criminalization in the Canadian media, particularly versions that construct texts that are stigmatizing, objectifying, and alarmist. He skilfully examines journalists’ work, organized by both tight deadlines and content ratings, in gathering sources across a wide array of institutional sites (criminal law, medical science, public health, digital information technology, and HIV advocacy) where the work practices of other people located elsewhere intersect and coordinate a journalist’s newswork. In this respect, this book is one of only a few models that explores ruling relations across several institutional complexes in institutional ethnography (IE). Consequently, it is an important contribution to the expansive nature and often unexplored elements of Dorothy E. Smith’s simple conceptualization of how we know the social through empirical inquiry and how IE inquiry can provide a map that social justice activists can use to make change."

Alexander McClelland, Associate Professor of Criminology, Carleton University:
“Colin Hastings has written a searing and meticulously researched institutional ethnographic account of how contemporary media work practices covering stories on HIV criminalization reproduce the violence of state policing apparatuses and exacerbate racial injustice. This vital work extends the legacy of both Dorothy E. Smith and George W. Smith, while bringing institutional ethnographic research into the digital era, opening up new opportunities, and breathing new life into the field.”

Liza McCoy, Associate Professor Emerita, University of Calgary:
“This fascinating study offers an excellent example of IE research that examines institutional work processes from a starting place of the concerns of activists. While the focus is on the production of media reports of HIV criminalization and the efforts of HIV activists to encourage better informed and less stigmatizing representations, the book will be of interest to anyone who is curious about news work in the age of fast-paced, ‘convergence’ journalism.”

Paul Luken, Associate Professor Emeritus in Sociology, University of West Georgia:
“Inspired by the groundbreaking writings of Dorothy E. Smith and George W. Smith, Colin Hastings has provided us with detailed descriptions of convergence journalists’ work – their activities and the hurried conditions under which they labour – as it relates to criminalizing those with HIV. An excellent volume for scholars who are actively involved in their local communities, regardless of their areas of interest.”

Edwin J. Bernard, Executive Director, HIV Justice Network:
“Colin Hastings’s Digital News and HIV Criminalization meticulously details the symbiotic relationship between police and deadline-driven reporters, revealing how their interactions perpetuate stigmatizing narratives around HIV criminalization. Hastings’s insightful analysis – part of an exciting new wave of activism-informed social science research from Canada – explores the strategic, astute efforts of advocates to challenge the supposed neutrality of mainstream news and law enforcement, advocating for a reclamation of the narrative space to support HIV justice.”

Michael Orsini, Professor in Feminist and Gender Studies and Political Studies, University of Ottawa :
“Hastings’s institutional ethnography traces a rich portrait of how news about HIV/AIDS and criminalization is made and can be unmade. Highly original, Digital News and HIV Criminalization probes how media actors make meaning and communicate it to multiple publics in the rapid world of digital news. The book also provides vital insights for HIV/AIDS activists seeking to disrupt the stigmatizing coverage of HIV/AIDS that is fueled by journalists’ interactions with police. The book is strongly recommended for activists, media scholars, and others interested in how health discourse is governed in a pandemic.”

Notisha Massaquoi, Assistant Professor in Health Education and Promotion, University of Toronto:
“Colin Hastings’s new book is a compelling call to action. He very eloquently provides us with a clear history and logical understanding of digital media’s role in creating HIV-related stigma resulting in misinformation, discrimination, and the escalation of HIV criminalization in Canada. He also leaves us with hope and the understanding that the power of these same platforms can be used as an effective tool to raise awareness, empower, and advocate for change. He is challenging us to be part of the fight against HIV discrimination and the end of the HIV pandemic.”