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Staff Profile

Dr Sharon Zheng

Lecturer in Media, Culture & Public Relations

  • Email: sharon.zheng@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0)191 208 5336
  • Address: Media Culture & Heritage
    School of Arts & Cultures
    Newcastle University
    United Kingdom, NE1 7RU
Background
  • I'm currently Lecturer (equi. Assistant Professor) in Media, Culture and Public Relations in the School of Arts and Culture at Newcastle University. Prior to this appointment, I earned my PhD with two full scholarships (tuitions & stipends) and worked as an Academic Tutor, Teaching Fellow and Guest/Lecturer at University of Warwick (UK), Seattle University (US), Yangzhou University (PRC) and University of Winchester (UK). I have become a Panel Member for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Fellow of HEA. I am now serving as an editorial/reviewer for Misinformation Review, Information, Communication& Society, Feminist Media studies, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Journal of Consumer Culture, Celebrity Studies, etc. I had acted as a Chief Editor/Journalist in the leading national news agencies/media corporations in Mainland China, HK and UK before joining in the academia. 


Research
Research
  • My research areas fall into audience studies, transcultural fandom, British/Chinese TV and media ecosystem/landscape in China. I also show interests in digital feminism, media and cultural policy, mobile and digital media studies.
  • I focus on qualitative studies in particular with attention to research methodology studies. 
  • I have helped secure funding for two projects about Localising and Globalising Cultural Influence and Comparative Studies of Cultural Legislation from National Social Science Fund in China (equi. £80,000 and £40,000) as Co-I and worked for two major projects about Cultural Rights and Cultural Memory funded by British Council and AHRC.
  • I am a Panel Member for AHRC peer review and former Chair of MeCCSA PGN.
  • I'm now Principal Investigator (PI) for a practice-led project about Media Innovation Lab funded by Humanity Research Institute.
  • I have published academic articles in leading SSCI journals including Qualitative Inquiry, Information, Communication & Society, Feminist Media Studies, Cultural Trends, Journal of Consumer Culture, Media, Culture & Society, European Journal of Cultural Studies, etc. 

PGR supervision

I welcome potential research applicants with the below research interests：

  • Audience studies
  • Fandom/ fan culture studies
  • Celebrity studies
  • Mobile and domestic digital media in China
  • British (BBC) /Chinese TV
  • Media policy and landscape
Teaching
As a Lecturer at Newcastle University, I support students at undergraduate and postgraduate level in terms of teaching. I cover a wide range of modules related to media, culture and communication studies. I also engage with PR and global communication studies that helps our student to update their skills and advance their understanding by pairing real life examples to academic pedagogy. I have taught/am teaching the below modules at Newcastle University. 


Undergraduate Modules 
  • MCH1028: Introduction to Professional Communication
  • MCH2034: Introduction to Public Relations
  • MCH3013: Global Public Relations 
  • MCH3072/MCH3073: Media Research Dissertation


Postgraduate Modules

  • MCH8008: Media and Promotional Culture
  • MCH8012: Freelancing in Media and Communications
  • MCH8013: Global Public Relations 
  • MCH8058: Methodologies - Researching Media Culture & Society
  • MCH8060: Strategies and Management in Public Relations
  • MCH8065: Theoretical Approaches to Public Relations
  • MCH8199: Dissertation for MA Media & Public Relations
Publications