There was tinsel aplenty, and a jolly good time was had by all last night as Influencing held its annual Red Christmas Party, this year combined with Influencing/Media Connect's 25th Anniversary celebration.  Held at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel, the year was celebrated by a raft of conversations, memories, plenty of laughs, and a bit of karaoke thrown in. Influencing CEO Phil Sim expressed his thanks to the ITJourno community for their support over 25 years, as well as thanking his family, and past and present colleagues, before teasing several plans for 2026.  Sim later said of the event: "We'd like to thank everyone who came and helped us to celebrate this milestone.  "We're very proud of what we have been able to achieve and excited about what's still to come." And here's a selection of photos from the evening.            &nb

What began as a simple platform to sell pre-loved baby gear has blossomed into a thriving online community of 1.4 million mothers, thanks to the vision and tenacity of Belinda Jennings, founder of Mum Central.  With nearly 30 years of sales and marketing experience under her belt, Jennings, a mother of two teenage boys, launched Mum Central 15 years ago, driven by a personal need for authentic, peer-to-peer advice. "I founded the Mum Central network 15 years ago back when I was a first-time mum, didn't really quite know what I was doing," Jennings told Influencing Insider.  Her initial venture, a "baby bargains platform" designed to help her sell her son's old gear, quickly "morphed into this very fast-growing online community of mums”. The catalyst for the transformation was a clear and pressing need, said Jennings.  "We saw a real need for honest advice mum-to-mum, the peer-to-peer type conversations," Jennings explains.  "I decided to grab it by the horns and see wher

Welcome to Wednesday. Now, maybe it was just me but the hackles went up with the news last week that Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had been asked to appear before the US Congress to tell them what on earth is going on here in Australia as the imprending U16 social media ban is set to come into force on December 10.  Clearly the US has some issues with this because the majority of affected tech companies are American, but summoning Ms Inman Grant, who one committee member called "a zealot", come off it. We'll see - the Commish's office is considering its response.    Now if that wasn't enough, today's The Age reveals in an exclusive by North American correspondent, Michael Koziol that, "the Trump administration will collect data on crimes and human rights abuses committed by migrants to Australia". What? Yes indeed - the Trump administration is once again bothering itself with other countrie

Prarthana Hazarika represented India at Sport Forum Hungary 25, held November 19–20, 2025, the largest professional sports platform in Hungary and Central Europe. This is the fourth edition that hosted 1,800+ participants and global speakers. Women sports journalists from various countries joined panels on visibility, representation, media roles, future sports ecosystems, and Hungary’s rising sports stature highlighted by Dr Zsuzsa Csisztu.  

On the third day of its four-day Book Fair and Literary Festival in Ludhiana, the Punjabi Sahit Academy hosted a dedicated session on “Punjab and Journalism,” bringing together prominent voices to reflect on the region’s media landscape, historical narratives, and communal challenges. The session was chaired by Prof. Jagmohan Singh and featured Dr S.P. Singh, former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, as chief guest. Satnam Chana joined as sa pecial guest. Eminent speakers including Dr Swarajbir, Arish Chhabra, Shivinder Singh, and Rajiv Khanna, led discussions that explored journalism’s role in shaping public discourse and preserving Punjab’s cultural memory. Dr Gulzar Singh Pandher welcomed attendees, setting the tone for a dialogue rooted in collective thought and historical reflection. Keynote speakers emphasised the need for ethical journalism, deeper engagement with grassroots realities, and the importance of resisting communal polarisa