Media is the flavor of this summer. If the world has its Murdoch-gate, we in India have a raging row heading to a denouement at The Hindu, one of India’s oldest dailies and perhaps the one most bound to tradition.

Fortunately, The Hindu story is a welcome development, not a debate on murky journalistic practices. Editor-in-chief N. Ram has been a towering journalist who has left a mark on Indian journalism, perhaps since his stewardship of the Bofors exposé in the 1980s. Still, the 65-year-old poised to quit his editorial position may be creating his biggest legacy yet by taking the daily out of the family’s clutches and handing its helm to professional editors and executives.

This is a revolutionary bid, perhaps in keeping with Ram’s image as a radical student in his youth. It is also revolutionary because the media is tightly owned and managed in this country. Still, The Hindu is markedly different from other Indian media houses in one aspect. Groups such as The India Today and even The Indian Express have been run by smaller families. Consequently, these have had to hire professional editors and executives to run their empires. But The Hindu’s owners are an extended family running into its fifth generation. Many – if not most – have, over the years, been accommodated in the sprawling operations of The Hindu and its group publications such as BusinessLine and The Sportstar.

Ram’s bid then to overhaul the company is seen as a slap in the face of the family. In essence, he is telling them, including two of his own siblings: None of you is good enough to succeed me as editor-in-chief; none of you is CEO material and we need both to survive in the 21st century. Many of us would see nothing wrong in this. In fact, many might commend Ram for showing great vision and also taking tough decisions.

To be sure, The Hindu hasn’t grown much when compared with its peers. The eponymous English daily remains its most successful publication, even though its 1.5 million circulation is predominantly in the southern part of the country. Others such as BusinessLine, the group’s business daily, has failed to make it after nearly two decades whereas a new business daily such as Mint (incidentally its founder editor was an Indian American, and its current editor is a BusinessLine alum) is flourishing. Frontline magazine never could compete against India Today or Outlook, though it has a niche in the market; and The Sportstar, once a soaring sports weekly, has declined, unable to compete against several new publications including foreign one such as Sports Illustrated. So, Ram’s call for new leadership comes not too soon for the aging group.

Ram has already chosen his successor and won board approval, too. The candidate, Siddharth Varadarajan, is an American citizen and the brother of Tunku Varadarajan, a famous journalist in his own right and the editor of Newsweek’s international edition. Siddharth Varadarajan, 45, is one of the most mature voices in Indian journalism, and, incidentally, one who has shared Ram’s leftist leanings. Varadarajan is already The Hindu’s bureau chief in Delhi and has commendable academic and professional credentials – educated at the London School of Economics and Columbia University, he had a stint with The Times of India before joining The Hindu.

The Hindu insiders who have battled Ram in the company’s board, at the Company Law Board and in courts have found some favor at the CLB. In fact, the CLB has been directed by the Supreme Court to hear the case on a daily basis to ensure expeditious justice. But the top court, by refusing to hear the case, gave Ram a temporary victory – one that may be enough for him to install Varadarajan as the top editor and continue his search for a CEO.

The last word has not been written on the dispute but Ram’s choice seems right for this day and age.