2012 Rising Star Honoree

Vice Director, Daytime News Department

Sound of China, China National Radio

Born in the less-developed western part of China, Jian Wang now oversees a daily 7.5-hour news program at China National Radio.

In 1994, Wang scored third in the University Entrance Examination of China and enrolled in the University of International Relations, which waived his tuition. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international news and started his career as a reporter for China National Radio.

In 2004, Wang started pursuing a higher degree in the United States, first an MA in sociology at the University of Kentucky, and then an MS in communication management at Temple.

At Temple, Wang benefited greatly from the open discussion of social phenomena in class, and acquired a deeper understanding of many social issues by comparing the U.S. and China. This can be proved by his capstone project, “In the Office vs. Outside the Office: Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi Maintenance Among Chinese and Western Managers in China,” which was published in the Chinese Journal of Communication.

Currently, Wang leads the Daytime News Department of Sound of China, China National Radio. He also serves as commentator for China National Radio and many other broadcasting outlets and websites around China.

Wang has reported on major news stories like the Shanghai World Expo, Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Egypt, Sydney Olympic Games, Asia Pacific Risk Reduction Conference in Malaysia and the 2009 French Open. He has interviewed Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Commerce Minister Chen Deming of China.

He was awarded the China News Prize (2001, 2002, and twice in 2009 ), the China Radio and TV Prize (2001), and was invited by the u.s. Department of State to participate in the International Visitors Program in 2000.

Wang is married to Qun Shao. They have a 4-year-old son named Justin.