Welcome! I am Xinzhi Zhang, Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Media and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK).

My expertise includes digital journalism, political communication, AI ethics, and computational social science. I study how AI and digital platforms are reshaping news production, public engagement, and policymaking. My research aims to empower citizens to engage in informed conversations and support the development of communication policies and interventions that foster innovation, productivity, and epistemic integrity. My research profile is on Google Scholar.

I have authored 60+ peer-reviewed articles in top journals such as Human Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Digital Journalism, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Information Communication & Society, Social Media + Society, and International Journal of Press/Politics, earning top paper awards from the International Communication Association (ICA) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Here is my publication list.

I have been awarded four grants by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), including three General Research Fund (GRF) and one Collaborative Research Fund (CRF, Co-PI), as well as one grant from the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (PPR) of the Hong Kong SAR Government, totaling more than US$1 million. Here are my funded research projects.

Before joining CityUHK in 2024, I was an Associate Professor with tenure in the School of Communication at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and the founding Programme Director (2019 - 23) of Master of Science in AI and Digital Media, a pioneering postgraduate program of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. I received the HKBU Award for Outstanding Young Researchers (2021) and the HKBU Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching (2022).

I currently serve on the Editorial Boards of five top journals in media and communication, i.e., Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Digital Journalism, and Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. I was a guest editor for Global Media and China (Sage/IAMCR).

I actively contribute as a columnist to major media outlets, including Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Hong Kong Economic Journal, and FTChinese (the Chinese edition of the Financial Times (UK)).

I obtained Ph.D. in Media and Communication (2013) and an M.A. with Distinction in Communication and New Media (2009) from the Department of Media and Communication at City University of Hong Kong. I was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Communication at University of California, Davis in 2022.

(updated: April 2026)