Trump Tweets, Are They News?
by Melony Roy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Is Twitter an effective or appropriate platform for presidential news? Americans are divided on the issue - and so are journalists.
David Boardman, Temple's Dean of Media and Communications, calls the movement among some journalists to boycott covering Donald Trumps tweets "really misguided."
"If that's how he chooses to communicate with the American people, absolutely we have to cover it. It gives us great insight into what he's thinking at any point in time, it's clearly unfiltered," said Boardman.
This method of communication has created a conundrum for journalists.
"It puts tremendous pressure for speed on the press, because you can't sit back and wait for a convenient time to fact check him, it's out there instantaneously to millions of people," Boardman said.
He says the key is to not simply report on what he tweets.
"To immediately provide as much context and truth squading on his comments, because he's shown time and again to put out statements that ultimately were shown not to be factual. That's definitely the responsibility of the press," said Boardman.
It seems you can can expect the tweeting to continue after the inauguration.
Trump's White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says he'll continue to use Twitter often throughout his presidency.
