(S.Ravi Seshu)
The late Congress Chief Minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy established a model in media industry with the creation of a strong Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi news channel, much to the chagrin of the market leader Eenadu. Call it quid-pro-quo or entering into the lucrative media business, money got pumped into the industry, much to the joy of the hitherto underpaid journalists. At the end of the day, currency notes don’t carry good or bad tags or any stains.
Now a bit of history to understand media dynamics!
Eenadu infused oxygen to Telugu Desam Party in the garb of protecting ‘Telugus self-respect’ and left a lesson or two for the Telugu politicians, who were wonderstruck by similar developments in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu and other northern States. unabashedly Eenadu made everyone realize that media support is a must to get political power. The TDP founder NT Rama Rao was the great beneficiary in the first ever field experiment made by Cherukuri Ramoji Rao in 1980s. Thanks to Eenadu’s blessings, NTR was a mega hit and he broke all records. NTR’s son-in-law N.Chandrababu Naidu was shrewd enough to impress upon the same Ramoji Rao to carry out the next experiment on him and the results were highly encouraging once more and it was win-win situation for the top politician and the media mogul.
Some may raunchily call this camaraderie as ‘Presstitution’ to insult the poor prostitutes but the fact of the matter or the order of the day is to get media support to make a headway in politics. The then Congress leader YSR, who was starved of power in his long political innings, had to struggle very hard because he lacked his ‘own media.’ That is why, he launched Sakshi media empire through his beloved son JS Jagan after coming to power. The sole aim was said to counter Eenadu’s malicious propaganda while recruiting top brains from Ramoji’s media house. In the name of exposes, both the newspapers washed the dirty linen in public giving enough hints to the readers that all is not well with their finances.
“Had YSR not launched Sakshi media house by hook or crock, Telugu journalism would have been in deeper dumps. Now we have counter media to checkmate Eenadu and this professional fight helped journalists get some decent packages. Every Telugu journalist should keep YSR’s photo in their drawing room,” commented a senior journalist, who migrated to Sakshi from Eenadu for a 35 percent hike in his salary, said.
Welcome to 2016! YSR’s nemeses Kalvakunta Chandrasekhar Rao too understood the need of media support to enjoy the power breeze for another generation or two. As soon as he became the Chief Minister, he brought Namaste Telangana, an equivalent to Eenadu and Sakshi, into his firm fold. An industrialist Rajam, the owner of Namaste Telangana, tried his best to keep the newspaper for him and his last minute attempt to rope in BJP leaders to stop the inevitable proved futile. Already T-news provided KCR a visual platform. Taking YSR model a step forward, KCR wants to have an English newspaper, Telangana Today, in the already crowded English market in Hyderabad. Akin to YSR, KCR has entrusted the task of dealing with this media business to his son KTR. In the face of serious dearth of Velama editors and journalists in Hyderabad media, KCR and KTR are relaying on Reddy editors, Katta Sekhar Reddy (Namaste Telangana) and K.Srinivas Reddy (Telangana Today), may be for time-being.
To make it more professional, a sprawling media house is in the making to accommodate Namaste Telangana, Telangana Today and T-News Channel in the upmarket Banajara Hills. “Brother, history is repeating in front of my eyes. What YSR and YS Jagan did during their regime is being replicated by KCR and KTR with some fine-tuning. There won’t be any quid-pro-quo allegations against the TRS government right now but the investments will be under scanner one day,” a senior journalist working with this T group commented.
“YSR Model” had cropped up to improvise “Ramoji model” and now “KCR model” is taking a shape to fine-tune all existing models.
