Paro Pain, Deconstructing Trump's Twitter Account and the Future of Journalism and Democracy

President Trump uses Twitter to suggest everything from nuclear war, to tout his personal good looks, and even lately, that he may be a victim of lynching. He's also used Twitter to communicate directly with would-be voters and with the media. If you think President Trump is a little out of control with his daily tweets, and what this may mean, in this episode, Dr. Paromita Pain deconstructs her 2019 paper called “The President Is in: Public Opinion and the Presidential Use of Twitter.” Dr. Pain is an assistant professor of Global Media Studies at the Reynolds School of Journalism, where she explores emerging newsroom practices and concerns in a global context. Her findings outline a calculated effort by the president to marshal his 60 million plus Twitter followers. The study may leave you asking if there is still hope of a more civilized future on Twitter and in our politics? The reporter for this episode is graduate student Norris Burkes, with Nico Colombant, the coordinator of the Reynolds Media Lab, as co-host.