Journalism Alumna Wins National Recognition for Research on Algorithms

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Kendal Heavner, a new graduate from the Journalism master’s program, has won national recognition for her master’s thesis research on news algorithms, political speech and social media.

Heavner on Aug. 5 presented her master’s thesis research, “The Impact of Media Algorithms on the Habermassian Public Sphere and Discourse,” at the annual conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), a major group for research in journalism and communications. Heavner won third place in the national student competition. Typically more than 1,000 academics and students from across the world attend AEJMC conferences.

“I am honored by my award from the AEJMC,” Heavner said. “With the privilege of presenting, I hope to further illuminate the issues surrounding the public sphere and discourse in the age of algorithm-driven social media.”

Heavner, a May 2021 graduate from the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, examined the role of algorithms in sorting political discourse on Tik-Tok, the video social media platform. Her research examined the intersection of algorithms and media theory and explored the role of media algorithms in diminishing public discourse within public sphere theory as outlined by Jürgen Habermas.

“Though sophisticated algorithms, public discourse is limited to a select few topics for like-minded users, which I argue leads to a lack of diversity in political discourse,” Heavner said. Heavner now is an account planner at a media firm based in New York City.

Rob Wells, associate professor of journalism and chair of Heavner’s thesis committee, said her work was one of the best theoretical paper produced by any of his graduate students. “Kendal’s exploration of Habermas, social media and political speech was in-depth and fascinating. I’m sure this will be the foundation for her eventual doctoral research,” Wells said.

Other members of Heavner’s thesis committee included Dr. Jannine Parry, Political Science and Dr. Raymond McCaffrey, Journalism.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.