Yini Zhang

About

I’m an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo). I received my Ph.D. in communication from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Research

My research is driven by a core question: How do certain issues and actors capture attention and wield influence in an era of information overload? I approach this question by considering both the technological/structural and user dimensions of media, including social media and AI.

Three interlinked questions guide my work:

  • How does attention coalesce around specific issues and actors on social media?
  • How do attention and information flow across the broader media ecosystem?
  • What are the implications of the current media environment for democratic life and public discourse?

Methodologically, my work is primarily computational. Typical projects involve:

  • Collecting large-scale data from social media platforms (e.g., Twitter/X, YouTube, Truth Social)
  • Conducting automated text analysis using unsupervised and supervised machine learning
  • Detecting communities through clustering and network analysis
  • Modeling temporal dynamics with time series methods.

In addition to using existing techniques, I collaborate with colleagues in statistics and computer science to develop methods tailored to questions in communication research.

Teaching

I find immense joy in helping students develop their skills and knowledge. At UB, I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses on:

  • Social media and society
  • Communication theory
  • Research methods
  • Introduction to mass communication

Student feedback and notes of appreciation continually motivate me to refine my teaching and experiment with new ways of integrating data, theory, and real-world cases in the classroom.

Research Lab

In the Communication and Emerging Media (CEM) lab, I work with graduate and undergraduate students at UB and partner institution on ongoing research projects and help them launch their own independent work. We have been doing some really cool research. You can find recent publications, current projects, and lab members and alums on the CEM Lab website.

Miscellaneous

Beyond research and teaching, I spend much of my time playing with my two kids. I used to be a fan of classical and rock music; these days, I am more likely to be immersed in podcasts during my commute. I am always happy to receive thoughtful podcast recommendations.

My dissertation won an award from the Political Communication Division of the American Political Science Association (APSA). A brief summary is available here.

My full CV is available here.

Yini Zhang

About

I’m an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo). I received my Ph.D. in communication from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Research

My research is driven by a core question: How do certain issues and actors capture attention and wield influence in an era of information overload? I approach this question by considering both the technological/structural and user dimensions of media, including social media and AI.

Three interlinked questions guide my work:

  • How does attention coalesce around specific issues and actors on social media?
  • How do attention and information flow across the broader media ecosystem?
  • What are the implications of the current media environment for democratic life and public discourse?

Methodologically, my work is primarily computational. Typical projects involve:

  • Collecting large-scale data from social media platforms (e.g., Twitter/X, YouTube, Truth Social)
  • Conducting automated text analysis using unsupervised and supervised machine learning
  • Detecting communities through clustering and network analysis
  • Modeling temporal dynamics with time series methods.

In addition to using existing techniques, I collaborate with colleagues in statistics and computer science to develop methods tailored to questions in communication research.

Teaching

I find immense joy in helping students develop their skills and knowledge. At UB, I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses on:

  • Social media and society
  • Communication theory
  • Research methods
  • Introduction to mass communication

Student feedback and notes of appreciation continually motivate me to refine my teaching and experiment with new ways of integrating data, theory, and real-world cases in the classroom.

Research Lab

In the Communication and Emerging Media (CEM) lab, I work with graduate and undergraduate students at UB and partner institution on ongoing research projects and help them launch their own independent work. We have been doing some really cool research. You can find recent publications, current projects, and lab members and alums on the CEM Lab website.

Miscellaneous

Beyond research and teaching, I spend much of my time playing with my two kids. I used to be a fan of classical and rock music; these days, I am more likely to be immersed in podcasts during my commute. I am always happy to receive thoughtful podcast recommendations.

My dissertation won an award from the Political Communication Division of the American Political Science Association (APSA). A brief summary is available here.

My full CV is available here.