AHMED ALQARNI

Statement of Purpose
My previous academic experience in media derives from my undergraduate study of
Arabic Language and Literature followed by my masters in Mass Communication from
University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. I also have professional experience in the field. I was
the director of MVR-group.net in the US for a year. I also worked in an internship with
Aljazeera TV for three months in Washington DC. In addition, I am currently a broadcaster
and journalist in the Saudi-based satellite TV channel Al Ekhbariya in Washington DC.
Building on my more than seven years of experience in this field, I want to enhance my
knowledge in mass communication and media by pursuing my PhD at Virginia Commonwealth
University.
The area that interests me the most is social media and uses gratifications theory.
Through my experience in Al Ekhbariya, one of the most influential TV channels in Saudi
Arabia, I noticed that it guides public opinion and imposes a political agenda in social media
more than traditional media. For example, when I helped cover King Salmans visit to meet
President Obama in September 2015 and the relationship between their countries was tense. Al
Ekhbariya presented the relationship as stable to a Middle East audience. It tried to reach out
to people immediately through social media, for example by posting pictures when Obama
welcomed the King, and focused their coverage mainly on those aspects of the meeting. They
also created a hashtag to show the historical relationship between the two countries and
encouraged political and cultural elites to participate in that well.
I wrote several papers during my graduate studies about social medias role and
influence on society. I published the article The Role of Social Media in Arab Spring in the
International Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, which will
appear in 2016. In this article I discuss the role social media have taken in Arabic countries
that have had revolutions since 2011 (Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia). I also discuss how
social media have caused people to take to the streets to express what they want and how social
media could convince people that revolution was the way to freedom, democracy, and a
transition to a brighter future in Egypt. I am interested in working along these lines by
examining the impact of social media on political/social advocacy in Saudi Arabia by uses and
gratifications theory as KSA use highly social media and it could make deep change specifically
in political and social life.
I firmly believe that the PhD program in Media, Art & Text at VCU is an ideal environment
for me to continue my education and pursue my research. I am especially attracted by the
programs focus on preparing students for teaching at the university level as this will enable
me to achieve my academic goals as an assistant teacher in the Department of Communication
and Media at King Khalid University. I am also excited about the prospect of working with the
programs excellent faculty, such as Dr. Marcus Messner. I believe my research would strongly
benefit from his experience and his research focusing on the growing impact of social media
and journalism. Also, Dr. Karen McIntyre as her research interests involve processes and
effects of media.
In addition to improving my research and pedagogical skills, my long-term goal for
pursuing a PhD is to help further develop the Department of Communication and Media at
King Khalid University. I am also planning to help establish national communication
associations in Saudi Arabia, conduct research in the field, and establish think tanks and centers
for media theory and research.
The Saudi Arabian Culture Mission in Fairfax, Virginia has granted me a full
scholarship to pursue a PhD. I strongly believe that the doctoral program at your department
will help me to accomplish my objectives and deepen my knowledge of mass communication
and media studies.