Dr Jingrong Tong

School of Information, Journalism and Communication

Senior Lecturer in Media and Information Studies

A profile photograph of Dr Jingrong Tong.
Profile picture of A profile photograph of Dr Jingrong Tong.
j.tong@sheffield.ac.uk
C641, The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Jingrong Tong
School of Information, Journalism and Communication
C641
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

Jingrong Tong is a computational social scientist and interdisciplinary researcher exploring the intersection of media, society, and digital technology. She specialises in combining advanced natural language processing (NLP), large-scale text mining, and social network analysis with qualitative methods such as interviews, framing analysis, and critical discourse analysis to examine topics including media freedom, political communication, and digital journalism. She has up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of the evolving media and information landscape and its implications for communication and organisations.

Her work adopts a genuinely mixed-methods approach to understanding complex socio-technical phenomena鈥攂ridging computational techniques with rich, context-sensitive qualitative inquiry. She has expertise in end-to-end data workflows, including web scraping, document parsing, data cleaning, analysis, and visualisation. She is proficient in tools and platforms such as Python, SQL, Excel, SPSS, NVivo, Elasticsearch, Kibana, Gephi, and Wordsmith. Her knowledge of cloud computing is demonstrated by her AWS Cloud Practitioner certification (2025鈥損resent). 

Jingrong鈥檚 research has been widely published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals and supported by funding from the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, UKRI, and several leading universities. She is the author of five books, including Investigative Journalism in China; Investigative Journalism, Environmental Problems and Modernisation in China; Journalism in the Data Age; Data for Journalism; and Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era, and editor of Data Journalism and the COVID-19 Disruption. She has also co-edited and co-authored several other volumes, including Digital Technology and Journalism: An International Comparative Perspective; The Brexit Referendum on Twitter: A Mixed-Method Computational Analysis; and Tweeting the Environment #Brexit. She edited two special issues: Data Journalism and Audience Engagement and Confronting COVID-19. Her new edition and monograph on media freedom are forthcoming.

She co-developed the MOOC Data Literacy for Journalists with Claire Miller (Reach plc) on FutureLearn.

Jingrong has advised organisations including International Media Support (Denmark) and regularly serves as a reviewer for academic journals, conferences, and publishers. She sits on the editorial boards of Digital Journalism and Journalism Studies, and serves as Associate Editor of the Chinese Journal of Communication.

Publications

Books

  • Tong J (2022) . Emerald Publishing Limited.
  • Tong J (2022) Journalism in the Data Age. SAGE.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) . Emerald Publishing Limited.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2018) Tweeting the Environment #Brexit. Emerald Group Publishing.
  • Tong J & Lo S-H (2017) Digital Technology and Journalism An International Comparative Perspective. Springer.
  • Tong J (2015) Investigative Journalism, Environmental Problems and Modernisation in China. Springer.
  • Tong J (2011) Investigative Journalism in China Journalism, Power, and Society. A&C Black.
  • Tong J () . Routledge.
  • Tong J () . Routledge.

Journal articles

  • Tong J (2025) . Journalism Studies.
  • Tong J & Horton G (2025) . Journal of Media Law.
  • Tong J (2025) . Journalism Practice.
  • Tong J (2024) . Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 31(4), 1486-1505.
  • Tong J (2024) , 1-15.
  • Tong J (2024) . Journalism, 25(7), 1449-1459.
  • Tong J (2024) . Journalism, 25(7), 1481-1499.
  • Tong J (2022) . Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, 11(3), 267-286.
  • Tong J (2022) . Chinese Journal of Communication, 15(2), 145-155.
  • Tong J (2022) Rethinking the expertise of data journalists: a case study. International Journal of Communication, 16, 2781-2800.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) . Journalism Practice, 15(2), 153-169.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2020) . Information Polity, 25(3), 361-375.
  • Tong J (2019) . Journalism Studies, 20(1), 79-96.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2019) . International Communication Gazette, 81(5), 445-469.
  • Tong J (2018) . Digital Journalism, 6(2), 256-273.
  • Tong J (2017) . International Communication Gazette, 79(4), 400-418.
  • Tong J (2017) . Chinese Journal of Communication, 10(2), 192-208.
  • Tong J (2017) . Journalism Studies, 18(6), 771-786.
  • Tong J (2015) . Science Communication, 37(6), 747-768.
  • Tong J (2015) . China Information, 29(3), 333-351.
  • Tong J (2015) . Asian Journal of Communication, 25(6), 600-616.
  • Tong J (2015) . Journalism, 16(3), 429-446.
  • Tong J (2014) . Environmental Communication, 8(3), 345-367.
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2014) . Information, Communication & Society, 17(1), 66-85.
  • Tong J (2013) . Journalism Practice, 7(1), 1-16.
  • Tong J & Mackay H (2011) Interactivity, the global conversation and World Service research: Digital China. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Analysis.
  • Tong Jingrong (2010) . Media, Culture & Society, 32(6), 925-942.
  • Tong J (2009) . Discourse & Society, 20(5), 593-612.
  • Tong J & Sparks C (2009) . Journalism Studies, 10(3), 337-352.
  • Tong J (2007) . Journalism, 8(5), 530-535.
  • Tong J & Zuo L () . Journalism and Media, 2(1), 14-29.

