He was from the first batch of the Diploma in Journalism course of Osmania University, Hyderabad. To top it, he secured the first rank, thus ensuring his name in the history of the Department of Communications and Journalism. The year was 1954-55 and the department was headed by Prof De Forrest O’Dell.
Just over 70 years later, Dasu Krishnamoorthy, the renowned journalist, passed away on Tuesday night, January 20, barely six months before completing a well-lived century in New Jersey, US.
Always bubbling with enthusiasm, ready to mentor and write till the very last months of his illustrious life, Krishnamoorthy contributed to journalism for over six decades. He suffered a brief period of illness before being hospitalised and passing away.
Krishnamoorthy began his career in the mid-1950s with stints in The Sentinel, Daily News, Deccan Chronicle and in 1959, he helped set up the Vijayawada edition of Indian Express as its Chief of News Desk.
His career took him briefly to the Times of India in Ahmedabad from 1968 to 1969. It was a mixed experience as he lasted for just over a year during the launch of the edition. “Dasu Krishnamoorthy had high expectations, especially after winning appreciation from the legendary editor of The Times of India, Frank Moraes, during his internship,” recalled Dasu Keshav Rao, the younger brother and former Resident Editor of The Hindu.
Fortunately for Krishnamurthy, he got an immediate break from The Patriot in New Delhi. For the next 20 years, he made a mark as a desk man and copy editor of immense talent and creativity.
It was during his tenure at The Patriot that I got to know about Krishnamoorthy. I was a student of the Osmania University Department of Communication and Journalism with Prof S Bashiruddin as the Head.
We were always proud of our alumni as Prof Bashiruddin would narrate stories about their success, some globally too, which was motivating. Krishnamoorthy was one example cited.
Oldest journalism school in the country
The department is the oldest journalism school among formal universities in the country and produced a long list of distinguished alumni who are spread all over the world and in all forms of the media. The Osmania University department honoured him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
Post retirement, Krishnamoorthy turned to academics. He had a satisfying stint as Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. He returned to Hyderabad and served on the faculty of OU, Andhra Pradesh Open University and the University of Hyderabad for varying periods of time. In 2001, he moved to the US to stay with his daughter Tamrapani Dasu.
It was sometime in 2010 that I had the privilege of sharing the dais with Krishnamoorthy at a panel discussion on media issues organised by the Academic Staff College of the University of Hyderabad (UoH). The Director was Prof I Ramabrahmam, who later became the Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Koraput in Odisha.
The eloquence and depth of understanding of the challenges faced by the media, as presented by Krishnamoorthy, was a master class. Interestingly, Prof PL Vishveswar Rao, my teacher at the department and later Principal of Arts College, was the co-panellist.
Prof Vinod Pavarala of the UoH recalled on social media, “In the early 1990s, I remember him fondly as a fiery lecturer on media and capitalism. An unapologetic Left critic of the media, he was the one who introduced Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent and Ben Bagdikian’s Media Monopoly to our students of that time. He was a voracious reader of newspapers, magazines and books, and his class lectures were laced with all that knowledge. We had nothing but deep admiration for his diligence, integrity and sincerity of purpose.”
From a family of journalists
Krishnamoorthy hails from a distinguished family of academics and journalists. His younger brother, Dasu Kesava Rao, who lives in Hyderabad, is a former Resident Editor of The Hindu, Hyderabad, and a long-term senior colleague of mine in the profession.
After migrating to the US at the turn of the century, he continued to write and also turned to literature. With the support of his daughter, Krishnamoorthy set up India Writes to promote short story writers in Telugu and also translation works. In 2022, he brought out the Anthology of Telugu short stories titled Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told at the age of 96 and published it.
Several journalists and media professionals in Hyderabad who were connected with him over the past 50 years expressed condolences and recalled their association on social media.
