Veteran media academician and Mentor many, Kiran Thakur, passes away at 77
Thakur’s illustrious career, spanning several decades, set benchmarks in journalism, teaching, and mentoring
Kiran Thakur (77), a journalist and a stalwart of Pune’s media community, passed away on Saturday morning at a hospital after a brief illness, his family confirmed.
Thakur’s illustrious career, spanning several decades, set benchmarks in journalism, teaching, and mentoring. He is survived by his wife, two sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. His sister, Bharti Thakur, is the founder of Narmadalaya.
A doctorate holder, Thakur had been hospitalised earlier this week and succumbed to his illness on Saturday. Respecting his final wish, his family will donate his body to a hospital.
Thakur’s contributions to the field of media and education were immense. He served as head of the Journalism and Communication department, at Savitribai Phule University of Pune (SPPU).
He was an adjunct professor at FLAME University in 2009 and Professor Emeritus at Vishwakarma University since 2020. Earlier, he had a distinguished career as a professional journalist for over three decades. Starting as a sub-editor with Sakal (1969–70), he went on to work with United News of India (1971–87), The Indian Post (1987–90), and The Observer of Business and Politics (1991–2000). In 2001, he transitioned to academia, becoming the Professor and Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism (DoCJ) at the University of Pune.
Thakur’s doctoral thesis on web editions of Indian newspapers was groundbreaking and set the foundation for his subsequent research on online journalism.
After retiring in 2007 from SPPU, he joined the Mudra Institute of Communications Research, Ahmedabad, and collaborated with institutions like the University of Mumbai, University of Calcutta, North Maharashtra University, and IGNOU in various capacities.
He authored several seminal books, including Handbook of Print Journalism and Press in India: On the Threshold of the 21st Century, along with its Marathi version. His latest work, Fundamentals of Digital Journalism, was published by Vishwakarma Publications in May 2022.
