meeting god

straight from the heart
met mr. ishwar daithota yesterday. very few know about the contributions of journalists/editors- here is one who has accomplished much in his 25 years career. Ishwar is the chief editor of Samyuktha Karnataka,which has 5 editions and a combined circulation of 1.6 lakhs (comes out in Kannada). His career in journalism started with Udhayavani, where he reached the top (became the editor). He wants to forget the role he played as the news reader on Doordarshan (many recognised and know him due to this)as it doesn't gel with his journalistic bent of mind. He left Udhayavani and become the first editor of Vijaya Karnataka in 1999. The success story of this newspaper started with him at the helm- multi edition, supplements for children and women, development reporting, and editorial integrity. After exactly 1 year and 11 months he quit the newspaper due to differences with the owners (interference in the editorial policy). His career took on a new dimension as a freelancer, teacher and writer. He wrote on developmental issues, taugth journalism to rural reporters and wrote books on development communication and for children. Last year he took over as the chief editor of Samyuktha Karnataka. He teaches at Bangalore University and Surana college. His programme on Udaya TV Panchayat... is almost five years.
Ishwar no doubt is a multifaceted person but what struck me was the simplicity and straighforward nature. One gets the feeling that anyone is free to meet and talk to him, no roadblocks like one comes across in the context of other editors. I get the feeling that journalism is still alive and kicking.It is not confined to page 3. As long as there are focused and committed persons like Ishwar Daithota, the direction that print media is taking is in the larger interest of the public. He has the pulse on the changes happening in the country when he says that the future belongs to language press- the fact that Times of India has bought up Vijaya Karnataka is a point in case.Log off. Keep reading