DC Guest Editor Harish Rao launches \'I Support DC Campaign Vote For Telangana'
Hyderabad: For BRS troubleshooter and finance minister T. Harish Rao, Monday evening was a different cup of tea. Assuming the role of Guest Editor for the day at Deccan Chronicle, Harish Rao demonstrated that he was not just good at politics and efficient as a minister, but also at making a newsroom hum with his hands-on approach to picking reports, suggesting headlines and taking a call on which news report goes where in the newspaper.
This was clearly evident in nearly two hours of his interactions with the reporting, editorial and design teams of Deccan Chronicle.
On the day, Harish Rao launched the ‘I Support Deccan Chronicle Campaign – Vote For Telangana’ initiative, urging people to exercise their franchise by casting their votes, en masse, on November 30.
Speaking on the apolitical initiative, an enthusiastic Harish Rao laid particular emphasis on urban voters, calling on them to cast their votes, make their presence felt in the electoral festival and make every vote count.
“Urban voters do not turn out in large numbers in contrast to rural voters… This trend needs to change for the better, with more and more urban voters going to polling booths to cast their ballots,” he said.
Taking questions from the editorial staff, Harish Rao replied with his hallmark patience, briefing the newsroom on the BRS-led Telangana government’s achievements and the need for people to think carefully about their choice of vote.
After interacting with the news teams, Harish Rao met with senior editors, who briefed him on the day’s story line-up and checked on how the pages were being designed.
While going through the front page of Tuesday’s edition, he pointed out that he preferred a balance of news, in that important events of different political parties should find a place on the page, recommending placement of some reports on the page.
Harish Rao was later presented with a caricature drawing by Deccan Chronicle's reputed cartoonist Subhani.