It’s always rewarding to see our day-to-day editorial decisions in digital media gaining recognition in academic research. I was recently honored to contribute insights to a master’s thesis by Marwa Khost AlJarkas, Communications Manager at Google MENA, titled:
“The Influence of Bolded Keywords in Online News Texts on Reading Speed and Comprehension for Heritage+ Learners of Arabic”
(The American University in Cairo, 2023)
Access the thesis on AUC Knowledge Fountain
In her research, Khost explored how visual emphasis—such as bolding or highlighting keywords—can shape comprehension and reading behavior in Arabic digital news. She examined this phenomenon through the lens of heritage language learners, who often rely on visual cues to better understand context and meaning.
As part of her literature review on salience features in media, Khost referenced a written interview I gave in January 2023, where I shared insights into how we, at Al Jazeera’s Sanad Fact-Checking Agency, apply salience techniques across our Instagram content.
She wrote:
“According to him, the team at Al Jazeera uses different types of salience techniques to help influence the reader’s journey and deliver the critical information in a short span of time without going into secondary details.”
From using yellow highlights in video text overlays to emphasizing key country names or sources in visual posts, our editorial choices are deeply rooted in a fast-paced digital environment where attention is scarce, but impact is vital.
I emphasized in the interview that while salience techniques like color changes and bold text are frequently used, there’s still no universal editorial guideline for which words should be visually emphasized and why. This leaves space for ongoing experimentation, innovation—and, clearly, academic inquiry.
Seeing how academic research can intersect with newsroom practices is a reminder of the broader influence our digital storytelling techniques can have—not only on our audiences but on future research into language, cognition, and media consumption.
📝 Want to read the full thesis?
Visit: AUC Knowledge Fountain – Marwa Khost AlJarkas