Ever since Eenadu Telugu daily was launched in Visakhpatnam on August 10, 1974, media baron Ch Ramoji Rao had been its chief editor.
The imprint line of the daily published at the bottom of the daily’s last page carried the name of only Ramoji Rao as the printer, publisher and chief editor and no other name was visible.
Though his son Ch Kiran was made the managing director of the Eenadu group of publications, his name, too, was not visible anywhere in the paper.
Though there is a strong editorial team for Eenadu, nobody knows who the team members are till now. For several years, Ramoji Rao himself used to monitor the broad editorial content, though he did not involve himself in day-to-day affairs in the editorial activities.
Once in a while, he used to have a meeting with editorial heads and give them suggestions. He ensured that the organisation used to run smoothly and under his guidance, the paper witnessed tremendous growth.
However, on Saturday, the readers noticed a sudden change in the paper. The imprint line mentioned Ramoji Rao as only a founder. While D N Prasad took over as the editor of Telangana edition, Nageshwar Rao has been appointed as editor of Andhra Pradesh edition of Eenadu. Both the names appeared on the imprint line on Saturday.
Sources said though Ramoji Rao took the decision to step down as chief editor 15 days ago, it took 15 days to implement the same due to delay in approval of changes by the Registrar of News Paper of Inda (RNI). The new editors took charge on Saturday.
What could be the reason for Ramoji Rao’s decision to step down as editor of Eenadu?
One section of the media says the latest controversial order brought in by the YSR Congress party government to file defamation cases against the media for writing negative stories has prompted Ramoji to relinquish editorial responsibilities.
“Apparently, he was apprehensive that Jagan might not hesitate to send him to jail for any negative story carried by Eenadu since he is the editor of the paper. He might have thought it would be an insult for him to face trial or go to jail at this age. So, he has relegated the responsibilities to actual editors,” a media source said.
However, another section rubbishes this talk. “Ramoji Rao has faced much more severe situations in his life, including Emergency imposed in the country. He also faced serious troubles from Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in Margadarshi case. He was never afraid of going to jail,” another senior journalist said.
There were instances in the past when Ramoji Rao attended court trials for the reports published in Eenadu. “He is not a coward to run away from courts or jails. May be, he wants to take complete rest and does not want to take troubles of managing the newspaper at this fag end of life. He wants to lead a peaceful life,” this scribe said.