Deccan Herald: Note from the Editor

Dear Reader,

We hope we’re surprising you pleasantly with this revamp of your newspaper that we launch today.

A lot has changed. Right from the bold new masthead in aquamarine blue, a colour whose richness we hope will convey the depth we strive for in our journalism, and whose attractiveness will appeal to younger readers who need coaxing to pick up a newspaper.

Then there is the layout: Crisp, clean and contemporary. We will not trouble you with such jargon, but designers would refer to the new fonts, centralised headlines and more white space. Suffice it to say that the new design aims to remove clutter at a time of information overload, leaving you with a read that is relaxed but that gives you all that you need to know, in an elegant manner.

We’re introducing a new Sunday opinion page, christened The Prism for its ability to break down the surrounding white noise into its comprehensible parts, and an offering that will hopefully provoke and challenge, for that is what sharp comment is meant to do.

We’re launching a new business section on Mondays that brings business to everyman; expect personal finance advice, but also articles on how changes in the economy at a macro level affect the man on the street, and interviews with the movers and shakers of India Inc.

On the supplement front, we’re excited about showtime, our new show biz offering on Saturdays (yes, the masthead is all in lower case, intended to signal an informal read, with a coloured ‘i’ that tells you it’s about people first and foremost). We’re merging Travel and Living into a new supplement on Tuesdays that will present the best of both, with a significant online component.

A lot has changed, yes, but we remain true to our values, and more determined than ever to live them. To demonstrate our resolve, we now have a formal tagline. Look below the ‘DH’ on the masthead, and you will notice ‘The Power of Good’.

We believe that good journalism is journalism for good; it helps improve people’s lives. For example, our Insight investigative report on the trafficking of children in Telangana prompted the High Court there to act, and the Karnataka government recently constituted a committee to address the problem of girls forced into early marriage, a move activists attribute to another Insight we ran.

There are plenty of instances of our civic journalism getting outcomes from the authorities, ranging from the clearing of garbage in some Bengaluru areas to early steps by the government to manage traffic in an integrated manner.

But we are conscious that this is only a beginning. We pledge to work with you, our valued readers, to get the change you deserve, and to work for common people across India – readers or otherwise – in whatever way we can.

We may be talking about a newspaper revamp, but in today’s day and age, content is consumed across platforms. Expect closer linkages between the physical product and its fast-growing digital cousins, where you may also see some changes in due course.

All said and done, this note may seem to be all about us, but the fact is that this revamp places you, the reader, even more squarely at the centre of what we do. Some of you have been with us for decades; others are new additions to the DH family. Whatever the length of our relationship, we welcome your feedback on the changes, and promise to always put you first.

– Sitaraman Shankar, Editor