What role has technology played increasing the power and reach of presidents? write 150 or more words

Technology
has allowed the president to instantly reach hundreds of millions of people with a simple Tweet.
It has also allowed the media, which operates across television, the radio, and the internet to
disseminate their message around the clock. A century ago, presidents had little direct
interaction with the masses outside of public speeches. However, that has certainly changed,
much with the aid of modern technology.

President Franklin Roosevelt was the
first American president to harness technology to directly reach the people of the United
States. His Fireside Chats brought his voice directly into American households and allowed him
to talk directly to the people. These so-called chats were a few dozen informal speeches, not
made at a lectern and reported in the press, but much more personal as Americans could hear the
president's own voice as if he were sitting with them in their living room. This made Roosevelt
seem much more relatable than a distant power figure and helped quell much of the early
Depression Era anxiety in the country. The relatively new technology of the radio made this
possible and later politicians and presidents would take advantage of this as well, although
seldom to the same effect.

We have come a long way since these simple radio
chats. Now, presidents can make grandiose or mundane public statements on live TV from the White
House. These get beamed all over the world and greatly increase their influence. President
Donald Trump has taken this a step further with his unfiltered and direct contact with the more
than 67 million people who follow him on Twitter. His Tweets are then often retweeted and
reported on in the media, furthering their reach even more. It seems that the technology of
social media has become a tool that presidents, as well as other politicians, can use to amplify
their voice and influence like never before.