Industry Mourns Loss Of Palakunnathu G Mathai & Naresh Mohan

Senior journalist Palakunnathu G Mathai no more

Senior journalist Palakunnathu G Mathai is no more. He was 77.

A media veteran, Mathai started his career in 1978 with a monthly magazine called ‘Mirror in Bombay’. He was also Chief-sub at Business Standard for more than four years in Kolkata.

He later joined India Today as Assistant Editor of Business and spent five years there.

Mathai was Resident Editor with The Economic Times between December 1989 and February 1992. Post this, he took over charge as Executive Editor of BusinessWorld and stayed there for more than 8 years.

His second stint with Business Standard began in September 2000 and went on till June 2005 when he was Resident Editor in Mumbai. Mathai spent more than three decades in business journalism.

He retired after working with The Telegraph for more than 10 years. Mathai questioned people in authority and had received national acclaim.

A graduate of Economics from Loyola College, Chennai, Mathai earned his master’s in English from St John's College, Agra.

The industry mourns his loss. Telegraph’s Sujan Dutta tweeted, “Meticulous journalist. Editor of the Features Pages of The Telegraph. RIP.”

Tony Joseph, a senior journalist and author posts, “My former colleague at Businessworld, Business Standard & India Today, and one of the most loved editors, Palakunnathu G Mathai, is no more. His meticulous attention to detail & total dedication to professional integrity won him many admirers. A very sad day for all who knew him.

Media veteran Naresh Mohan passes away

On the morning of Thursday, May 16, the industry mourned the loss of media veteran, Naresh Mohan. He was 82.

Mohan was taken to the hospital a few days ago and suffered a multi-organ failure.

He served as the President of the Indian Newspaper Society from 1990 to 1991, when he was associated with Hindustan Times as its Executive President.

He also served as the Chairman of United News of India and was a member of the Press Council of India. Formerly, he was also a member of The Tribune Trust.

Reminiscing Mohan, Anant Nath, Executive Publisher, Delhi Press shares, “For decades, Naresh ji was the guiding light for newspaper and magazines industry, steering the industry’s direction through each and every major aspect of publishing- legal and policy, advertising, newsprint,  laws pertaining to media, and so on. He was the ultimate source for guidance for the industry in any moment of crisis.”

He adds, “Naresh ji was one of the rarest leaders who understood each and every aspect of news publishing, across editorial, management, and policy matters, and was a one-man encyclopaedia about the industry over the last 50 years. Most importantly, he was the most affable person, with an infectiously warm persona, and with friends across generations of media professionals.”