The Viswa Sambad Kendra (VSK), RSS' official media and research entre, honoured five eminent media personalities with the Narad Samman 2026 during the "Narad Jayanti Udjapan & Narad Samman 2026" programme held at Sisir Mancha in Kolkata on July 5. The annual event commemorates the birth anniversary of Maharshi Narad, regarded in Indian tradition as the world's earliest communicator and journalist. The awards recognised distinguished contributions to journalism and public life. Among those honoured were veteran journalist Rathindra Mohan Bandyopadhyay, former journalist with Anandabazar Patrika and Bartaman; Bhajanlal Gangopadhyay, Special Correspondent of The Statesman, for his investigative reporting spanning more than two decades; senior journalist and former Kolkata Press Club president Ranjit Roy; researcher and former Swastika editor D. Bijoy Adhya; and educationist and author Rabindranath Dutta, known for his work on the Partition of India. West Bengal Governor R. N. Rav

Yesterday when your Epitomist was cutting Telstra some slack, we were careful to exclude the Triple Zero failures. That is the one obligation that carriers just have to get right, and it seems Telstra got it more wrong than even it was aware. The revelation of a possible death caused by the outage saw tech feature prominently across the country’s front pages today. David Swan landed the lead story on the Sydney Morning Herald and Age front pages, Eilidh Sprout-Mellis was front page at The Herald while The Advertiser threw over most of its front page to the saga. It was always curious that a claim made by South Australian Senator Liddle that one of her constituents had died after being unable to connect to triple-0, was refuted by police. That left reporters covering the story in an interesting situation. Do you report on what was essentially a rumour without any substantiation. David Swan chose to reference it in his story that we linked to yesterday, and followed through on

Modi’s Melbourne moment: uranium, trade and a deeper strategic pact Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi used the PM’s visit to lock in steps toward Australian uranium exports to India, accelerate a sweeping free-trade and investment deal, and deepen defence cooperation—signalling a sharper strategic pivot as regional security and supply chains dominate Canberra’s agenda. Several papers also focused on the political theatre of Modi’s rock-star reception at Marvel Stadium, including the public cost and nearby clashes between supporters and protesters. Covered by: The Australian, The Australian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, Herald Sun, The Australian. Triple-0 outage under scrutiny as police probe death link Police are investigating whether an elderly person’s death is connected to Telstra’s major outage that disrupted triple-0 access, intensifying pressure on the telco and regulators over resilience in critical communications. Coverage dive

Senior journalist Khushhal Giri Goswami passed away at Jolly Grant Hospital in Dehradun on Saturday after a prolonged battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife and two sons. His last rites will be held in Haridwar. Goswami began his journalism career in Dehradun in 2008 after joining Hindustan and remained associated with the newspaper for 18 years. He was known for his fearless reporting on public interest issues, with several of his stories prompting government and administrative action. His demise has been widely mourned by the journalism fraternity in Uttarakhand, with colleagues, media organisations, journalist associations and public representatives paying tribute to his contributions to journalism. 

Blue Buzz has been appointed as the strategic communications partner for Vembu Technologies in India. The mandate covers media relations, corporate storytelling, executive thought leadership, and reputation advisory to strengthen Vembu Technologies' communications strategy.  Vembu Technologies provides enterprise software solutions, including backup, disaster recovery, cyber resilience, and endpoint detection and response, serving customers across more than 100 countries.   The partnership aligns with Blue Buzz's focus on supporting innovation-led organisations with strategic communications.

  Poppy Seed Communication has collaborated with Ziel Network for its digital business and has become part of the Ziel ecosystem. The partnership aims to combine Poppy Seed Communication's strategic communications expertise with Ziel Network's AI-driven capabilities and a shared ecosystem model.   Ziel Network said the collaboration brings together complementary strengths, industry experience, and fresh perspectives to create greater value for clients.    

The Guwahati Press Club has demanded a public apology from Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shambhavi Mishra after two reporters accused the senior Assam Police officer of humiliating, intimidating and threatening them during an official interaction.  What began as one club's condemnation has since drawn in the Dispur, East Guwahati and Pragjyotishpur press clubs, Journalist Association For Assam and the Assam Union of Working Journalists (Asom Bartajibi Sangha), who have jointly sought a public apology, an impartial inquiry and disciplinary action if the allegations are established. The alleged conduct took place on July 4 at the Pragjyotishpur Police Outpost in Chandrapur, on the outskirts of Guwahati, where DCP Mishra had convened a briefing on an arms and ammunition seizure case. According to the two journalists, the trouble began during the question-and-answer session, as they pressed for clarifications on the investigation and continued immediately after it. Vi