“It is a very different news environment, which makes it much more difficult to control the flow of news,” said Faculty Fellow Tom Hollihan to the Whittier Daily News. “It creates opportunity to empower local citizens in ways they haven’t previously been empowered. No place is completely off the information grid.” Hollihan’s comments came in response to the death of Osama Bin Laden, and how social media played a role in informing the public.