Jaz Keane has resigned from KIIS to rejoin his former colleagues Jase Hawkins & Lauren Phillips as Senior Producer at Nova 100. In an Instagram post, Keane shared his enthusiasm about the unison, stating, "I absolutely love these guys and this show so to be able to get together and create awesome radio again is a real joy." Reflecting on his time at ARN, Keane expressed gratitude for the experience and friendships made. He mentioned working on significant shows like The Kyle & Jackie O Show and The Christian O’Connell Show but emphasised the importance of being where he feels he belongs. "I’ve said goodbye to ARN but have loved my time there and have met a wickedly talented bunch of people and made some great friends. I also got the chance to work on some significant shows earlier this year including The Kyle & Jackie O Show, and The Christian O’Connell Show. Ultimately though you can’t deny when you know where you’re meant to be,” he wrote on LinkedIn. Sinc

With India Today’s AI news anchor Sana, the country’s first AI anchor created in October 2023, winning accolades at the coveted Global Media Awards 2024, speculation has begun over whether news anchoring could be added to the long list of jobs that could be replaced by AI bots.  Introducing Sana to the world, Kalli Purie, MD, India Today Group, stated: “For the first time in our group's 48-year history, we've taken a leap by creating an anchor from scratch rather than hiring one.'  Sana was followed by a range of AI anchors who filled news slots for various regional channels over the past few months. According to reports, these AI anchors are expected to 'personalise, contextualise, and enliven news, offering a unique news experience to viewers.' Can they? News anchoring as a profession has undergone significant evolution since its inception in the 1950s, with Doordarshan paving the way for dignified, diligent news anchors who became celebrities overnight delivering news

The ABC is set to launch two new channels, ABC Family and ABC Entertains, in June, along with four new digital streams aimed at bringing together the best in kids, family, and general entertainment programming. These new channels and digital streams aim to simplify content discovery for audiences, showcasing ABC’s catalogue of family and entertainment programs, and featuring new titles and original Australian commissions. ABC Family, replacing ABC TV Plus, will cater to children and their parents, offering comedies, game shows, natural history, and movies. The channel will feature family-friendly and co-viewing content, broadcasting from 7:30 pm after ABC Kids finishes each day. On the other hand, ABC Entertains, replacing ABC ME, will focus on comedy and entertainment, including the Australian TV premiere of Interview with a Vampire season 2 and new seasons of Wreck and Louis Theroux Interviews. It will also feature Friday movie nights and educational programming in the mornings

Long-time technology PR professional and former Director of Corporate Communications for Cyber giant CrowdStrike, Andy Sommers, has hung out his shingle as The Sommer Agency. Sommer announced the move on LinkedIn last week and told Influencing he had been hugely appreciative of the support he'd received and encouraged by the interest so far. "I'm looking forward to exploring where The Sommer Agency can go from here," he said. Sommers said his agency would offer communications, PR content and strategic advice for all levels of business. "Starting my own agency business has been a dream for a while," he said. Sommer has over 25 years of experience, primarily in the tech sector where he has worked in-house at Crowdstrike,  Aconex and then its acquirer Oracle,  Zendesk and Adobe. He was a former Group Director of PPR.

The Tribune Trust has appointed Jyoti Malhotra as the Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group, making her the first woman to hold this position, Influencing India has confirmed.  Jyoti brings a wealth of experience, having worked in senior editorial roles at India Today, Indian Express, The Print, and Star News.   Jyoti is renowned for her insightful writings on the political, diplomatic, and cultural dynamics of the Indian subcontinent, with a particular focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan.  She has also been a regular contributor for BBC Radio.   She will officially assume her new role on May 14, succeeding Rajesh Ramachandran.

Times Network has welcomed Nikhil Lakhwani as its new Correspondent. Nikhil will focus on covering breaking stories and news of public interest, Influencing India has confirmed.  Nikhil expressed his excitement about the new role on LinkedIn, stating, "After successful stints at CNN-News18, India Today/Aajtak, I am associated with another leading media brand at Times Network starting today."  With prior experience as a News Reporter at India Today and as a Correspondent at CNN-News18, Nikhil brings a wealth of experience in covering similar beats. He completed his PG Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from India Today Media Institute in 2019.   

The Australian Financial Review, the country's leading premium business masthead, is transitioning to a digital-only news format in Western Australia due to a significant increase in printing costs. After seven decades of distributing a printed newspaper in Western Australia, the Financial Review is shifting its focus to enhance the digital offering for WA readers and subscribers on afr.com. This includes upgrading the 'today's newspaper' digital version and continuing distribution of premium magazines, stated a press release. Tory Maguire, Managing Director of Nine Publishing, clarified that this decision only affects Western Australia and will not impact the papers and magazines in the rest of the country. "We work very constructively with the printers of our newspapers and magazines to ensure the long-term sustainability of our print products, which continue to be profitable. Fortunately, the Financial Review is an incredibly successful digital publication, which has allowed us