(S.Ravi Seshu)
The best teacher can’t be a good headmaster. Similarly, the best reporter can’t be a good editor. Here is the proof.
K.Srinivas Reddy aka Tiger was a too good reporter in The Hindu. He produced some good stories to make his mark in crime reporting, especially on left-wing extremism. Now, he became the editor of Telangana Today, an English newspaper coming from the Telangana Rastra Samithi money. A lot of hype was created in the last one year about this newspaper as it had recruited many reporters from The Hindu and it got the state-of-the-art printing press it got from Germany.
Sine it hit the stands on December 16, 2016, Telangana Today failed to make an impact in the already crowded English newspaper market in Hyderabad.
TT was dreaming that DC would be the main rival and next comes Times of India, The Hindu,and Indian Express in this order. But, going by the first one week coverage, it is very much clear that Srinivas Reddy is a long long way to go to come close to AT Jayanti (editor of Deccan Chronicle).
TT in fact didn’t consider another Hyd-based English newspaper, The Hans India, as a competitor but as of today Prof.Nageshwar-led Hans looks to be better than the new English newspaper. “We are disappointed by the quality of Telangana Today. We don’t even see it as a force to recon with in Hyderabad,” a senior journalist of The Hans India told this reporter.
Prof.Nageshwar reportedly told his confidants that a reporter-edited newspaper would carry obvious flaws. “Srinivas Reddy may be a good reporter. To be an editor, you need to have comprehensive outlook which he lacks,” he reportedly told one of his well wishers in a chitchat.
For example, see the news judgement of Srinivas Reddy in today’s edition. A statement by the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has become the top story, titled, It’s Economic Theft: Rahul, on page-1. It is a silly misjudgment on part of TT team. The Hindu’s page-13 story is TT’s front page top story!
If TT wants to compete with DC, it needs a lot of effort and brains. That too, TT has to carry TRS and CM on its head every day in and day out. Mr.Reddy, if yo want to fill page-1 with PTI stories, there is something wrong. Watch out.
