Welcome to Thursday and let's start with The Australian where a front page story by Matthew Cranston and Thomas Henry telegraphs, "The blame game for the likely first rate hike in years has begun...". Indeed it has, and leading that blame game coverage is a sobering strapline: 'TUESDAY RATE RISE ALL BUT LOCKED IN' and the headline pointing, of course, at Treasurer Jim Chalmers ('Jim's hard landing hits home').  To be fair, it's not just Chalmers in the cross-hairs, a piece by Judith Sloan reckons "the reality is, the Reserve Bank has made some major mistakes going back some time". Of course, Australia's economy doesn't happen in a vacuum so world events and their affect on prices of groceries, for example, is all part and parcel of pushing inflation up, hence the likelihood of a rate rise this coming week when the RB meets. But the buck has to stop somewhere and our man Chalmers is f

 Abdul Gani of The Assam Tribune was conferred the Best Sports Journalist of the Year Award at the 30th National Sports and Cultural Festival 2025–26, held at Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir on January 24. The festival was organised to mark the 111th birth anniversary of noted cultural figure Premoda Kanta Sarma and concluded with an annual award ceremony honouring achievers from various fields. Expressing his gratitude, Gani thanked the organisers and paid tribute to Premoda Kanta Sarma, saying he hoped Sarma’s ideals would continue to inspire future generations. He added that such recognition encouraged him to work harder and remain committed to responsible journalism. The Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Kaukab Azeem, former Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, Ashok Saikia, Kamalesh Chandra Choudhury, Mahindra Das, Mukul Hazarika, Gakul Chandra Deka, and posthumously to the late Ramcharan Bharali. The Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika Centenary Award went to Anir

Journalists in Aizawl, boycotted coverage of the Republic Day on January 26 following what the Mizoram Journalist Association (MJA) described as serious lapses in arrangements for the media. According to a circular issued by the association, an emergency meeting of the MJA Executive Committee was held on January 26, during which members unanimously decided not to cover the Republic Day programme in newspapers across Aizawl district as a mark of protest. The association said that although a press enclosure is traditionally arranged for journalists during Republic Day celebrations, no seating arrangements were made for media personnel this year. Journalists, including elderly members of the fraternity, who reached the AR Lammual ground to attend the programme were informed on arrival that no seats had been provided for them. The MJA said the issue had already been raised in a meeting with government officials held ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, but no steps were taken to ad

Calling Big Tech as the new East India Company, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu had earlier this week highlighted in an X post how a nation's sovereignty would be incomplete unless there is "technology sovereignty". He made the comment in response to the French government announcing a plan to ditch American video meeting platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom with a domestically developed alternative. The homegrown platform, known as Visio, will be fully implemented in French government agencies by 2027. Visio will handle conferencing with data hosted on French provider Outscale, and transcripts or subtitles managed by local firms. The Indian government too has been taking similar steps in promoting indigenous technology (mostly Zoho) in its attempt to minimise dependency on American tech giants. If you're wondering what this has to do with the news business, do take a look at this Guardian piece on how Australian journalism has been ‘sidelined’ in

Information Service Television Network (ISTV) on Tuesday, January 27,  marked 23 years of service with a celebration function held at the network’s office in Imphal. The event was attended by ISTV president Leitanthem Tombi, secretary RK Purnajit, advisor RK Kanoljiy, also known as Tomba, along with former presidents, secretaries, executive members and staff of the network. Addressing the gathering, Leitanthem Tombi reflected on the journey of ISTV since its inception on January 27, 2003, and spoke about the network’s growth and continued service to the people. He appreciated the efforts of the staff, executive members and local cable operators (LCOs) and appealed to them to continue working with dedication to further improve the network’s services. ISTV secretary RK Purnajit spoke about the challenges posed by rapid technological developments and said the network is making constant efforts to keep pace with changing times. He informed that ISTV’s local channels have bee

Former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to media, public broadcasting and institutional leadership.  According to e4m, he served as CEO of Prasar Bharati from June 2017 for five years, during which he focused on modernising Doordarshan and All India Radio and strengthening their digital presence.   A graduate of IIT Bombay, he became the first non-bureaucrat to lead Prasar Bharati.  Vempati previously served as CEO of Rajya Sabha TV and worked with Infosys, besides running a digital media venture. He has also contributed to several national media and policy bodies. 

The ABC has announced nine creators from more than 550 applications as part of its innovative Creator Program producing digital-first content across its social platforms.  The team will publish regular vertical video to ABC masterbrand accounts (ABC Australia on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube), ABC Screen social platforms, field-based mini-documentaries for YouTube as well as developing YouTube-first formats.   The Creator Program is a key part of how the ABC is building future-facing talent pathways, and the 2026 team will collaborate with ABC Screen teams on a range of opportunities, including writers’ rooms, TV debuts and behind-the-scenes production.   The 2024–25 Creator Program achieved more than 140 million views, with 80 per cent from Australians under 34, across science, the arts, history, current affairs and comedy. It developed new formats and launched ABC careers, including Aslan Pahari’s video podcast ASSASSINS for ABC Audio S