आंध्र प्रदेश में प्रमुख स्थान रखने वाला अंग्रेजी अखबार डेक्कन क्रॉनिकल को 75 साल पूरे हो चुके हैं. आंध्र प्रदेश का नम्बर एक अखबार के 75 साल पूरे होने पर भव्य आयोजन हुआ. प्रबंधन ने पूरे 75 कलाकारों को आमंत्रित किया, जिन्होंने हैदराबाद शहर की स्प्रिट की सराहना की. इस मौके पर अखबार के संपादक एटी जयंती तथा मालिक टी वेंकटरमण रेड्डी ने अग्रलेख भी लिखा. नीचे दोनों लोगों द्वारा लिखा गया लेख.
We are 75 and growing
As we complete 75 fantastic years, we look forward with excitement and energy. We are ready for the learning curve that the changing technology of the ‘now’ generation will demand of us. This is a familiar challenge.
Each time a new medium of communication has been introduced, the pundits have predicted the end of newspapers.
On each occasion, we have integrated the new with the old and converted it into a win-win situation for you, the reader, by providing the latest news, views and visuals, and for us by garnering increasing readership.
We find that the explosion of news and views on every new platform — 24×7 live TV, Internet news sites, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and online comments — has only helped make newspapers more relevant. Readers depend on newspapers to make sense of all the cacophony, filter and present the fragmented picture in a sober and fuller manner.
TV depends on the print medium to promote its programmes. Online achievements and apps benefit from newspaper coverage. We can say with quiet pride that when something goes viral, the readers learn of it through DC.
DC began in 1938 as a “people’s paper” and the legions of loyal readers down the decades have taken ownership of the paper in the true sense of the term. Our readers are not restricted to the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Their voices and contributions, their stories, their victories and their joys can be seen across our news pages.
Readers today have a wider choice than ever, and this makes our success story that much sweeter as they choose us day after day, decade after decade. This proliferation of news platforms has only made us work harder.
For people who grew up in Hyderabad, or stayed in this city of minars and hi-tech towers for any length of time, DC has been part of their collective consciousness.
We have been privileged to receive such affection and loyalty for our commitment to our readers. Our bonds can only grow stronger and we believe the journey ahead will be more exciting and rewarding.
A perfect example of the love we have received is the flood of contributions for our diamond jubilee, and letters affirming your affection for us.
Another is the tribute paid to DC@75 by noted filmmaker Mani Shanker who has had an anthem composed for us by Gourav Das Gupta and sung by Shaan. Log on to http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130514/75-years-dc-contest/dc-anthem, catch the number, and share it.
Among the many people who have joined us to celebrate, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has signed a special bat for us to mark our diamond year.
75 leading artists from the city have come forward to paint an amazing tribute to DC and the city in which it was born. Mr Prakash Lahoti of Kalakriti Art Gallery and Dr A. Nagender Reddy, director, Salar Jung Museum, are hosting it for us.
The exhibition will be unveiled on May 18. This is a true treasure as we think we are perhaps the only newspaper in history to be honoured with such a huge compliment. We invite you to share that affection.
A.T. Jayanti
Editor
The journey has just begun
The Deccan Chronicle is as integral a part of Hyderabad as the Charminar.
Deccan Chronicle was conceived by three friends — a journalist Theodre La Touche, an advocate, B. R Chari and Sarojini Naidu’s son, a homeopath, M N Jaisoorya. They sold the idea of an “everybody’s paper” to Mr Rajagopal who supplied papers to the Nizam’s government Press.
Thus was born the Deccan Chronicle in 1938.
From those patriotism-filled pre-independence days, Deccan Chronicle has retained its position as the leading newspaper and has only grown stronger as the ‘people’s paper’.
The expansion and modernization of Deccan Chronicle began when my father, the late T Chandrashekhar Reddy, acquired DC in 1977. As the city changed and evolved, so did its people. And along with them changed and grew the Chronicle.
All newspapers report contemporary history. It is the credibility of our coverage and reports that has helped us build a broad and loyal readership. Our journalists report without fear or favour. We weigh facts and try our best to provide readers with accurate and reliable information in a context that empowers them.
We are entertaining but we are also watchdogs and give voice to the voiceless. In many ways we are driven by the reader. Most importantly our readers are assured that we have no editorial arrangements that compromise editorial integrity under commercial pressures. DC’s fascinating journey through 75 years has made it a household companion across southern India. Yet this is only the beginning. We look forward to the journey ahead with the continued affection and support of our readers.
Last but most important, the untiring effort put in by the DC team, to ensure the paper reaches your doorstep every morning without fail. Thank you all. We treasure the relationship; we couldn’t have done without each and everyone of you.
T Venkatram Reddy
owner
