I am a media sociologist and former political journalist whose research examines how sociopolitical, organizational, and individual factors shape journalism and news media content. I hold a Ph.D. in Media Sociology from Colorado State University, where I specialized in journalism studies and media sociology, particularly in how sociopolitical factors shape journalism practice and news media content within a given society. Using a sociological lens, I examine the structural, organizational, and individual factors that influence news production, framing, and journalistic practice. In my doctoral dissertation, I reconceptualized Shoemaker and Reese’s Hierarchy of Influences Model (HIM) as the Single Society Influences Model (SSIM) to examine the determinants of variance in news framing and explain why media organizations operating within the same social and media environment can produce different representations of the same events. My dissertation finds that framing variance results from a dynamic interplay arising from a dialectical and asymmetrical relationship between Positive Organizational Journalistic Agency (POJA) and Positive Individual Journalistic Agency (PIJA). I define Positive Journalistic Agency as the institutional or individual capacity and willingness to exercise journalistic autonomy and practice journalism in the absence of external coercive pressures. The findings corroborate SSIM’s argument that variance in news framing is primarily determined by influences operating at two levels of the Hierarchy of Influences Model: the media-organization level and the individual-journalist level. My broader research seeks to understand why journalism often deviates from its public-service mission.
My research interests include journalism studies, media sociology, journalistic ethics, the normative foundations and mission of journalism, journalist role conceptions, political communication, and the digital and online public sphere. More broadly, I examine the relationship between journalists and journalism and the sociopolitical, organizational, and technological forces that shape both. My methodological repertoire includes textual and discourse analysis, ethnography and internet ethnography, in-depth interviews, surveys, and quantitative content analysis.
Before entering academia, I spent 15 years as a political reporter and newsroom professional in Bangladesh, working for three leading English-language newspapers, including Prothom Alo and New Age. My journalistic work focused primarily on politics, governance, elections, democracy, human rights, and public affairs. I also worked with international and regional media organizations, including Swedish national radio and the South Asian Monitor.
I earned my master’s degree in Media Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2020. Earlier, I completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geology and Mining at the University of Rajshahi before transitioning to journalism.
I teach media and news writing, strategic communication writing, and related courses in journalism and communication. My teaching and research are informed by my combined experience as a professional journalist, media scholar, and university educator, and I am particularly committed to connecting theoretical knowledge with real-world journalistic practice.