Digital is the way forward, says KTR at launch of redesigned The Hindu

‘If you want to ensure that the Next-Gen also understands the values, you should certainly start pushing more digital content’

Minister K.T. Rama Rao along with Senior Deputy Editor-MetroPlus S.B Vijaya Mary, General Manager S.D.T Rao, Advertising Manager P. Srikanth, Telangana Resident Editor M. Ravi Reddy; Business Line Senior Associate Editor Richa Mishra and News Editor Vasudeva Murthy unveiling the redesigned The Hindu on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

The consumption of news through digital medium is increasing and one has to adapt to that, said IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao while launching the redesigned edition of The Hindu on its 144th Foundation Day in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

“My father introduced me to newspapers. He inculcated in me the habit of reading the paper. But I have not been able to accomplish the same task as far as my son is concerned. I have tried, but he is more into Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms,” said Mr.Rama Rao, sharing his experience as a news consumer with The Hindu journalists assembled on the occasion.

“During my college days, when my father wanted me to become a civil servant, he would ask me to read The Hindu, Competition Success Review and some other journals. I became a voracious reader and now read 13 newspapers daily, which takes up a big chunk of my time,” he shared.

“If you want to ensure that the Next-Gen also understands the values, especially since you are celebrating 144 years, and if you want to celebrate 145 more years, I think you should certainly start reinventing. You should certainly start pushing more digital content. You should start making yourself more attractive,” said the Minister.

He shared how he was not interested in The New York Times or TheWashington Post while studying and working in the US. “I was not very interested in US politics. So, I never used to read those papers. I used to get all my information in the sense that I used to get updates from the late night comedy shows — the David Letterman show, the Jay Leno show used to be my source of information and entertainment,” said Mr.Rama Rao about changing news preferences.

He participated in the Values Day celebrations coinciding with the 144^th anniversary of The Hindu at the Begumpet office. The IT Minister unveiled the redesigned copies of The Hindu and BusinessLine and later, cut a cake to mark the occasion.

The Hindu General Manager (Circulation) S. D. T. Rao, Telangana Resident Editor Ravi Reddy, BusinessLine Chief of Bureau Richa Tripathi, Senior DGM (Advertisment/Telangana) P. Srikanth and Senior Deputy Editor (Metro Plus) S. B. Vijaya Mary, among others, were present.