Chairman’s Profile

Personal Background:  A veteran journalist and trade union leader Kalimekolan Sreenivas Reddy is a self made person. Hailing from Pallepahad, a remote village in Nalgonda district. Sreenivas Reddy rose to become a leading figure in journalists professional trade union movement.

Born into a farmers and freedom fighters family on 7th September, 1949. Sreenivas Reddy entered the profession of journalism after graduation at an early age of 21 years by joining Visalaandhra, a renowned Telugu daily as a Staff Reporter. His long and illustrious career rose to the level of the Editor of the daily. Later he served Mana Telangana, a Telugu daily as Editor. Presently he is editing Praja Paksham, another Telugu daily based at Hyderabad.

Sreenivas Reddy has been straddling the field of Telugu journalism for more than five decades and is respected by all for his thorough professionalism and ethical values.

As a student Sreenivas Reddy was very active in Hyderabad Students Union (HSU) and later All India Students Federation (AISF). Once he became a journalist his penchant for organising movements led him to take an active part in Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ), the largest union of journalists in the country and thus started a long and eventful journey in professional trade unionism.

Sreenivas Reddy served APUWJ as General Secretary and President for a long time and strived for the protection of rights and welfare of journalists including housing in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. His tireless work took him to national level and he worked as Secretary General and President of Indian Journalists Union (IJU) for more than two decades before taking a break to give way to new blood. Recent developments at national level necessitated his assuming the leadership of IJU and presently he is serving the organisation as President.

A Veteran of several battles for freedom of press and freedom of expression and for betterment of living and working conditions of journalists, Sreenivas Reddy served Press Council of India (PCI) headed by Supreme Court Judge (Rtd.) as its member for two terms

and also Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) as a member representing IJU.

Sreenivas Reddy was the founding chairman (with Cabinet Rank) of the Press Academy of Andhra Pradesh, an institution which came into being due to his efforts and the efforts of APUWJ to impart training to working journalists in the state and to raise standards of journalism. During his time in the Press Council Sreenivas Reddy headed a committee on PAID NEWS syndrome and submitted a report which received applause from all quarters including parliament. In fact it was only Sreenivas Reddy who coined the term ‘PAID NEWS’. He visited several countries including United States of America (USA), Russia, China and Cuba at the call of his profession and on the assignments of the union.

He accompanied two Prime Ministers on their state visits abroad twice, including Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, three continent nine day tour.

He appears on all most all the TV news channels as political analyst regularly. He is one of the most respected journalists in two Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Before the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh APUWJ founded an institution, the Media Education Foundation, India (MEFI) with an aim to produce journalists with professionalism and ethical values. As its founding trustee and chairman Sreenivas Reddy has been steering the Hyderabad based organisation towards reaching the goal.

In view of his rich experience in the field journalism, the Government of Telangana and the Chief Minister, Sri Revanth Reddy, appointed him as Chairman of Media Academy of Telangana. Sri K.Sreenivas Reddy has assumed charge as Chairman on 29.02.2024