Journalist KS Sachidananda Murthy passed away in Bengaluru on Friday, October 13. He was 66. The senior journalist had reportedly undergone a lung transplant recently and was on life support for the past few days. Sachidananda Murthy was renowned for his work as the resident editor of Malayala Manorama and The Week. He was an expert on international and national politics and governance.
According to The Fourth, Sachidananda Murthy joined the Manorama group in 1982, serving as the Bengaluru special correspondent for Malayala Manorama and The Week. He went on to become its Delhi Bureau Chief in 1990 and rose to the rank of resident editor in 2000.
As a journalist based in Delhi, Sachidananda Murthy has covered eight Prime Ministers from VP Singh to Narendra Modi in his long and illustrious career. His insights and opinions on the developments in the national capital were much sought after by readers in Kerala and elsewhere. His columns called “Desiyam” and “Power Point” in the Malayala Manorama daily and The Week respectively dealt with national politics and garnered a wide readership. The editorials penned by Sachidananda Murthy in the Malayala Manorama daily are said to have shaped the worldview of a large Malayali audience for a long time.
His journalistic career also saw Sachidananda Murthy serve as the general secretary of the Editors Guild of India and as a member of the Press Council of India. He has been honoured with several awards in the field of journalism, including the prestigious Karnataka Media Academy award and the Durlabh Singh Media Award.