Riya Baibhawi doesn’t talk about leaving journalism like it was a grand reinvention. She talks about it the way newsroom people talk about burnout: quietly, practically, and with the kind of clarity you only get when you’ve stared at a homepage long enough for it to start staring back. When she joined me on Influencing Insider, the headline version of her career was already intriguing: six years across some of India’s busiest newsrooms, then a sharp pivot into design, UX and content strategy at Tata Elxsi, and now a serious intent to return to international news with a different lens. But the real story wasn’t “journalist becomes UX person.” It was why. Riya put it bluntly: “We treat news like a product… our home pages are flooded, they’re inundated, and we keep on bombarding the audience.” And she wasn’t speaking as an armchair critic. At India Today, she spent a year on the mobile notifications and app team, wh

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication Alumni Association (IIMCAA) announced the winners of its 10th annual awards during the 14th Connections Meet in Delhi on Sunday, recognising excellence across journalism, advertising, public relations, and public service. Soumya Pillai (The Print) was named Journalist of the Year, while Laxmi Devi Aere (PTI) won Agriculture Reporter of the Year. Independent journalist Safeena Wani and Medha Yadav (Jist News) were honoured as Reporters of the Year in publishing and broadcast respectively. Other winners included Mohammad Asad (News Pinch) as Producer of the Year, Saurav Kumar Borah (Amar Ason) and Alpesh Arvind Karkare (BBC News Marathi) as Indian Language Reporters of the Year in publishing and broadcast, and Tanzil Asif as Independent Journalist of the Year in digital video. Special Jury Mentions went to Garima Singh (Zee Switch), Nantha Kishore G K (DW Tamil), and Gargy Satapathy (Sambad). The Pillar of IIMCAA Award 2026 was conferred on

Creative Content’s David Hague has officially racked up 50 years in journalism.  Hague told Influencing, “It's been a long ride. [I’ve] done lots of things with lots of people.” Technology in fact wasn’t even Hague’s gateway into journalism; it was Motorsport.  “My brothers worked for AgfaPhoto and in early 76, they released some black and white film… that particular weekend was the Rally of the West in WA, and we followed the cars around, took some shots, and got rid of the rolls of film.  “The only place that could develop it was at the WA newspapers in town. Our mate at Agfa knew the sports guys there, so we went in at 3 am and got the film developed. “The sports editor then asked, ‘Can I buy those off you?’ I agreed, and then somebody said the journalist didn't turn up to write the story. Can you do it? So I banged out 500 words, and that was my first-ever story published. I got paid 50 bucks for it.” He then rewrote that article three times an

  KIIS OFF, screamed The Daily Telegraph has the media stoush between shock jocks Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson saw their $100 million contract torn up following Henderson’s resignation. Sandilands has been sent a show-cause notice. Nathaneel Cooper who teamed with Matthew Berns to pen the Tele’s report, also wrote an editorial slamming Sandilands behaviour on the February 20 show that proved the catalyst for the split “The needling and belittling was present throughout the show, and it is no wonder she got fed up,” Cooper wrote. “Anyone who thinks that is good content is certifiably insane… it was terrible radio, and now ARN has said it considers it a serious act of misconduct”. The Herald also ran the story front page, courtesy of media writer Callum Jasper. Jasper’s piece paid plenty of attention to the struggles that the show has been having, noting it had “floundered” in Melbourne and &

Chinese Wok has appointed Havas Creative India and Arena Media as its integrated creative, social and digital media partners. Under this mandate, the brand aims to expand beyond 260 outlets and target 500 stores across Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets, with a unified, platform-led marketing strategy. The mandate will cover creative strategy, brand campaigns, social and content development, digital performance marketing, media planning and buying, and integrated campaigns across ATL, digital and in-store platforms. Chinese Wok aims to strengthen its youth-first positioning while scaling cultural IPs such as Wok FM and Crush Hour. Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal, Founder and Director of Lenexis Foodworks, said the mandate aligns with the brand’s national growth ambitions. Marketing Head Vikas Iyer emphasised deeper Gen Z engagement and measurable impact. Anupama Ramaswamy, Managing Director and CCO of Havas Creative India, and Uday Mohan, COO of Havas Media India and Havas Play, said the foc

The Supreme Court of India has quashed the FIR registered against senior journalist Ashish Dave, former Regional Head of Zee Rajasthan, expressing strong concern over how the case was handled by the Rajasthan Police. During a hearing on February 27, a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta described the case as “shocking” and said it lacked a proper legal investigation. According to e4m, the judges noted that the police should have conducted a preliminary inquiry before registering such serious charges. They said they could not find substantial material supporting the accusations and questioned whether similar urgency would have been shown if the accused had been an ordinary individual. Dave’s request for anticipatory bail had earlier been denied. The Rajasthan High Court had also refused to quash the FIR, following which he approached the Supreme Court.

The Arunachal Press Club (APC) and the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) have welcomed the state Cabinet’s approval of the draft Arunachal Pradesh Press Accreditation Rules, 2025, describing it as a progressive reform for the media fraternity. According to sources, the two bodies said the new framework would streamline and standardise the accreditation process across Arunachal Pradesh, ensuring due recognition and institutional access for bona fide journalists. They noted that the rules, drafted by the Information and Public Relations (IPR) Department after consultations and legal vetting, would bring clarity, uniformity, and accountability to accreditation procedures. The organisations added that the move reflects the government’s commitment to fostering a transparent and professional media environment, while also strengthening engagement between the press and the administration. They expressed confidence that, once notified in the official gazette