Associate Professor Elaine Jing Zhao

Elaine Jing Zhao is Associate Professor in the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Elaine researches cultural production, industry transformations and governance challenges in digital media economy. Her main interest is the social, cultural and economic implications of digital technologies and platforms in transitional China and beyond borders.

Elaine is the author of Digital China’s Informal Circuits: Platforms, Labour and Governance. She has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals such as New Media and Society, International Journal of Cultural Studies, International Journal of Communication, Media, Culture & Society, Global Media and Communication and Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. These cover the topics of communication and media policy, cultural production, creative labour, informal media economy, and media globalisation. 

She is Chief Investigator on an Australia Research Council-funded Discovery Project, which examines the rise of China's digital platforms and their internationalisation in the Asia-Pacific. She is also Partner Investigator on a project funded by National Social Science Foundation of China, which investigates digital media and cultural innovation in China.

Elaine is on the editorial board of Taylor & Francis journal Communication Research and Practice, and Anthem book series on Digital China. She reviews submissions for Australian Research Council (ARC) Grant Schemes, book proposals, and a variety of journals and conferences in the fields of media and communication, and cultural studies.

She completed her PhD at Queensland University of Technology. She previously held research fellowship position at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI), working on two Australian Research Council-funded projects, including one on the informal media economies and audiovisual industries, and the other on the use of mobile apps to promote youth wellbeing. Prior to her academic career, Elaine worked in the telecom and mobile internet industry. 

Elaine is available for PhD supervision in her areas of expertise. Please feel free to get in touch if you are considering a project in these areas.