Brinner: A Conversation on the Role of Social Media in Journalism

March 5, 2025 - Features

by Austin Christ | Student Outreach Coordinator

Student Advisory Board Coordinator Kenna McNally interviews Brinner guests Lauren Green (left) and Paul Haven (right). Photo by Ann Dean.

On January 27, 2025, the Dole Institute’s Student Advisory Board kicked off the semester with Brinner, a student event that welcomed prospective and returning SAB members, with a catered “breakfast for dinner” provided.

Moderated by Student Advisory Board Coordinator Kenna McNally, the conversation was titled “A Conversation on the Role of Social Media in Journalism,” and featured journalists Lauren Green of the National Journal and Paul Haven of the Associated Press. The discussion explored the various ways that journalists use social media, as well as the increasing difficulty in finding factual and unbiased information regarding political news.

Student Advisory Board Coordinator Kenna McNally poses with Brinner guests Paul Haven of the Associated Press (left) and Lauren Green of the National Journal (right) ahead of the program. Photo by Ann Dean.

The juxtaposition of Green and Haven on the stage created a rich diversity of perspectives, with Green bringing a more contemporary view from the social media side of things while Haven represented the well-established legacy media. The conversation resonated well with the many students in attendance, as the guests seemed to be very in tune with the current landscape of political media, even from the perspective of a college student. Despite coming from different angles, Green and Haven agreed on most things, and especially emphasized to the audience the importance of questioning what you see online and diversifying your sources of information.

Students gather at the Dole Institute for the spring semester kick-off, Brinner. Photo by Ann Dean.

“There’s a lot swirling around on social media and I think it’s really important to not believe everything you see, and look at who the source is,” Haven noted. “If you believe in the source where you’re getting your information, whether you’re reading it on Facebook or Twitter or TikTok, I think you know [fact-checking] is what’s most important and so like at a company like ours fact-checking is absolutely fundamental.”

Green agreed, saying that “media literacy is really hard in this day and age because…It’s not a full picture being spread. I think if you were on TikTok, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, I think that you had a very skewed outlook of the election because the algorithm is giving you only things from your point of view.”

Students line up to enjoy the hallmark of Brinner – free breakfast for dinner. Photo by Ann Dean.

At a time when information seems to be getting harder and harder to verify, conversations like this become more and more necessary. With over 50 students in attendance, Lauren Green and Paul Haven provided a rich discussion that will help students approach media literacy in an age of social media-based journalism. The event represented a strong start to the semester, and the evening concluded with students chatting to each other about the upcoming Student Advisory Board events of the coming months.

View a recording of the 2025 Brinner program here.

Austin Christ serves the Student Outreach Coordinator for the Dole Institute of Politics. Through this role, Austin works with student organizations and University departments to raise awareness of Dole Institute events. He is a senior studying economics, political science, and Spanish.

About the Dole Institute
Inspired by the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and the enduring civic contributions of the Greatest Generation, the Dole Institute of Politics strives to promote a new era of leadership that uses politics to bring people together through opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic education and engagement.