The Walkley Foundation has announced the finalists for the 70th annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. The Awards recognise and reward the best in the craft and set the industry standard for excellence.   Shona Martyn, CEO of the Walkley Foundation, said: “For 70 years, the Walkley Awards have recognised excellence in Australian journalism. Starting with just five categories in 1956 – the same year that television arrived in Australia – the awards have expanded to cater for new technologies and styles of journalistic endeavour. What hasn’t changed is the commitment to quality public interest journalism as exemplified by the finalists announced today. “In another extraordinary year for news both locally and internationally, these finalists have been judged by expert journalists in each field in an exhaustive first round judging process. The winners will be selected by the Walkley Judging Board, chaired by Sally Neighbour.  “My congratulations to the

Doordarshan Kendra, Lucknow, will confer the Doordarshan Uttar Pradesh Award on eminent individuals from the state who have brought recognition to Uttar Pradesh through exceptional achievements in literature, music, medicine, agriculture, and sports.   The awards will be presented during the Foundation Day celebrations of Doordarshan Kendra, Lucknow. A selection committee comprising senior and distinguished scholars will evaluate nominations and determine the recipients.   Awardees will receive a certificate of appreciation, a memento, and a garment. No cash prize will be included. In categories where fewer than three entries are received, the award will not be conferred.   Eligibility excludes employees of offices under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, their relatives, and individuals who have previously received the D.D. UP Award.   For further information, contact Doordarshan Kendra, Lucknow, 24-Ashok Marg, Lucknow – 226001. Phone: 0522-2288415.  

Nearly half of global professionals surveyed say they’d be comfortable working under an AI boss, according to new research unveiled by communications consultancy Hotwire. Early findings from a global study of 900 working professionals (full-or part-time employed, full-time self-employed), conducted by Hotwire PR and ROI DNA in partnership with the House of Beautiful Business, found 43 per cent were fine being managed by AI, while 86 per cent said they were comfortable managing an AI employee.  The results were released at Hotwire’s AI & Agency: A First Look at Agentic Organisations breakfast event in Sydney on October 15, which explored how AI is reshaping workplaces, creativity, and communications. The panel featured Bernice Muncaster, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications for DXC Technology (APJ-MEA), Scott King, Principal Strategist for Growth and Innovation at Adobe APAC, Edson Porto, AI champion at Hotwire Australia, and Andrew Birmingham, Martech Editor at

  Lindsay Reed, Publisher of Daily Cargo News (DCN), shared valuable insights into what makes a successful pitch, pointing to relevance, visual assets, and a clear, concise message, when she appeared on Influencing Insider.  Reed stressed the paramount importance of visual content. "Pictures are always good because that does take us a lot of time [finding them]," she explained.  "Sometimes we'll have a fantastic story and then we'll be scrabbling around for a suitable image. Every story that goes up on DCN has accompanying images, so it sounds like an obvious one, but if people can supply images and particularly when it's print high-res images as well, because that's very helpful."  While also acknowledging the value of video, Reed said, "I would say the images, the pictures, are probably more important than that". "Beyond visuals, the core message of a pitch must resonate with DCN's specific audience. "The things that we really look for is, is it super relevant to the Au

This morning The Australian unveils Culture, a new digital section and weekly liftout dedicated to the arts and entertainment.  With a digital-first approach to storytelling, the newly designed, highly visual Culture section of The Australian’s app and website will deliver expert reviews, in-depth interviews and high-impact reporting across digital, audio and video platforms. Every day people will be able to watch, read and listen to the latest news and features on the best films, television, books, art, music and live performances. Editor-In-Chief Michelle Gunn said that transforming and expanding the way The Australian covered the arts and entertainment with the launch of Culture, reaffirms the masthead’s commitment to delivering audiences deeper, more engaging content. “The Australian has always led the way with its unrivalled arts coverage and now we are taking it to the next level with Culture,” Gunn said. "It will be the go-to destination for exploring culture in Au

    Mediaweek editor Dan Barrett (pictured) has been sacked after just five months into the role as the publishing company seeks to rein in costs across its mastheads and reach financial targets. Barnett told Influencing last night that the reasons given by owners Vinyl Group were “pretty weak” and  “didn’t pass the sniff test” but it was within his probation period so there wasn’t much he could do about it.  Barnett is a seasoned journalist and had previously worked at the masthead. When he rejoined five months ago he said the perceived wisdom in the job market is you shouldn’t go back to a previous job but he’d decided to give it a go because he could see a future for the masthead.   Barnett’s predecessor, editor-in-chief Emma Shepherd, suffered a similar fate, departing before she had completed six months in the job, as we reported at the time. This morning Mediaweek announced Duane Hatherly has been appointed Head of Editorial at the publication, wit

CEAT Limited has announced the appointment of Apurva Chandra, former Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as an Additional Director in the capacity of Non-Executive, Independent Director for a term of five consecutive years. According to BestMediaInfo, Paras K. Chowdhary has also been appointed as an Additional Director in the capacity of Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director. Chandra, a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1988 Maharashtra cadre, brings over 36 years of experience in public administration, policy formulation, and industrial development.