Welcome / Mirë se vini!
I am an associate professor and the director of graduate studies at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston. I am a former journalist with a doctoral degree from Indiana University and a research agenda at the intersection of journalism, technology, and political communication. My overall research examines structural and individual factors that determine how citizens engage with political information and how that shapes their communication patterns, perceptions, and behavior. My latest research explores citizen engagement with quality news in digital spaces and tries to identify best journalism practices that foster civic behavior.
Overall my work connects journalism with broader societal problems in mature and emerging democracies. For example, I have explored causes and consequences of news audience fragmentation; the role of social media for voter deliberation and incivility; media effects on political trust and protest behavior in post-conflict societies; structural conditions under which news media can help curb corruption; and the impact of Freedom to Information and Open Data policies on journalists’ access to information in a variety of contexts.
