Godrej Industries Group and Avian We. won the Gold Fulcrum Masters awards in the corporate and consultancy categories, respectively, at the 2026 Fulcrum Awards, held at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty on September 26. Burson Genesis and First Partners shared Silver in the consultancy category, while veteran communications professional Alpana Killawala received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Godrej Industries Group was among the major winners, taking Gold across several categories. Its #CelebratingAcceptance campaign won Creativity and Innovation, while From Paper to Policy topped both Public Affairs and Consumer Products and Retail. It also won Gold for Godrej Agrovet’s Ashitaka, Godrej Pride Hog and Shubh Aarambh. Avian We. added four campaign Golds to its consultancy Masters win, including AI For Her for NITI Aayog in Digital and Banega Swasth India for Reckitt Dettol in Integrated Communications. Burson Genesis took both Special Campaign Golds, winning Brand Reputation for N

Gurgaon-based communications and PR tech firm CommsCredible, founded by Aman Dhall, has marked its sixth anniversary with a rebrand, moving from its founding philosophy of #StoryMatters to a positioning centred on Actual Intelligence.  The positioning is built around the ABCDE model: AI Discovery, Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Digital PR and Experiential Events. The model aims to connect how brands communicate, appear, are discovered and experienced across platforms.  Dhall said the shift reflects changes in how brands are discovered, understood and chosen as AI, search and fragmented media consumption reshape communications.  Over six years, CommsCredible has worked with 40 high-growth businesses across fintech, deep tech, sport tech, manufacturing and social impact in India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The company will continue supporting founders, businesses and organisations while expanding its capabilities across AI Discovery, strategy, content, di

Wednesday, 14 October 2026 #1  ·  Front Page / Times Nation  ·  Ground report Pjb anti-drugs activist shot dead on live cam By Neel Kamal   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page Page 1, continued Page 16 Anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota, 45, was shot dead in broad daylight in Mansa, Punjab, while livestreaming a confrontation with chemist Ashwani Kumar whom he accused of selling synthetic drugs. Kumar fired multiple times, hitting Jhota and four bystanders; Jhota died of three bullet wounds. The killing triggered a complete business shutdown in Mansa, political backlash against the AAP government, and Jhota's father — a former Army man — refused to cremate the body until the accused was caught. Kamal reconstructs the killing with precise chronology drawn from CCTV, Facebook live footage, named witnesses and hospital sources, and situates it within Punjab's chronic drug crisis and

The Press Club of India (PCI) held a silent protest march around its premises in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 13, condemning the alleged police brutality and detention of journalists covering CJP protests on October 10. More than a hundred journalists participated.  At the meeting held before the event, senior media professionals condemned the assault and detention of their colleagues covering the protests and called for accountability and respect for press freedom. They said attacks on journalists performing their professional duties undermined their right to report freely and fearlessly. Suhasini Haider, diplomatic affairs editor of The Hindu, condemned the attacks and stressed the need for solidarity within the media fraternity. She said every journalist working on the ground should feel that their colleagues had their back, adding that the issue was also about their right to livelihood. Shoaib Daniyal, political editor at Scroll, recounted his experience at the meeting.

YouTube is updating its Shorts recommendation system to prioritise original content and reduce the reach of videos re-uploaded from other creators without meaningful additions. The change could have implications for news organisations and independent journalists who rely on short-form videos to distribute news and reach new audiences. In an October 1, 2026, announcement, YouTube said channels primarily aggregating or re-uploading other creators’ videos without significant changes would likely see less distribution in the Shorts feed. It encouraged creators to add original commentary, distinctive editing or storytelling rather than making minor technical changes to existing videos. For newsrooms, where multiple outlets often report on the same developments and use similar footage, the shift raises questions about how journalists can distinguish their content and maintain visibility on a platform increasingly emphasising originality. Aman Chhikara, Deputy Manager (YouTube) at