The Telegraph Young Metro inducted a new batch of student reporters from around 50 schools at the YM Force Meet held at Vidya Mandir Auditorium, Kolkata, on August 21.  The event introduced the young reporters to report writing and communication skills and encouraged them to cover school events for The Telegraph Student Edition. Several schools participated for the first time, with students sharing their plans to report on activities at their institutions.  The outgoing batch was also recognised with certificates for participation, active correspondence and championship performance. Birla High School emerged as the champion, followed by St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar.  Consultant psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Garg also addressed students on mental health, examination stress, anxiety and social media pressure, encouraging them to seek help and take short breaks during stressful situations.     

Students of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), Main Campus, secured the second prize in a regional radio feature competition at the Science Journalism Fest organised by Pushpa Gujral Science City (PGSC), Kapurthala.  The award-winning radio feature focused on critical environmental issues, including paddy straw management and pollution control.  The students received appreciation from Dr Archana R Singh, Chairperson, Communication Studies, Panjab University. Dr Rajesh Grover, Director, Pushpa Gujral Science City, also praised the students for their performance.  The winning team comprised Mandeep Kaur, Gurleen Kaur and Abhinav Sharma, all BAJMC third-semester students; Jia Aishwaryam, a BAJMC fifth-semester student; and Rajvir Singh, a BAJMC third-semester student.    Image Credit: The Tribune 

The Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya organised its annual Raksha Bandhan celebrations with journalists at the Vizag Journalists Forum Press Club in Daba Gardens on Thursday, August 27. Event organiser BK Rameshwari said the Brahma Kumaris have been celebrating Raksha Bandhan with journalists every year and and conveyed blessings for their well-being. City Police Commissioner Dr Shankhabrata Bagchi, who attended the event as the chief guest, said Raksha Bandhan symbolised the spirit of brotherhood. He urged people to cultivate a spirit of service and extend help and cooperation to others within their capacity. VMRDA Chairman Pranav Gopal, Kanakamahalakshmi Temple Chairman Dr Kandula Nagaraju, film actor Prasanna Kumar, Colonel Bhadrayya, Gantla Srinubabu, secretary of the National Union of Journalists and president of the Andhra Pradesh Working Journalists Federation, international choreographer and senior journalist R Nagaraju Patnaik, Dr Joshi and several other

Journalists in Rajasthan have come together to launch a YouTube channel aimed at highlighting issues faced by journalists in the state and bringing instances of pressure on the media to public attention. The Rajasthan unit of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) has decided to launch the channel, named IFWJ Rajasthan, amid growing concerns over attempts by those in power to silence the press. The decision was taken during a recent meeting. The channel will be run entirely by journalists, for journalists, with a focus on issues affecting the fraternity across the state. Speaking to Influencing India, Upendra Singh Rathode, president of the IFWJ Rajasthan unit, said, “It is high time that journalists united and spoke about the harsh realities they face day in and day out.” Rathode cited his own experience, recalling a protest he had staged against those in power that lasted 19 days. He claimed that the protest went largely unreported by publications due to fear a

  As India gears up to observe National Sports Day on August 29, a group of journalists in Jammu and Kashmir has come together to form the Jammu Sports Journalists Association (JSJA), with the aim of promoting sports and working towards the welfare of the sporting fraternity in the Union Territory. The association will seek to work with the government, sports bodies, athletes and other stakeholders to identify issues affecting the sector and suggest measures for its development. The association has described itself as a non-political and non-profit body and was formed on August 27, a day ahead of National Sports Day. Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed president, Vikas Abrol vice-president, Vishal Bharti general secretary and Monika Jamwal treasurer. Arun Roshan, Ranjit Thakur, Arun Singh Chib and K Koushal are members of the executive committee. Speaking about the need for such a platform, Bharti said sports persons and other stakeholders often approach journalists with concerns an

For decades, tea farmers in Tizit, eastern Nagaland, cultivated tea without seeing the kind of income they had hoped for. Tea farming began taking root in the area in the early 1990s, with families learning cultivation practices from neighbouring Assam. But farmers remained dependent on middlemen, had little access to government schemes and lacked direct links to tea factories. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, award-winning independent journalist Manno Wangnao began looking more closely at why growers in her hometown remained poor despite spending long hours on their plantations. The issue was personal too. Wangnao’s own family was among the early tea-growing households in the area. “We were among the first tea farmers here in 1993. My father was one of the early people to start tea farming in the area. Many others followed because they believed tea would provide a steady source of income,” she told Influencing. According to Wangnao, the decline of the loc

For members of the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists Association (DKWJA), reporting an issue is not where the story ends, it's often where the work begins. For nearly four years, journalists associated with the organisation have taken their reporting beyond the newsroom through Gramavastavay, an annual village stay programme that brings journalists, villagers and government officials together to address local problems. Held over a day between September and October each year, the initiative involves identifying a village, understanding residents' concerns, and bringing in officials from the relevant departments to the spot. The objective is not merely to report the problems but to see whether they can be resolved. Speaking to Influencing, Pushparaj B N said journalists working across different sections of society, particularly in rural areas, are familiar with the challenges villagers face. "We journalists work across different sections of society. Those working w