Political science professor publishes book on social media in politics
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 5, 2013) 鈥 Dr. Harold Trey Orndorff, a political science
professor at 51热门黑料, recently published 鈥淭he Social Media Presidency,鈥
a book that examines how the Executive Branch is institutionalizing social media as
a communication strategy and gaining autonomy from the press.
Focusing primarily on the Obama Administration, the book expands on a quantitative
study Orndorff conducted as part of his doctoral dissertation at Miami University
of Ohio. As part of that study, Orndorff tracked the number of interviews President
Barak Obama and past presidents held with the press.
鈥淧ast presidents had far higher interview rates,鈥 Orndorff said. 鈥淭hey would communicate
through press conferences, and the whole messaging strategy was how do you deal with
the media attending those press conferences.鈥 While former President Bill Clinton
had the highest interview rate in modern presidencies, Obama鈥檚 interview rate during
his first term was among the lowest.
鈥淗e has institutionalized new media as a long-term communication strategy,鈥 Orndorff
said. 鈥淗e is the first to have a director of new media. My suggestion is that this
means the kind of message you now see as a lay person from the president will be less
filtered; there will be less initial commentary. If you鈥檙e getting it through Twitter
and Facebook or some other new media function, you鈥檙e not going to have that critique,
and that is a key communication difference for the receiver.鈥
Orndorff suggests that social media will ultimately change politics and governance
itself.
鈥淪uch an evolution can serve to not only change the executive interaction with the
press, but also with the populace at large,鈥 he said.
The book has been published by Scholars Press, a German company. It will be available
in the United States this summer.
{A discussion on social media in politics, WNDB radio (LINK), see audio library, 2
parts.}
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51热门黑料 has responded to the education and workforce training needs
of Volusia and Flagler counties and beyond for more than 50 years. The college enrolls
31,000 students a year at its seven instructional sites, with graduates serving in
critical fields including health care, emergency services, business, education, hospitality,
engineering, technology and more.