Journalism with Global Perspectives

Before becoming a scholar, I was trained in journalism. Reporting has taken me to several countries across three continents. Even now, journalism is a key subject of my research, as it plays a central role in directing information flows in different societies and cultures.

Journalism functions as a social institution that produces factual claims and common sense. I'm interested in understanding how it has been challenged and reconstituted in the digital era. The authority of institutional journalism is increasingly contested by other actors such as citizen media. I co-authored two essays (Networked News Participation; Technologization of News Acts) discussing the networked civic participation in news production and circulation.

I was part of a research team led by Prof. Sue Robinson to study Citizens Agenda, an initiative to let voters set the agenda for election coverage and hold politicians accountable. We followed a handful of newsrooms across the United States to observe how the concept is implemented on the ground. Currently, I worked with the Kettering Foundation on facilitating idea exchanges among journalism educators and practitioners around the world.

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I did a cover story about the role of Christian churches in civil disobedience for The Young Reporter Magazine in 2013.

I had been a student journalist before graduate school. The topics of my reporting included religious leadership in social movements, radiation regulation in Hong Kong, student immigration in Sweden, and gentrification in Vancouver. 

I've been continuing professional communication work with companies and organizations. I served as a Fellow at the Center for Journalism Ethics from 2015 to 2016 and chaired the Publicity Committee of the Teaching Assistants' Association. The banner picture was a wide shot I took during a rally. I also work closely with local LGBTQ organizations to publicize their advocacy.