Rebecca MacKinnon

Rebecca MacKinnon "is a veteran journalist, China hand, and online media pioneer. In January 2007 she joined Hong Kong University's Journalism and Media Studies Center as an Assistant Professor, teaching new media and leading efforts to study and support the development of participatory media and online journalism in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Before coming to Hong Kong, MacKinnon was a Research Fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where she co-founded Global Voices Online, an international online citizens' media network and 2006 Grand Prize winner of the Knight-Batten "Innovations in Journalism" award.

"Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon worked for CNN in Northeast Asia for over a decade, serving as CNN's Beijing Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 1998-2001 and as CNN's Tokyo Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 2001-03. She has also covered major news events in North and South Korea, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

"MacKinnon's primary research interests focus on issues related to the Internet in China, corporate responsibility for free speech and privacy, and the future journalism in the Internet age. More information about her recent work can be found on her personal weblog at www.RConversation.com."


 * Advisory Board, Policy Innovations