A Fresh-Mint Way
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| Image: Sebastian John for Forbes India | |
| Narisetti has begun a new journey at the Washington Post | |
Name: Raju Narisetti
Title: Managing Editor, The Washington Post
Age: 43
Career: With The Washington Post since January 2009. Founding editor of Mint (2007-09). Was with the Wall Street Journal from 1994-2006
Interests: Inch deep and a mile wide in almost everything
You left Mint and stopped blogging without as much as a goodbye to your readers. The newspaper is still a work in progress. Could you tell us about the circumstances that made you leave Mint after a relatively short stint of two years?
Mint published a Need to Know (a news section in the newspaper) item about the changes and HT Media put out a detailed announcement for its staff. There was a note about the blog ending, all of which add up to more than a goodbye don't you think?
At Mint we always believed that individuals, especially editors, can't be larger than the institutions they work for, so I believed that was appropriate coverage of the news.
The succession planning process was always carefully thought through from the time Mint's Editorial Leadership Team was put together. In the Fall of 2008, it became very clear to me that key members of the team were ready and rearing to take on larger roles. I initiated the transition conversation with Rajiv Verma and Shobhana Bhartia and they eventually saw the logic in it. I have always believed my role was to set the course but not to steer the ship forever. And I didn't see any significant opportunities--during a downturn--for me to personally transition to within HT that would appeal to me. Rather than hold off smart successors because I had nothing else to do, I decided to look for jobs outside Mint. That I didn't have anything specific lined up when I stepped down didn't bother me as I could have actually used the break after nearly three all-consuming years in India. Maybe it is unusual in India to have clear succession planning and voluntary transitions of power. That it was handled very professionally--without usual leaks and rumours-- by HT Media was perhaps why some were surprised and needed a backstory to fill their conspiracy theories. That Mrs Bhartia and I agreed early it wasn't our job to address all the outside gossip--mostly by ill-informed journalists unwilling to ask us for the facts before publishing their blogs--probably added to the rumours. To me, what mattered was the roadmap and foundation for Mint that was set early and deep. All newspapers should always be a "work in progress" so leaving one anytime ought to feel difficult. And Mint is so much a part of me that I don't feel like we have parted ways.
You told an interviewer before coming to India to start Mint that your biggest challenge was going to be creating a form of journalism that was different. ``There is not enough of stepping back and looking forward -- lighthouse reporting, as opposed to lamppost reporting," you had said. How far, in your assessment, did you live up to the challenge?
Mint's larger readership and its success in creating distinct and sustained ethical--I underscore the honest journalism part-- business journalism is clear evidence of what can be done with perseverance and a willingness to work hard. And that it was done with an almost-entirely Indian staff of young journalists deep within an Indian media house, in a competitive environment is proof that the model can and will work. I would give Mint a solid B+ now, up from a D when we started, and getting better each passing month. I have little reason to believe it won't remain the quality journalism offering that it is now in the future as well under editors Sukumar, Niranjan, and Durga Raghunath (the livemint.com managing editor).
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My concern has been the lack of ads it attracts - will it survive?
Happy to continue reading them - don't miss reading the Economic Times, I must say.
