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.

Around 50 journalists, under the banner of the Telangana Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ), staged a protest on December 27 in front of the Hyderabad Collector’s Office at Lakdikapul, demanding the revocation of G.O. Ms. No. 252 related to media accreditation rules. The protesters were detained by police and later released from Musheerabad police station, Telangana Today reported.

The Gauhati Press Club organised its first‑ever women journalists’ conclave, “Let’s Talk”, on December 26, supported by Assamese magazine Nandini. The day‑long event drew around 200 journalists from across Assam.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav has ordered an inquiry into the alleged assault on two journalists by local police in Ashta, a communally sensitive town in Sehore district, The New Indian Express reported.

The Web Media Sammelan and 7th Foundation Day of the Web Journalists Association of India (WJAI) was held in Bhagalpur on December 27.