Dr. Zhang has worked in the news industry for over 15 years, including 11 years with the Wall Street Journal China edition. She joined the Journal’s Chinese website shortly after it was launched in 2002 and worked as senior editor and team leader. After that, she served as senior editor at a start-up news website, jiemian.com, covering global and political news. Dr. Zhang earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Alabama. During her time at UA, she taught undergraduate courses, such as mass communication and journalism, and engaged in research. Her research interests include digital journalism, audience metrics, and ethnic news. She presented her research at conferences hosted by the International Communication Association (ICA) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and won several top-student-paper awards. Some of her research work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Communication and Journalism Studies. Her doctoral dissertation, “The Force of Popularity: A Study of Audience Metrics’ Impact on News Content,” investigates how audience metrics changed journalistic practice in the digital age. In her free time, she enjoys fishing and playing cards with her husband and son.