Pradeep Nair is Professor of New Media in the Department of New Media and Director Research of the University. Previously he was Dean of the School of Journalism, Mass Communication and New Media from 2015-2022; and Head of New Media from 2012-2022. His research and teaching is in the fields of critical communication theories, new media in shaping public opinion and behaviour in the context of state-society nexus, exploring the relationship between local media and climate change, understanding the impact of climate change on local ecologies and health communication and governance.
He has published widely in the field of communication and media studies, health communication and governance including role of media in developing people’s perception about climate change by using their considerable public trust to build acceptance through small narratives (Journal of Development Communication, 2022), policy and response strategies adopted to deal with restricted physical access to socio-economic infrastructure, facilities and services amid the Covid pandemic with a focus on cutting-edge health technologies at its core (Frontiers in Digital Health, 2022); exploring the potential benefits of media exposure on wellbeing within the disciplinary boundaries of media psychology, while looking at the Indian and Tibetan understanding of the wellbeing construct (Asia Pacific Media Educator, 2021), Framing of community dynamics by small town journalists in Dharamshala, India (Newspaper Research Journal, 2020), Journalism Education in Post-Truth Era (Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 2019), Identity Crisis versus Ethical Dilemmas of Small Town Journalism (Journalism Education, 2018), Contextualizing Fake News in Post-truth Era (Asia Pacific Media Educator, 2017).
Professor Nair is a member of Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum Network, World Economic Forum, Water and Climate Coalition (WCC), Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) and The Water Network (TWN). His engagement is in exploring the expanded role of communication outreach in increasing the ability of local communities to engage them in advocacy and policy issues related to climate resilience and maintaining the local biodiversity. He is an External Reviewer in selecting research proposals for funding for Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) Capacity Development Committee under the Scientific Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE).