📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Augustus Binu : flickr
Education
Veteran Journalist Vepa Rao Marks 30 Years of Mentoring Himachal Media Professionals
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 30 Oct 2026, 05:02 AM
👁 15
Vepa Rao, a veteran journalist, completes three decades of training and guiding aspiring reporters in Himachal Pradesh, leaving a lasting impact on the state's media landscape.
Vepa Rao, a seasoned journalist with a career spanning over four decades, has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of reporters in Himachal Pradesh for the past thirty years. Starting as a faculty member at the state's journalism institute, he introduced practical newsroom training, ethics workshops and field reporting assignments that have become the benchmark for media education in the region.
Former students credit Rao's hands‑on approach and emphasis on factual accuracy for their successful placements in leading newspapers and digital newsrooms across the country. His mentorship program, which pairs novices with veteran editors, has produced dozens of award‑winning stories on local governance, tourism and environmental issues.
Rao's contributions have been recognized by media bodies and the Himachal Pradesh government, which recently honored him with a lifetime achievement award for journalism education. He continues to lecture, advise curriculum reforms and champion press freedom, ensuring that his legacy endures beyond the classrooms.
The impact of his three‑decade tenure is evident in the growing professionalism of Himachal's press corps, which now enjoys greater credibility and reach both within the state and nationally.
Former students credit Rao's hands‑on approach and emphasis on factual accuracy for their successful placements in leading newspapers and digital newsrooms across the country. His mentorship program, which pairs novices with veteran editors, has produced dozens of award‑winning stories on local governance, tourism and environmental issues.
Rao's contributions have been recognized by media bodies and the Himachal Pradesh government, which recently honored him with a lifetime achievement award for journalism education. He continues to lecture, advise curriculum reforms and champion press freedom, ensuring that his legacy endures beyond the classrooms.
The impact of his three‑decade tenure is evident in the growing professionalism of Himachal's press corps, which now enjoys greater credibility and reach both within the state and nationally.