Happy New Year. Today, we’re taking the day off. No column. No hot take. No manufactured urgency. Not because nothing is happening — but because it’s healthy, occasionally, to stop reacting and start thinking. Fourth Right will be back on Friday, Jan 2, with the same intent as always: to slow down the noise, ask uncomfortable questions, and treat journalism as a public service, not a content treadmill. Until then, step away from the scroll. And start the year with a little less outrage and a little more clarity. See you on Friday.

Journalists in Dumka staged a protest against the alleged assault and mistreatment of reporters Mrityunjay Pandey and Nitesh Verma by the officer-in-charge of Hansdiha police station and his driver.

A 35-year-old former journalist was arrested in Bengaluru on Monday for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 15 lakh from three police inspectors following a recent drug seizure by Maharashtra’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force, Bengaluru City Police, and the Narcotics Control Bureau.

As work increasingly moves beyond office walls and into phones, laptops, and late-night notifications, the boundary between professional and personal life is becoming harder to define. In India, long hours, remote work, and an always-connected digital culture have renewed debate around the right to disconnect — the idea that employees should be able to switch off after work hours without fear of consequences.

As 2025 draws to a close, Influencing India looks back at some of the most engaging conversations from our Insider series. Over the year, we spoke to journalists who shared their journeys, newsroom realities, and what it truly takes to be a journalist today. Here are some of those interviews.

Alpha Lead Academy, a Defence Department training centre in Mysuru, organised a workshop on defence journalism to guide reporters on responsible coverage.

Golin MENA has been appointed as the regional PR partner for TOD, the MENA region’s leading sports and entertainment streaming platform owned by beIN MEDIA GROUP, following a competitive pitch.

Across Indian newsrooms, women remain underrepresented in leadership, prime-time panels, and decision-making roles. Pay gaps, safety risks, and structural bias continue to push women out. This isn’t perception. It’s a documented pattern. When half the newsroom lacks authority, journalism’s credibility inadvertantly takes the hit. And in our TODAY'S TEN section, you'll find news exclusives that you really shouldn't miss.

Former BJP minister Jagannath Patil expressed anger towards journalists covering the Kalyan- Dombivli municipal elections, telling them to “turn off their cameras or he would throw them away,” in an incident that has stirred political reactions in the area.

The Sports Journalists Welfare Association, Assam (SJWAA) marked its 13th Foundation Day with a day-long programme at the Kankalata Indoor Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.

Granting interim relief to journalist and YouTuber Savukku Shankar, the Madras High Court on December 26 ordered his release on bail till March 25, 2026.

Journalists entering Trinamool Bhavan were earlier required to sign a manual register, a system that had been followed for a long time.

Telangana’s new accreditation rules split journalists into field and desk, quietly deciding who gets access and who doesn’t. Framed as regulation, it redraws power inside newsrooms, raises questions about state control, and shows how press freedom is weakened not by bans, but by systems that decide who counts as a journalist. And in our TODAY'S TEN section, you'll find news exclusives that you really shouldn't miss.

Veteran journalist Mathew A. Thomas (60), former bureau chief of The New Indian Express (TNIE), Thiruvananthapuram, passed away on Friday night.