Outlook magazine has a new Editor-in-Chief.
On Saturday evening, the staff at the magazine received an email from the executive director and publisher of Outlook group, Indranil Roy, announcing the appointment of Rajesh Ramachandran as the Editor-in-Chief with effect from August 16. Ramachandran moves to Outlook from the Economic Times where he was Political Editor.
Roy asked the staff to welcome Ramachandran and extend him their full support.
The email did not mention the outgoing Editor-in-Chief Krishna Prasad.
The top-level editorial change in the magazine comes close on the heels of the publication of an investigative report called ‘Operation #BabyLift’. Published on July 29, the report by freelance journalist Neha Dixit documented how the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh violated laws to traffic 31 tribal girls from Assam to Punjab and Gujarat to ‘Hinduise’ them.
The women’s wing of the RSS issued a press release calling the report “totally baseless, false and defaming the organisation”.
On August 4, a First Information Report was registered in Latasil police station in Assam against the publisher, editor and reporter. The complaint was filed by Subhash Chandra Kayal, Assistant Solicitor General of India at Guwahati High Court, Bijon Mahajan, a lawyer and BJP spokesperson and Mominul Awwal of the BJP’s minority cell.
In an interview with The Hoot, Prasad said:
“Threats against journalists may be an occupational hazard but what we are seeing today is a more serious attempt to shoot the messenger. The country is fast hurtling down a fascist mode and this fiction of public narrative of demonizing journalists is dangerous for free speech.”
Roy’s email triggered speculation over whether the editorial change was connected to the cover story.
Scroll has sent an email to Roy asking for clarifications. An email has also been sent to Prasad.
Meanwhile, Ramachandran confirmed his appointment. “Yes, I have been appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief after having been in conversation with Outlook for about a year,” he said in an email response. “My appointment was done almost a month ago.” Ramachandran will be the third editor-in-chief of the magazine.
Vinod Mehta, the founding editor and high profile editor-in-chief of the magazine was made its editorial chairman with effect from February 1, 2012. That move had been equally sudden, but Mehta had made the announcement himself in an editorial meeting. His relinquishing editorial charge and being promoted to a ceremonial post had then been linked with the controversy over Radia tapes.
Krishna Prasad, who had been brought in as editor of Outlook in October 2008, had taken over from Mehta as the magazine’s second editor-in-chief.
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