Editor-in-chief, The Hindu

After more than a decade, N Ram is back as the chief of The Hindu's editorial department. His takeover this year incidentally coincides with its 125th anniversary on 20 September 2003.

This time, as the editor-in-chief of all the publications brought out by Kasturi & Sons, Ram has the final say on what gets published — and what doesn't.

According to the company board, Ram has to improve the structures and other mechanisms to uphold and strengthen quality and objectivity in news reports and opinion pieces. He is also authorised to restructure the editorial framework and functions in line with the competitive environment.

The former first class cricketer opened his second innings with a direction to have an editorial meeting every morning. The next step, say sources, will be the formation of different committees that will assist him in implementing the board's resolution and take the group forward.

Ram says internal walls, wherever they exist, will be brought down. "There will have to be better coordination among various departments in the group." Excerpts from an interview with Venkatachari Jagannathan:

What is the reason behind the sudden top-level change in the editorial department? The journalistic circle is agog with rumours and speculations.
After due consideration the board of Kasturi & Sons on 27 June nominated me as the editor-in-chief. The resolution states that to promote quality and objectivity in journalism I have been nominated to the post. The resolution also specifies my functions and responsibilities. I don't need to respond to rumours and speculations.

As per law there can be only one person who will be held responsible for what a newspaper publishes. Hence it was decided that only my name will appear on the printline of all the publications. Nobody has been asked to quit his or her old position. It is a bloodless change, but a major change.

Did the board or the family at any time discuss the possibility of bringing in an outsider or a non-family member to don the editor's robe?
Certainly not in the recent times. Long ago The Hindu had non-family editors. And I can't say anything about the future.

You have been authorised to restructure the editorial departments of group publications. Can you elaborate what types of revamping are in the offing?
The group has several good publications and what is needed is better coordination among these. We have to draw out all the resources available and use it in an optimum way for the common good. In other words the high walls that exist between various group publications will be broken so that cross-utilisation of the editorial and intellectual resources are possible.

For instance a reporter covering World Trade Organisation (WTO) meetings for The Hindu can file news reports for the other newspapers of the group and features for magazines like Frontline. This will be done while maintaining the author's personality [style and identity]. Though we have a strong centralised set-up, we had decentralised our operations to a greater extent. Communication between various centres has to be improved. There will be better coordination to eliminate morning shocks and surprises due to publication of some wrong reports.

Will your editorial departments be trimmed as cross-utilisation might result in surplus journalists?
There will not be any downsizing. We at The Hindu never did that in the past and will not do that in the future. No worker or employee was sent home when we modernised our press and other related functions. But there will be redeployment of the editorial force within the organisation as some departments are under-utilised and some are overworked.

What kinds of reforms are you planning in the newsroom?
There will be no room for opinions or comments in a news report. The job of a reporter or a correspondent is to write news. There will be objectivity and integrity in journalism. Further, the walls between editorial and advertisement departments will be reduced so that each one of us can understand the other side. There is a need for better coordination between departments. Editorial integrity, however, will be strictly maintained.

Does the group have any plan to get into the visual media?
We don't have any such plans. But we intend to get into the Internet media in a major way. We have wonderful resources that could be utilised better. At present our web presence is limited to uploading the dailies and magazines as it is or with minor alterations. But that will undergo a sea change. Our web presence will be similar to that of The Guardian of the UK. I like the Guardian Unlimited site very much.