Supervisors and their affiliated institutions: Dr Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova (Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool); Dr Rosalynd Southern (Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool)
Email address: Houda.Al-Balushi@liverpool.ac.uk
Research topic:
My research explores public engagement patterns in the comments on the posts of the News Race programme of Al Jazeera Arabic (AJA) on Twitter. Based on initial observations during data collection, this research focuses on alignment between the public and AJA’s agenda, public perceptions of journalistic professionalism and news quality, and the extent of deliberative communication in online spaces. A mixed methods-grounded theory (MM-GT) approach, combining quantitative content analysis and thematic analysis, was used to analyse a dataset of 147 online polls, 94 news videos, and 7,567 Twitter comments. This comprehensive approach revealed that the pan-Arab news channel's agenda varied according to the type of posted news. While direct discussions on journalistic standards were sparse, the thematic analysis uncovered a tendency among the public to view AJA sceptically, often linking it to conspiracy theories and the otherness discourse. This was mainly influenced by geopolitical dynamics and the social identity of those participating in this space. The public's expectations of AJA emphasised the journalistic standard of fairness, avoidance of geographical bias, and adherence to non-interference principles. The findings extend beyond the scope of the traditional news media and Twitter, offering insights into the nature of online engagement within diverse cultural and political contexts. These insights have significant implications for stakeholders across the media landscape, including other pan-Arab news channels and journalism scholars, especially those interested in audience behaviour on social media, political communication, and online democratic deliberation. The research underscores the potential of such engagement with participatory journalism, contributing to media studies in the Global South and could serve as a model for other news media outlets seeking to promote democratic discourse online.
Research areas: Al Jazeera Arabic; online comments; agenda-setting; journalistic standards; social identity; deliberative communication
Academic achievements:
- Presented research methodology of the ongoing research project at the Doctoral Colloquium of the Association of Internet Researchers Conference. Online (8 October 2021)
- Presented a research paper entitled “An Analysis of Public Opinion as Presented on News Networks’ Pages on Facebook: Kony 2012 Campaign” at the Ninth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada (11-13 June 2014)
Teaching experience
University of Liverpool (May 2023) Delivered a workshop for COMM748 Global Journalism & Politics
University of Liverpool (February 2021-May 2021) COMM213 Global News, Media and War
University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Oman (September 2013-August 2017; August 2018-September 2019)
Courses: Introduction to Journalism; Introduction to Communication; Introduction to Sociology; Introduction to Public Relations; Writing for Public Relations; Bilingual Communication; Visual Communication; New Media Journalism; Cultural Policy Analysis; Contemporary Arab Media.