Kaixin Cheng
Media & communication researcher/teacher: journalism, immersive media, and news trust
Profile
I am a mixed-methods media and communication researcher working at the intersection of journalism studies, immersive media, news trust, and democratic attitudes. My doctoral research combines a large-scale survey experiment with in-depth interviews to examine how immersive (VR and 360-degree) journalism shapes audience trust and the perceived credibility of news. Alongside research, I teach qualitative & quantitative research methods, statistics, media policy, and comparative methods. I bring hands-on experience in immersive and media production as well as critical perspectives on media innovation and media audience.
Education
Mixed-methods doctoral project on immersive journalism, news trust, and media innovation. Designed and ran a factorial survey experiment (N = 999) testing audience trust in immersive (360-degree) news under varied framing and presentation cues, with implications for perceived credibility and legitimacy across audiences with differing political ideologies. Conducted cross-disciplinary in-depth interviews with media-innovation practitioners at the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, and Meta.
MA thesis on media framing in a comparative European context. Winner of the university’s International Journalism Week competition, leading to a BBC Radio 5 apprenticeship.
Exchange year (2015) at Moscow State Pedagogical University on a China Scholarship Council scholarship.
Publications
- Cheng, K., & Verboord, M. (2025). The diffusion of immersive journalism as media innovation from media professionals’ perspectives. Journalism, 26(12), 2712–2728. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241282510
- Cheng, K., & Verboord, M. (2024). Immersive journalism after the VR hype from media professionals’ perspective. In Immersive Journalism (pp. 3–20). Rowman & Littlefield. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798216432838.ch-1
- Cheng, K., & Verboord, M. (under review). How immersive journalism shapes trust in news media: A factorial survey experiment.
Research & Methods
- Experimental design: factorial / vignette survey experiments, stimulus design, and randomisation; experience running a large-N (N = 999) online experiment end to end, including ethics approval and data collection.
- Content analysis: codebook design and manual coding of media content with intercoder-reliability procedures; extending into computational and comparative content analysis.
- Quantitative analysis: survey data analysis and statistical modelling in SPSS, R, and Python.
- Interviewing: in-depth interviewing, focus groups, grounded research.
- Open science: preregistration, data-management planning, and use of open repositories through to publication.
- Project management: coordination of multiple research projects, data workflows, and external-partner liaison across teams.
Teaching
- Introduction to Social Science Research: research design and methods; contributed to course design and piloted Erasmus’s in-house LLM tool for formulating research questions, with measurably improved student outcomes.
- Introduction to Statistical Analysis: quantitative data analysis in SPSS through practical workshops.
- Media Systems in Comparative Perspective: comparative news-media ecology across political systems.
- Research Workshop, Cross-national Comparative Research: project-based course on comparative research design and academic literature reviews.
- Internship supervision: supervised student placements and assessed reports; liaised with external media and marketing partners.
Introduced applications of VR/AR/XR in news media and current scholarship on immersive journalism, followed by a student-led discussion on newsroom innovation.
Conferences
- IAMCR · Galway, Ireland · Jun 2026 (forthcoming): paper accepted, “How Immersive Journalism Shapes Trust in News Media: A Factorial Survey Experiment.”
- ICA · Gold Coast, Australia · Jun 2024: paper presented on the diffusion of immersive journalism as media innovation.
- Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap, NeFCA · Rotterdam, NL · Feb 2024: paper presented.
- MeCCSA · Glasgow, UK · Sep 2023: paper presented.
- ICA Pre-conference PhD Colloquium · Paris, France · May 2022: research-design discussion with senior scholars, Journalism Division.
Awards & Recognition
- Nominee, Best PhD Colleague Award · Graduate School, Erasmus University Rotterdam · 2025.
- MA Distinction · University of Sheffield · 2019.
- Winner, International Journalism Week competition · University of Sheffield · 2018.
- China Scholarship Council scholarship for exchange study abroad · 2015.
Academic Service
- Peer reviewer for journals in journalism and media studies, including Digital Journalism, Journalism, and Journalism Studies.
- Appointed examiner, Erasmus University Rotterdam; pedagogical training in didactics (ESHCC) and in student wellbeing and inclusive practice (Risbo).
Industry & Creative Experience
Designed and delivered online and on-campus campaigns for a student-housing platform; produced public-facing content, led a team of contributors, managed influencer collaborations, and developed targeting strategies for an international student audience.
Produced and edited 100+ short-form video news pieces (Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro) for one of China’s leading short-form news platforms; sourced footage, scripted, and edited content for large social-media audiences.
Skills
Immersive & spatial media: PTGui (360 stitching), Adobe Photoshop, Insta360 capture, 360 stimulus production.
Video & graphics: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro.
Data & coding: SPSS, R, Python.
Web & digital: WordPress site development, front-end editing, HTML/CSS.
Pedagogy: higher-education teaching, AI-integrated pedagogy, assessment design.
Languages: English (C2), Chinese (native), Russian (B2), Dutch (B1).