Broadcasting and Journalism

Yong Tang, Ph.D.

Yong Tang

Professor and Director of Journalism
Office: Sallee 316
Email: Y-Tang@wiu.edu
Office Hours by appointment
Professional Blog: https://yongtang2015.wordpress.com

Educational Background

Ph.D. in Mass Communications, Pennsylvania State University
M.A. in International Policy and Practice, George Washington University
Ph.D. in International Journalism, Communication University of China
B.A in English Reporting and Editing, China School of Journalism
B.A. in English Language and Literature, Sichuan International Studies University

Dr. Yong Tang is a tenured full professor of journalism and media law at Western Illinois University (WIU). Tang has been appointed director of the WIU journalism program starting July 2015.

Since he came to WIU in August 2011, Professor Tang has taught a wide range of conceptual and skills courses such as mass communication law and ethics, mass communication research methods, international communication and foreign press, problems of contemporary mass communications, history of mass communications, magazine and newspaper feature writing, AP reporting and writing, and digital media skills for journalists and public relations professionals. For the digital media skills course, Tang teaches students how to deliver news and information to a global audience via multiplatform storytelling, social media, and data visualization.

Dr. Tang's areas of research are First Amendment, freedom of information, media law and policy, international journalism, global media studies, and the role of news media in Chinese and American politics. Since 2011, Tang has presented more than 10 scholarly papers to various divisions of AEJMC, AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, ICA and NCA annual conventions and elsewhere. He was an invited panelist at the 2014 AAS (Association for Asia Studies)-in-Asia Singapore Conference. In 2016, he attended a Southwestern Law School symposium on the future of global freedom of infroamtion laws as an invited panelist. In 2021, he was an invited speaker at the special forum "COVID-19 and the Role of Communication" organized by the International Law Institute and Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. His articles appear in many peer-reviewed journals such as International Journal of Communication, Journal of Media Law and Ethics, Journal of Information Policy, Communication, Culture & Critique, Chinese Journal of Communication, and tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique.

Before joining the WIU faculty, Tang had worked as an award-winning full-time reporter and editor for nearly 15 years for People's Daily, the largest and most politically influential newspaper in the People's Republic of China. From August 1995 to January 2004, he worked for the publication as an international news editor in Beijing. From February 2004 to August 2007, Tang worked in the newspaper's Washington, D.C. bureau as a residential correspondent. During his time as an international journalist, Tang interviewed two Chinese presidents, one American president, four Ivy League presidents, more than 10 Fortune 500 CEOs, and numerous other newsmakers of the day. Drawing upon his extensive reporting and writing professional experiences as a foreign correspondent in the world capital of news, Tang published in 2014 a four-volume book "America Through the Eyes of Yong Tang."

Since 2014, Dr. Tang has been a summertime visiting professor of media law at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China. In Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, Tang spent a year on sabbatical leave working at Hong Kong Baptist University School of Communication, one of the largest and most prestigious journalism schools in Asia. As a visiting scholar there, Tang taught media law and journalism courses and gathered data for his book projects.

Awards/Honors/Distinctions/Grants

  • WIU College of Fine Arts & Communication Dean’s Award for Excellence in Internationalizing the Campus (2018)
  • Scripps Howard Foundation Visiting Professor in Social Media Program (2017)
  • WIU President’s Award for Excellence in Diversity Service (2017)
  • WIU College of Fine Arts & Communication Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Professional Activities (2017)
  • International Communication Association travel grant for paper presentation at the ICA annual convention, San Diego, California (2017)
  • WIU Annual Professional Achievement Award (2017, 2015, 2014)
  • WIU College of Fine Arts and Communication Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2016)
  • China Enyang High School Outstanding Alumni Award (2015)
  • Chinese Communication Association Outstanding Service Award (2015)
  • WIU Provost Award for Faculty Travel (2014)
  • International Communication Association travel grant for paper presentation at the ICA annual convention, London, United Kingdom (2013)
  • Faces of Penn State (2013)
  • WIU Provost Awards for Faculty Travel (2013)
  • Top 50 Journalism Professor from Journalismdegree.org (2012)
  • AEJMC First Place Faculty Paper Award (2012)
  • WIU Provost Awards for Faculty Travel (2012)
  • AEJMC Best Research Scholar-to-Scholar Presentation Award (2011)
  • China News Award (2004)

Professional Affiliations (past and present)

Member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Member of the International Communication Association (ICA)
Member of the National Communication Association (NCA)
Member of the Chinese Communication Association (CCA)
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
Member of Phi Kappa Phi National Scholastic Honor Society (Phi Kappa Phi)

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