IIM-I Director Rishikesha T Krishnan was Guest Editor at Free Press Indore

What is it that Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore, looks for in a newspaper? Definitely not breaking news, said Krishnan, who was at the Free Press’ Indore office on Wednesday. He was the Guest Editor of the newspaper’s Indore edition for the day.

His 'job' for the day was to select news for the front page and other sections of the newspaper for the February 8 edition. As for his preference for newspaper content, Krishnan was clear about wanting to read more of insights into news as well as features and off beat news.

"I think people get to know all about breaking news from TV channels and that is not exactly the reason why they pick up a newspaper. What they seek in newspapers is something beyond what they have already seen in the news channels," he told Free Press Journal’s editorial team.

While presiding over the editorial meeting, Krishnan told the team that he is an avid newspaper reader. He prefers reading political news and current affairs. He informed the team that this is his second visit to a newspaper office. Earlier, he had visited the offices of The Hindu in Chennai. While going through the news list and selecting the for various sections, he highlighted his reasons for his choice of news.

Among other news items, he took note of the Indore traffic police possessing only one speed gun and a radar to check speed violators, particularly in the light of the fact that school buses were supposed to driven at maximum speed of 40 km per hour. Krishnan checked how the print edition was put together. He also visited the printing press.

The IIM-I Director was accompanied by his wife Kajoli Banerjee Krishnan. A PhD from IIT Kanpur, Mrs Krishnan has about 30 years’ research experience, including 17 plus years at General Electric (GE).