Five Decades of The Hindu, Hyderabad: A Newsroom Transformed

As The Hindu's Hyderabad edition celebrates its 50th anniversary, the story of its newsroom is one of continuous adaptation. What began as a reporting outpost, forwarding dispatches to the head office in Madras (now Chennai), has grown into a sophisticated editorial hub.

The first editorial desk in Hyderabad was led by R. Chandrasekhar, who moved from Madras. Under his stewardship—he was known to colleagues as 'RCS'—the regional newsdesk and remote pagination department were established in 1998. The desk soon expanded its reach, handling pages for cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Rajahmundry, as well as the Telangana and Rayalaseema regions.

In its early years, the editing process was a manual affair. Copy arrived via ticker or dot-matrix printouts, which were then scrutinized by bureau chiefs before being edited by hand. RCS was known for his no-nonsense approach, often wielding his pen to sharpen or trim verbose copy. He was succeeded by Deputy News Editor P. K. Kurien in 1999, who served until his retirement in April 2007. S. Sreevatsan then took over as News Editor, a role he held until his transfer to Chennai in 2013.

Technology gradually reshaped the workflow. Printouts gave way to digital submissions, with stories landing directly on the computer system after clearance from bureau chiefs. News Editors assigned pieces to sub-editors, who edited on large screens as deadlines loomed. Eventually, desktops were replaced by laptops for sub-editors, while designers and news editors retained desktops for a better visual perspective.

The paper's design also evolved, incorporating new colour schemes, graphics, and elements to stay competitive. To cater to local interests, the Hyderabad edition introduced supplements on education, real estate, and entertainment.

Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the formation of Telangana in March 2014, the newsroom structure changed once more. The centralised desk for the united state gave way to a decentralised model, with pages for Andhra Pradesh being produced in Vijayawada. Thomas Sebastian became News Editor for the Hyderabad/Telangana edition in 2014. Later, S. Vasudeva Murthy took charge as the first News Editor of an integrated desk for both states, before moving to Bengaluru.

Today, Hyderabad serves as the operational base for teams covering both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, editing stories and producing pages for the first and late city editions. A few sub-editors are also stationed in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The focus has now shifted to a web-first approach, with stories uploaded for the digital edition before they appear in print.

Despite the sweeping changes in technology and workflow, one constant remains: the relentless race to meet deadlines without compromising on the quality and accuracy that defines The Hindu. The newsroom's journey over the past five decades is a testament to its ability to keep pace with the times.