Tehelka to launch weekly newspaper

More than two years after exposing corruption in defence deals, Tehelka will launch a weekly newspaper shortly.

Investigative journalism will be the mainstay of the newspaper named Tehelka - The People's Paper, Tehelka Chief Executive Officer Tarun Tejpal said in New Delhi on Friday.

A host of prominent personalities, including member of Parliament and renowned advocate Ram Jethmalani, author Arundhati Roy, social activists Swami Agnivesh and Nafisa Ali, and noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan were also present.

The newly floated Agni Media company will publish the paper, which will engage in "crusading and constructive journalism" while keeping ethics in mind, said Tejpal, who had to close down his portal tehelka.com when almost all its employees quit in the wake of an "onslaught" from the government following the expose.

He said the company would have no funding from any business house or a political party and the money was being raised by creating a collegium of founder subscribers besides advance subscription offers.

Tehelka will launch its campaign for raising funds from Saturday, he added.