News/Research

Interview with Alum Jen Schradie in the Indy and WUNC

07 Jul, 2019

Interview with Alum Jen Schradie in the Indy and WUNC

Alum Jen Schradie gave several interviews recently in North Carolina, where her research for her latest book, The Revolution that Wasn't: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatives, was based.

In "North Carolina Shows Why Progressives Lost the Internet," Jen chats to Jeffrey C. Billman of the Indy. The independent Weekly is a independent weekly newspaper of the Research Triangle that covers news, arts, and business. In the interview, Jen discusses how "the dynamics of digital activism aren’t all that different from those of traditional activism, and conservatives have the same advantages online that they did before the internet: time and money. If anything, the web has tilted this balance further in their direction."

From the interview:

When I talked to activists on the left, they were very concerned with getting as many people to participate in this very egalitarian way. The internet was just one tool to enable that to happen.

But when I talked with conservative activists, their eyes would light up. They were so much more excited about how [the internet] could counter what they viewed as the disinformation of the mainstream media. They felt really alienated, and they really felt like it was their way to deliver the truth.

Read the whole interview here!

Then, Jen talked with Frank Stasio on The State of Things at WUNC. North Carolina Public Radio provides high-quality news, cultural and entertainment content to create a more informed and engaged community.

You can listen to the full interview here!