Weile (Wendy) Zhou is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab at the University of Virginia and a faculty associate at the Public Tech Media Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
As a critical-cultural scholar, she studies digital public spheres and transnational journalism industries amid AI development and geopolitical turbulence, with a focus on Chinese and American contexts. Her current research examines AI adoption in newsrooms, the news practices and career trajectories of transnational journalists, and patterns of identity-making and information circulation among diaspora media, community organizations, and international students.
Previously, Wendy served as a postdoctoral research associate at UVA’s East Asia Center and Miller Center, and as a lecturer in media studies from 2024 to 2025. She holds a PhD in communication from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong.
As a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, Wendy has contributed to nonprofits and media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Financial Times Chinese, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Quartz, the Global Investigative Journalism Network, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Caixin Media, and Initium Media, among others. She also serves on the leadership team of the International Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
