Comment: Media bargaining code is half-pregnant
By Phil Sim in Media News on Monday, 25th January 2021 at 1:35pmThe problem with the Australian government’s approach to making the tech giants subsidise journalism in Australia is ideologically half-pregnant. It is rampant interventionism trying to pretend it’s not by operating under the auspices of a “free-ish” market agreement.

Clearly, the two opposing sides will never, ever see eye-to-eye on the respective value they bring to the table. As such, any arbitration model is doomed to failure.
The government does have at its disposal traditional levers that it could far more easily deploy, namely taxation.
Let’s call it a copyright tax. With it you could kill two birds with one stone, removing the related issue of ambiguity over copyright and fair use of content. It is a legal minefield that our leg...
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Nitin Vishwakarma joins Karamtara Engineering as senior manager
By Staff Writer in Media News on Tuesday, 30th June 2026 at 1:13pm
Nitin Vishwakarma has joined Karamtara Engineering Pvt. Ltd. as senior manager – Brand Marketing & Communications. He previously served as deputy manager – Corporate Communications at Epsilon Carbon Pvt. Ltd. and began his career with internships at Chatur Idea and Orbit Marketplace Inc.
With over nine years of experience across manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, EV, aerospace, and industrial sectors, Vishwakarma brings expertise in brand marketing, corporate communications, digital transformation, and employer branding.
On his appointment, Vishwakarma said, "I am delighted to begin this new chapter with Karamtara Engineering. Joining the company is an exciting opportunity to contribute to an organisation strengthening global power transmission and renewable energy infrastructure. I look forward to using strategic brand marketing, corporate communications, digital transformation, and employer branding to enhance Karamtara's reputation and glob
Opinion: Is the tech to mainstream pathway dead?
By Phil Sim in Media News on Tuesday, 30th June 2026 at 11:29am
Once upon a time, a young tech journalist had a well-trodden pathway to career expansion.
You did your time on specialist tech titles, and if you were awesome, chances are you'd get picked up by one of the newspapers or mainstream outlets.
Yet, at a time when tech coverage has never been more important in these outlets, that pathway has never looked less travelled.
As Influencing reported yesterday, the Fin has filled two vacancies on the tech beat with its own reporters, Zoe Samios and Emma Rapaport.
Both have experience writing about tech-related industries and have a proven track record of breaking news and telling terrific yarns. Fin Review editors have good reason to believe they'll be fast starters on the new beat, which now regularly runs front of book and has become one of the most important sectors and topics for the paper over the past 12 months.
But it's another example of the major mastheads recruiting internally for tech journalism positions, ra
Upfront: PM’s bank breach, Big Build crime web, Deepfakes fuel hate.
By Staff Writers in Media News on Tuesday, 30th June 2026 at 5:59am
PM’s bank details breached: EY sacks grads, charges laid
EY has sacked two graduate employees seconded to Commonwealth Bank after they allegedly accessed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s account details and another senior EY partner’s information, with the matter now resulting in criminal charges. The incident raises fresh questions about data access controls inside major professional services firms and the security of sensitive information held by banks and contractors. Covered by: Australian Financial Review.
Big Build corruption fight escalates as police warn they can’t fix it alone
Victoria Police’s Taskforce Hawk says organised crime has infiltrated the state’s Big Build, warning entrenched corruption will require law changes and more witnesses coming forward. The political stakes are rising as Premier Jacinta Allan downplays corruption as a driver of cost blowouts, while the state moves to force contractors to disclose industrial relations “fixers” to curb imp
EXCLUSIVE: "We could do a better job of telling the why": Vinyl CEO answers doubters
By Nigel Bowen in Media News on Tuesday, 30th June 2026 at 7:30am
Ask around the Australian media industry about Vinyl Group's acquisition spree and you tend to get the same response: bafflement.
In barely two-and-a-half years the ASX-listed “music technology company” has swallowed Brag Media, Mediaweek, Concrete Playground and Val Morgan Digital. In early June, it announced its acquisition of Pedestrian Group one day, and Time Out Australia the next.
The reaction from media-industry heavy hitters has been scepticism that any of it hangs together.
On LinkedIn, Amplify co-founder Tom Maynard asked, "Can someone please explain the rationale behind Vinyl Group's mass amount of acquisitions?", adding that it "makes very little sense to me trying to handle the vast amount of brands in a very hard economy for .com publishers. Worked 15 years ago, but today seems like a weird strategy".
Former Private Media CEO Will Hayward replied: "It makes absolutely zero sense".
Carsales head of content
KUWJ seeks Kerala government's intervention over Zee Malayalam layoffs
By Meena R. Prashant in Media News on Monday, 29th June 2026 at 3:40pm
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has asked the state government to step in after Zee Malayalam dismissed 12 journalists without prior notice, a move the union has condemned as an unlawful mass layoff that breaches labour law.
According to KUWJ, the affected staff had worked across various departments for several years and were let go as part of a cost-cutting exercise, even though the channel had been performing well. The union has urged the Kerala government to intervene if management does not reverse the decision.
Speaking to Influencing, KUWJ President Reji K P said, "We received a verbal complaint that 12 journalists have been asked to leave their jobs. Seeking justice for them, we have urged the Kerala government to look into the matter."
One of the affected journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity, said employees were told of the decision during an online meeting.
"Two days ago, we were called for an online meeting and informed that we had been removed
TODAY’S TEN: Monsoon deficit deepens, 700-crore medical procurement scam busted and more
By Staff Writer in Media News on Monday, 29th June 2026 at 2:55pm
Monday, 29 June 2026
#1 · Front Page / National · In-depth feature
Many Hangovers Of India Going Dry
By Vishwa Mohan · The Times of India · Page 16
With India logging a 43% rainfall deficit and IMD forecasting below-normal monsoon with 60% probability of deficiency, the report examines cascading impacts on Kharif and Rabi crops, rural consumption, hydropower generation, and drinking water supply. It draws on historical El Nino years (2002, 2004, 2009, 2015) to quantify crop losses, flags that 315 districts across 12 states face heightened drought risk, and notes that 166 key reservoirs stand at only 26% of storage capacity. The piece connects IOD neutrality, El Nino persistence, West Asia-driven fertiliser cost pressures, and urban water stress into a unified economic and agrarian risk assessment.
The story goes well beyond weather reporting, weaving together IMD probabilistic data, ICAR-IFSR d
The race to be first is leaving stories half told
By Pavithra in Media News on Monday, 29th June 2026 at 2:17pm
An open letter by concerned citizen Rikzing Norbu Dorjee Bhutia, published by Sikkim Times, has sparked a debate on what he described as the rise of "half-told news stories" in today's media.
The concern reflects a wider shift in digital journalism, where speed and engagement often take priority over depth and follow-up reporting. Audiences are often told that an incident has taken place, but are not always given enough context on why it happened, how it unfolded or what eventually followed.
Journalists say incomplete reporting is not always the result of negligence. Ethical obligations, legal restrictions, privacy concerns and ongoing investigations often prevent reporters from disclosing every available detail immediately. The problem begins when the first report becomes the only version many people ever encounter.
Journalist Thennivalan said the race to publish first has changed newsroom priorities.
"Today, there is intense competition among television chann
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