John V Vilanilam is the former Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Kerala, Trivandrum where he also served as the Vice-Chancellor between 1992 and 1996. He is an expert in the field of Development and Development Communication, having authored numerous books including titles such as Reporting a Revolution: The Iranian Revolution and the NIICODebate (1989), Science Communication and Development (1993), MoreEffective Communication: A Manual for Professionals (2000), Advertising Basics (2004) and Mass Communication in India: A Sociological Perspective (2005). Dr Vilanilam is an extremely prolific writer and has published articles in renowned journals such as Journalism Quarterly, Journal of Communication, Media Asia, Communicator, Media Culture, and Society, Gazette (Amsterdam) and several front-ranking newspapers and professional journals.