When I pulled my phone out during a slow moment at work to check Twitter and saw a tweet from Greg Miller thanking Colin Moriarty for all that he’s done for Kinda Funny and talking about what he will do next, I thought it was a joke.
In hindsight, that really wouldn’t have made sense as part of a joke, but when you so desperately don’t want to believe something is real your mind will fight against conventional wisdom. However, when I clicked on the link to Colin’s tweet, the second link to his Facebook post and realized what was actually happening, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
“It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness that I announce my resignation from Kinda Funny, effective immediately,” Colin said in the post.
Colin went on to give the normal messaging of a sad business parting stating that it was his own decision and that everyone should continue to support Kinda Funny and that he is grateful to his audience for the entire experience. I’ve seen this kind of parting before, but never has one had quite the impact on me that this one did.
Colin has been building up an audience in the gaming world for years since he started freelancing for IGN back in 2002. Since then he became one of the most front-facing writers and personalities at the company, covering the PlayStation beat and appearing on and co-hosting Podcast Beyond, a show where he and his business partner Greg Miller built up a dedicated following.
In 2015, Colin Moriarty, Greg Miller, Nick Scarpino and Tim Gettys quit their jobs at IGN in order to pursue their own online video company, Kinda Funny. Since then, the group has consistently put out podcasts, let's plays and other content to build up a very dedicated fan base they call the “best friends.”
Each member of Kinda Funny brings a unique mindset and perspective to their shows, but Colin always stood out in many ways. Colin has always been very outspoken about his conservative political beliefs, often bringing up politics on Kinda Funny’s various shows. Despite the other members not being too interested in politics and sometimes disagreeing with him, he consistently pushed the conversation in that direction and would try to inform them and encourage them to pay attention, especially during the 2016 election.
However, Colin’s outspokenness is important and influential on a scale larger than just Kinda Funny. As Colin often pointed out, many of those who write on gaming are liberal, and finding an outwardly conservative voice at any major gaming site is next to impossible while the opposite is everywhere. However, according to Colin, there are conservatives in the gaming media — they are just too afraid to admit it. On numerous occasions Colin has stated that people in the industry have reached out to him privately to tell him that he is the only person in this field that they feel like is speaking for them and that they can relate to when it comes to topics of politics.
While Colin has influenced me greatly as a journalist, it is stories like this that make me really respect and admire him beyond someone who is simply a good reporter. Colin isn’t afraid to have an unpopular opinion. If fact, he has many of them, and in an industry that is about as opposite from him as you can get when it comes to political ideology, Colin always stands firm on his principles and doesn’t allow people to shame him out of them. Agree with him or not, and I many times don’t, I think that Colin’s dedication to talking about tough issues, challenging other’s beliefs and having his own beliefs challenged is something we can all admire — regardless of our political leaning.
Is he brash? Yes, he can be. Is he arrogant? Yes, I think sometimes he certainly is. Is he controversial? Definitely. A joke he made on Twitter about women on International Women’s Day last week led to a large backlash and a formal apology from Greg. All of this might be true, but Colin is also one of the most genuine, intelligent and inspiring individuals I’ve ever seen, and gaming media is losing something very special with his departure. If by some chance you are reading this, Colin, just know that I appreciate you and the other Kinda Funny guys helping me through rough times in my life, inspiring me to pursue games media and podcasting and generally just creating thought-provoking content. I eagerly await your future endeavors and I have no doubt you will see great success.
To those who don’t know Kinda Funny: If my gushing has interested you, you should consider watching it. I have no stake in you doing so, I’m just a big fan and I think these guys deserve the growing success they have received. The community could always use more best friends, and of course we could always use more bongos.