Soledad O'Brien Interview - Rolling Stone

Longform interview by Jamil Smith for Rolling Stone talking with Soledad O'Brien about race and gender in media, covering Trump, and the role of social media in journalism.

Is Social Media Good for Democracy?

Soledad O'Brien uses social media every day. It has become essential to the fields of news and journalism, both as a way to gather information and also as a way to publish information. She has examined how social media is impacting democracy on her program Matter of Fact.  

For example, Facebook has had to look at its impact it has on the democratic process after receiving much criticism for content on the platform during the Clinton/Trump campaigns. Facebook actually said it could no longer guarantee that social media is beneficial to democracy. That is a surprising admission.

One critique of social media is the ability to create echo chambers -- online spaces that only surround users with like-minded people and ideas.

There’s another phenomenon at work: “group polarization” which says that when you are in an echo chamber, you can become more extreme and intolerant.

Harvard professor Cass Sunstein studies this effect in his new book Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media. He talked with O’Brien to discuss the pros and cons of social media and why the ability to filter out opposing views is a threat to our democracy.

Soledad O'Brien's Guide To Social Media

via facebook.com/SoledadOBrien.OfficialPage/

from Soledad O'Brien's Guide To Twitter Trolls, Body Image, & Compliments

"Soledad O'Brien knows that the spotlight can take a toll on body image. As an accomplished television anchor and correspondent, an executive producer, and the CEO of multi-platform production company Starfish Media Group, she's spent years in front of a camera and under public scrutiny, especially on social media — and she's not immune to the inevitable negativity online. Now, she's speaking out about it as a Dove partner for the #SpeakBeautiful campaign to encourage more positivity on social media."

What is Soledad O'Brien paying attention to these days?

What is Soledad O'Brien paying attention to these days? According to adweek.com

• IN THE MORNING: It's Twitter then email
• ON TWITTER:  friends, Kim Bondy and Bevy Smith - Ezra Klein, Ross Douthat, Roland Martin, Ryan Lizza
• OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram (to keep up with her girls)
• TV (on her iPad) Being Mary Jane, Scandal
  
•  NEW APP: her son, Jackson, is about 95 percent deaf, so she is using Marlee Signs, an app created by Marlee Matlin that teaches you sign language. 
• Blackberry or iPhone?  Both. Likes the Blackberry keyboard
• READING:  Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America's Schools by David L. Kirp - Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life, written by a couple following their son and his friend as they go off to Dalton in New York. and Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Join Soledad in a Hangout discussion on Being Black in America February 19

Hangout online with Soledad O'Brien live from her Black in America tour!

Join Soledad O'Brien Wed, Feb 19, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM ET for a discussion of race in America based on themes presented in her award-winning Black in America series. Live from Towson University  Soledad will host a panel made up of members of Towson's community including Ignacio Evans, a recent Towson graduate, Tara Bynum, Assistant Professor of English, and John Bullock, Assistant Professor of Political Science.

You will be able to join the discussion by posting your questions anytime before or during the Google Hangout using the Q&A app found there.

We want to know what being Black in America means to you. Starting with the words, "Being Black in America means..." upload your thoughts or a photo to Google+ using the hashtag #iamtheconversation .