Last night, Influencing had the pleasure of attending Archetype Australia's Connect event at its HQ in Surry Hills, Sydney. An 'after-work drinks-style' event, the night had journos and PRs within the tech community engaging, laughing and catching up.  Please see a collection of photos from the evening. 

Who would want to be Sussan Ley right now? Well, politics is a brutal business and if the numbers are right the first female leader of the Liberal Party is likely to be deposed this morning by Angus Taylor after less than a year in the top job - she was elected in May 2025. The Age has an excellent picture this morning taken by Alex Ellinghausen of the isolated leader - another instance of a picture being worth a thousand words. In both The Age and sister Sydney Morning Herald the Liberal leadership is the main story by Paul Sakkal and Nick Newling ('Leadership Taylor's for the asking as allies desert Ley' - The Age).  The Melbourne paper also carries an astute Opinion piece from James Massola, headlined 'Defeating Ley might be the easy part', and that is, as they say, another story as several journos write this morning about Taylor being light on substance and policies, as well as being faced with a party on its knees and a shaky partnership

Picture Credit: BR Ambedkar Open University Women journalists have played a crucial role in rebuilding and reshaping journalism by overcoming legal, social and intellectual barriers, said Padmaja Shaw, retired professor of journalism at Osmania University. According to The Hindu, Speaking at the Prof. S. Bashiruddin Memorial Lecture at Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University on Tuesday, Shaw highlighted how women’s advocacy for gender rights in India laid the foundation for today’s investigative reporting. However, she noted that women journalists continue to face harassment, legal threats, professional isolation, and online trolling, with their independent voices often undervalued. Shaw recalled the contributions of women journalists during the freedom movement and cautioned against the continuing denial of property rights and financial independence to women. Her remarks came amidst outrage over a viral video showing a woman TV reporter being mobbed by male students after the Biha

The ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award has extended nominations for 2026. The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) honours outstanding journalists through the ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award, presented at its annual Awards Dinner. The organisation is currently seeking nominees whose pioneering coverage or media innovations have significantly impacted people’s lives in their countries or regions. Eligible candidates include reporters, editors, technologists, and citizen journalists, particularly those working under challenging conditions. Journalists who meet the award criteria may also nominate themselves. The extended nomination deadline is February 15. The winners will be honoured at ICFJ’s Awards Dinner 2026 in Washington, D.C., in November.

Sarla Maheshwari, a popular Doordarshan news reader from the 80s, died in Delhi on Thursday, February 12. She was 71. Former Doordarshan news anchor Shammi Narang took to X and expressed his grief over her passing. “I feel utmost grief over the sad demise of my former co-news anchor at Doordarshan, Sarla Maheshwari. She was the embodiment of grace and courtesy. Beautiful not just in appearance but even more so at heart, she had a remarkable command over language and was a reservoir of knowledge. Her presence on the Doordarshan screen had a unique aura. She respected everyone and uplifted every space she was part of. I pray that God grants her soul eternal peace and gives strength to the Maheshwari family,” he wrote.

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   If you're one of those news buffs whose main source of news content are social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, you are likely to have been duped into buying completely fabricated content as genuine news by dubious channels several times in the past, especially when there is a raging controversy. Thanks to the new amendments to IT intermediary rules put out by the central government that brings AI-generated content under formal regulation, such experiences could be became a thing of the past as all AI-generated content need to be explicitly  Filed as G.S.R. 120(E), the changes amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 defines synthetically generated information (SGI) as any audio, visual or audio-visual content that is artificially or algorithmically created, modified or altered using a computer resource and needs to be explicitly published for users to identify them

  New rules for AI-generated content will take effect in India on February 20, 2026, and they will impact brands, agencies, creators, and paid ads across major social media platforms. Platforms will have to ask users if their posts are created or altered by AI and verify those statements before publishing. Synthetic content that is not properly declared could be restricted, delayed or rejected.  The rules make AI disclosure mandatory in creator marketing. Any image, video or post generated or edited by AI must be labelled, and provenance markers should be added where available. Brands and agencies will need to add AI usage and metadata clauses to their briefs, contracts and approval processes.  According to Best Media Info, brand safety planning will need to change too, as there will be a three hour window for platforms to take down disputed conte