Dr Ajay Kumar is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at CHRIST University, Bengaluru. He has more than a decade of experience across academia, journalism, and media consultancy. His academic work reflects a strong commitment to interdisciplinary and practice-based inquiry. His teaching and research examine media, technology, and culture in contemporary India. He focuses on visual culture, digital media, and media production practices. His research approach emphasizes qualitative methods, visual analysis, and field-based inquiry. He also studies the political economy of contemporary media systems. Dr Kumar is associated with the Google News Initiative India Training Network. He specializes in data verification, fact-checking, and visual verification practices. He has served on doctoral advisory committees across media and cultural studies disciplines. Before academia, he worked as a journalist with the Hindustan Times. He also contributed as a consultant to ICT initiatives in the social sector. His doctoral research examined the political economy of Indias video games industry.
