Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah

Education

Ph.D. University of New Mexico

M.Phil. The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

M.A. University of Peshawar

About Me

Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah is an assistant professor in the School of Communication & Journalism at Auburn University, where he teaches courses in reporting and multimedia journalism.

His research centers on examining cutting-edge developments in journalistic practices across cultures and nations. He explores contemporary threats to journalism as an institution, the social implications of emerging technologies, and journalists’ mental health. He is also interested in exploring the role of communication and journalism in reducing health disparities among marginalized communities across different cultural contexts. His work has been published in Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism, Vaccine, Health Education & Behavior, and JMIR mHealth and uHealth.

Prior to his career in academia, Shah worked as a journalist for local, national, and international media outlets for almost a decade. As a journalist, he covered a wide variety of beats such as war, ethnic and religious conflicts, crime, education, health, and climate.

He currently serves as the co-chair of the Health Communication Working Group of the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

Research Interests

Journalism practices, threats to journalism as an institution, health communication

Publications

Ginossar, T., Shah, S.F.A., Weiss, D. (Ed.). (2023). Vaccine communication online: Counteracting misinformation, rumors and lies. Palgrave Macmillan.

Shah, S. F. A., Ginossar, T., & Ittefaq, M. (2023). “We always report under pressure”: Professionalism and journalistic identity among regional journalists in a conflict zone. Journalism, 24(4), 709-728.

Shah, S. F. A., Jan, F., Ginossar, T., McGrail, J. P., Baber, D., & Ullah, R. (2022). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among regional journalists in Pakistan. Journalism, 23(2), 391-408.

Shah, S. F. A., Ginossar, T., Bentley, J. M., Zimet, G., & McGrail, J. P. (2021). Using the theory of planned behavior to identify correlates of HPV vaccination uptake among college students attending a rural university in Alabama. Vaccine, 39(51), 7421-7428.

Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., Abwao, M., Shah, S. F. A., & Ramzan, T. (2021). “Does Pakistan still have polio cases?”: Exploring discussions on polio and polio vaccine in online news comments in Pakistan. Vaccine, 39(3), 480-486.

Shah, S. F. A., Jan, F., & Ittefaq, M. (2021). Health and safety risks to journalists during pandemics. In S. Jamil, B. Çoban, B. Ataman, & G. Appiah-Adjei (Eds.), Handbook of research on discrimination, gender disparity, and safety risks in journalism (pp. 90–103). IGI Global.

Courses Taught

JRNL 2310: Reporting

JRNL 3510: Multimedia Journalism