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Roseanne Barr lost her network TV show following a tweet about a former Obama White House official that many have deemed nasty at best and racist at worst. Critics are calling for Samantha Bee to lose her cable program after footage of the host using an expletive to describe Ivanka Trump went viral.

In these politically charged times, more and more celebrities are finding themselves under a microscope when criticizing U.S. leaders and their supporters, often in inflammatory ways. Is it better for them to use their popularity as a platform to help shape viewer opinion or to play it safe and ensure their livelihoods? Can they have it both ways?

Dr. Jennifer Brannock Cox, associate professor of communication arts at Salisbury University, is available to provide insight on these questions, as well as the larger topic of social media’s role in forming public opinion. Cox’s media background includes experience at Washington Post.com and the E.W. Scripps Co. (now part of Gannett). Her scholarly presentations have included “No Business Like Show Business in Online Â鶹´«Ã½” and “Â鶹´«Ã½ Without the Ink: Typifying the New Online Journalism Models.”

To schedule an interview call the Salisbury University Public Relations Office at 410-543-6031 or email Jason Rhodes at [email protected].