Book chapters

  • Tong J (2024) , Data Journalism and the COVID-19 Disruption (pp. 1-15). Taylor & Francis
  • Tong J (2024) , Data Journalism and the COVID-19 Disruption (pp. 145-159). Routledge
  • Tong J (2024) , Data Journalism and the COVID-19 Disruption (pp. 235-238). Routledge
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 61-74). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 93-107). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 5-28). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 75-91). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 47-60). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 1-4). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 109-110). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era (pp. 29-45). Emerald Publishing Limited
  • Tong J (2022) , Artificial Intelligence and the Media Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Tong J (2021) , Reappraising Local and Community News in the UK (pp. 94-107). Routledge
  • Tong J (2021) Local data journalism practice in the UK In Harte D & Matthews R (Ed.), Reappraising Local and Community News in the UK Media, Practice, and Policy Routledge
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) THE CONSTRUCTION OF ' HERO' VERSUS ' VILLAIN' IN TWITTER USERS' RESPONSES TO @ DAVID_ CAMERON AND @ NIGEL_ FARAGE, BREXIT REFERENDUM ON TWITTER (pp. 47-62).
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE EU REFERENDUM ON TWITTER, BREXIT REFERENDUM ON TWITTER (pp. 21-32).
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) SHAPING POLITICAL DISCOURSE: IS TWITTER GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY?, BREXIT REFERENDUM ON TWITTER (pp. 63-72).
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2021) LEGITIMISING POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AND POPULISM, BREXIT REFERENDUM ON TWITTER (pp. 33-46).
  • Tong J (2020) Investigative Journalism in China: Pushing the limits between the 1990s and 2013 In Latham K (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Chinese Culture and Society Routledge
  • Tong J (2020) The return of party journalism in China and 'Janusian' content: The case of Newspaper X, Routledge Companion to Local Media and Journalism (pp. 176-184).
  • Tong J & Lo S-H (2017) New media reforms and journalism cultures in two newspapers in mainland China and Taiwan In Tong J & Lo S-H (Ed.), Digital Technology and Journalism An International Comparative Perspective Springer
  • Tong J (2017) Introduction In Lo S-H (Ed.), Digital Technology and Journalism An International Comparative Perspective Springer
  • Tong J & Zuo L (2017) A computational analysis of British journalists鈥 use of Twitter before the 2016 UK鈥檚 EU referendum In Tong J & Lo S-H (Ed.), Digital Technology and Journalism An International Comparative Perspective Springer
  • Tong J (2015) The Chinese Diaspora, Motherland, and 鈥淛une Fourth鈥: A Discourse Analysis of the BBC Chinese 鈥淗ave Your Say鈥 Forum, 2009鈥13 In Sun W & Sinclair J (Ed.), Rethinking Chinese Diasporic Media: Soft Power in Global and Local Contexts
  • Tong J (2014) Discourse of Journalism and Legitimacy in post-reform China In Cao Q, Tian H & Chilton P (Ed.), Discourse, Politics and Media in Contemporary China John Benjamins Publishing Company
  • Tong J (2013) Local Investigative Journalism: Understanding the Background, Context and Trajectories of Investigative Journalism in Dahe Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily In Svensson M, S忙ther E & Zhang Z (Ed.), Chinese Investigative Journalists' Dreams Autonomy, Agency, and Voice Lexington Books
  • Tong J & Mackey H (2012) Discussions on BBC Chinese Have Your Say Forums: National Identity and International Broadcasting in the Interactive Media Era In Gillespie M & Webb A (Ed.), Diasporas and Diplomacy Cosmopolitan Contact Zones at the BBC World Service (1932-2012) Routledge
Teaching activities

Jingrong is joint module convenor for dissertations in MA Global Journalism (JNL6133) and MA International Public and Political Communication (JNL6600). She also contributes to JNL116 Analysing News, JNL235 Data-Driven Storytelling, JNL6017 Advanced Broadcast Journalism and JNL6019 Broadcast Portfolio.

Professional activities and memberships

In the course of her research, Jingrong has worked with and advised International Media Support, Denmark. She has been invited to regularly review articles for academic journals, conferences and publishers. She is a member of the editorial board for Digital Journalism and Journalism Studies. She also serves as Associate Editor for Chinese Journal of Communication.

PhD supervision

Jingrong is particularly interested in hearing from research students focusing on the following areas:

  • Journalism, technology and society
  • Data and communication
  • Discourses, politics and/or the environment
  • Social media communication

PhD study in journalism, media and communication