Mumbai: Raju Narisetti, at present a deputy national editor of the US edition of The Wall Street Journal, has just been named the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe, making him one of the most senior journalists in international media.

Narisetti will assume the new post, succeeding Rich Hudson, on 1 February 2003. He will have day-to-day responsibilities for driving the WSJE's coverage and its coordination with other editions and with Dow Jones Newswires.

Narisetti has served as a deputy national editor in New York since April, a job where he has directed daily news coverage in all four sections of the US paper. His responsibilities have included planning daily news space needs, editing multiple major news stories, and guiding news editors on coordinating coverage with bureau chiefs and beat reporters.

Born in Hyderabad, India, Narisetti came to the Journal in 1991 as a summer intern in Pittsburgh. After a three-year stint as a business reporter for The Dayton Daily News in Ohio, he returned to the Journal in Pittsburgh in 1994, covering manufacturing, machine tools and tires, as well as writing the Work Week column.

He later covered Procter & Gamble and other consumer products companies, then moved to New York, where he covered IBM, Computer Associates, Xerox and other technology concerns. Narisetti joined the news desk as an assistant news editor in 1999, became a news editor later that year and then acting deputy national editor in October 2001.

Narisetti started his journalism career at India's Economic Times, where he helped launch that paper's weekend section. Before moving to the US, Narisetti earned a bachelor's degree in economics and sociology from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and an MBA from the Institute of Rural Management, India. He also has a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Excerpts from an interview:

What are the challenges faced by the Indian media today?
It has been a long time since I have followed the Indian media closely, so it would not be right for me to comment on the specific challenges faced by the Indian media. Universally, journalists, especially print journalists, have to work in real time, thanks to the Internet. In many ways, it has given print journalists an opportunity to reach a wider audience. For example, reporters for The Wall Street Journal (circulation 1.8 million) can reach another 700,000 paid subscribers of www.wsj.com with breaking news stories.

How would you rate Indian journalism on a scale of one to ten in terms of credibility, quality and personnel?
I think individual Indian journalists that I know are very much on par with journalists I have worked with elsewhere, in terms of their abilities and journalistic talents. I can't speak in general terms of newspapers in India.

Despite journalism in Indian languages coming of age, the English-language media in the country continues to dominate its vernacular cousins. What's your view on this?
I am not sure I buy this premise. The majority of Indians still get their news from a vibrant language press rather than from English newspapers or television stations. Journalism in English might have an elite status but it doesn't reach more than a sliver of Indian audiences.

Some observers of the Indian media contend that liberalisation and consumerism have led to the trivialisation of journalism in the country, to the triumph of puff over 'real' issues. Does this charge hold water and, if so, what does this development portend?
I don't buy the premise at all.

What do you make of 'celebrity journalism' of the kind indulged in by Arundhati Roy and others?
If they can use their celebrity status to push their favourite causes, more power to them.

Is the space for print journalism being eroded by the expansion of the television medium and the growing power of the Internet?
Good journalism will always thrive. The Internet has turned out to be a major ally, at least at WSJ. We also see television - we have a great relationship with CNBC - as a way to get our reporters and stories in front of a bigger audience and often in real time.

What's your stand on foreign direct investment in mainstream Indian print publications, and what's the reason for the sharp divide on this issue?
Print publications should be no different from other sectors when it comes to inviting foreign direct investment. It is a myth to think that somehow different ownership structures will downgrade the quality or professionalism of Indian publications. It is a protectionist attitude that has no real factual basis.

How bad is the problem of media publications pandering to their business and political interests. Can this be countered and, if so, how?
I can only speak for WSJ where there is a fully functional Chinese wall between business and news departments. And unlike in India, our editorial page is also a completely separate entity that does not have anything to do with the news department - both functionally and structurally. As a result there is no pandering in both directions. The WSJ model might be the way to go, though it will be difficult to pull off in publications that are family managed or owned.

The independent journalist who can report any news the way he or she sees it - is this creature more of a myth than ever before?
There is no independent journalist - after all someone has to edit his or her work. But independent journalism is a functioning reality in many Western publications including The Wall Street Journal.

Is there merit in the contention that Indian journalists cannot - should not - operate by the rules of the Western media (the truth above all else) when it comes to issues such as communal clashes?
I am not sure what these 'rules' are so would not be appropriate for me to comment. I am not sure whether such broad 'rules' exist across publications, leave alone all Western publications.

Business journalism has grown by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the 1990s, and so has its influence. What do you attribute this to?
Liberalisation and the world becoming, or heading towards, a global economy. The growth of capital markets has also helped fuel interest in business journalism, which has had a long history in countries such as India.

You have been in journalism for long. Do you still get a buzz from it?
It's still my daily drug of choice! The titles and rewards have mostly come because I still get up each morning and wonder that someone is willing to pay me to do journalism. Keeps me fresh and is a key to not getting stale.

Which Indian print publications do you rate as world class and why?
The Economic Times does a solid job of covering the business basics. I also used to enjoy reading India Today.

Where do you see the Indian media 25 years down the road?
As vibrant as ever, perhaps a bit more international in its scope and reach.