In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the joke goes that if you want the entire perspective on a story, watch the story on a Telugu news channel owned or patronised by one political party and then switch channels to watch the same story on another network, owned by the rival political party. Or do the same with two newspapers. With most politicians turning media barons either directly or through the benami route, finding a TV channel or newspaper that is ‘neutral’ on all stories, is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

In this atmosphere enters Telangana Today, an English newspaper from the same publishing stable (Telangana Publications Private Limited) that also prints Namaste Telangana, a Telugu newspaper whose proprietor is close to Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The link to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) can be seen both as an advantage or a dent in the newspaper’s credibility, depending on how you look at it. 

K Srinivas Reddy, editor of Telangana Today, who spent much of his career in The Hindu editions in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, says he would prefer the content to do the talking.

“KCR does not directly own the newspaper but yes, the tag is there. But my objective is to make it a neutral product, not like Namaste Telangana, the sister Telugu publication which it is important to note, was launched in 2011 during the Telangana agitation and therefore had a particular brief,” said Srinivas Reddy.

Telangana Today is expected to hit the market sometime in September (some say, the search for an auspicious date is on) and will add to the crowded English daily market in Hyderabad, that is already home to six newspapers. 

K Nageshwar, who edits The Hans India believes there is space given massive expansion of English education in small towns, even among “non-elite families.” And that the new entrant will only help expand the English readership.

“When Sakshi newspaper came into the Telugu market, the same question was asked. But the readership is only expanding. Many children in Telugu families cannot read the mother tongue and would prefer an English product. Moreover, English is seen as vertical mobility to better employment,” said Nageshwar. 

In a market where Deccan Chronicle and The Times of India in that order are the market leaders, Telangana Today believes there is scope for a new player in the hyperlocal news space. The editorial team of Telangana Today that recruited talent from the existing players in Hyderabad is taking one edition at a time. It is aware that it is up against “exceptionally strong brands” and hopes to redefine local content to make a mark. 

“Deccan Chronicle is in Hyderabad’s DNA but over the past few years, the local content has gone down. The Hindu was never perceived to be local. The Times of India runs aggressive campaigns but there is a trust deficit as a local product. Hans India has not been able to develop a character and Metro India was never recognised as a standard English newspaper,” said Reddy. 

Media watchers feel that an association, however distant, with the ruling dispensation will ensure that funds, marketing and reach aren’t much of an issue for Telangana Today. The challenge will however, remain to ensure it is not seen as an English version of Namaste Telangana. 

“Being a new state, it would help to have a newspaper with Telangana management. But it should survive independent of the management and not patronise the ruling party,” said D Amar, Secretary General of the Indian Journalists Union.

The management too would hope it does not go the Namaste Telangana way. Because despite being the only 100 per cent Telangana daily in terms of ownership, the Telugu daily has not been able to dent the circulation lead of Eenadu, Andhra Jyoti and Sakshi, even though the management of all three newspapers are seen as pro-Andhra. 

“The look and feel of Telangana Today will be good but the newspaper cannot write against the TRS or the KCR government,” predicted Nageshwar. 

The TRS already owns T-News, a Telugu news channel, that serves as the mouthpiece of the party and the government. KCR, soon after he took over as Telangana chief minister in June 2014, was upset with two Telugu channels – ABN and TV9 – for broadcasting what was seen as offensive content, denigrating Telangana culture. The two channels were subsequently taken off air by the MSOs and KCR even threatened to “bury the channels 10 feet under the earth if they insulted Telangana”. 

That had the desired effect. TV9 started a Telangana channel, Jai Telangana to ensure it did not get squeezed between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s warring political establishments. Today most TV channels think twice before reporting anything negative about the TRS and its first family in particular, for fear of being pulled off air. 

“Telugu channels and newspapers work in Telangana under fear. English newspapers, comparatively have not surrendered. They still write stories critical of the government. Which is why the establishment feels it needs an English newspaper,” said Amar. 

Telangana Today is perhaps the first instance of a politician in south India indirectly backing an English newspaper as earlier ventures by netas in different states have been in the vernacular language. It can also help in perception management among the non-Telugu readership. KCR’s son and Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao often refers to Telangana as India’s start-up state. Telangana Today is preparing for the tomorrow.