Australian born, British broadcaster Brian Hayes who was a pioneer of talkback and phone in radio in the UK on Capital Radio, the BBC and LBC, has died at the age of 87. The British media has covered Hayes’s life story extensively after he passed away two days ago in the UK.  The Guardian in its obituary written by Anthony Hayward, said Hayes, “was a pioneer of phone-in programmes in Britain. Soon after the launch of his mid-morning show on LBC in 1976, he was labelled “the rudest man on radio”, with a reputation for being abrupt with listeners and challenging their views trenchantly. However, he insisted: “I’m not rude, but I might be assertive or even aggressive. I think I might be a bit arrogant – but that’s not a character defect.” His abrasive manner, which included cutting off callers he thought were failing to back up their arguments, was part of the “game of verbal chess” he said he played with them. He

  Sanal Potti, senior journalist, former television presenter, and PR manager at SCMS College, passed away on Tuesday, December 2, following health-related issues. He was 55. Potti became a well-known face in Malayalam media as the host of Asianet’s morning show for many years. He later served as the head of the programme division at Jeevan TV. He remained active in media and cultural events. His last appearance was at Changampuzha Park for a documentary on Bulbul music a few weeks ago. His final published work was an interview in Mathrubhumi titled Kathukale Vedhanippikkathe Bulbul Tharang, published on October 12, with Ullas Ponnadi. His colleagues remember him for his warm and gentle nature,  The News Minute reported.

  Mrig Sight Media has bagged the public relations and digital marketing mandate for Durakraft Extrusions Pvt. Ltd. The agency will handle the company’s media strategy, content, and digital presence. Under the new mandate, Mrig Sight Media will build Durakraft’s brand visibility, promote its production strengths, and create consistent visibility across media and online platforms. The agency will work to strengthen the company’s messaging, grow an active audience, and maintain a steady position in the industry. Ankit Modi, Managing Director of Durakraft Extrusions, said the mandate will help the company showcase the excellence of its work, manufacturing quality, and product standards to customers. He added that a clear communication plan is important for their growth strategy. Rahul Ranjan, Managing Director of Mrig Sight Media, said they aim to tell Durakraft’s story accurately and enhance its industry visibility. All efforts will align with Durakraft

New Zealand-based journalist, Jamie Morton, has joined The Conversation ANZ as Deputy Section Editor and told Influencing, “I’m really enjoying it. It's working with academics in a whole new way. In my past role at the NZ Herald, I was still collaborating with an academic. Here, I’m working directly alongside them and interacting with them every step of the way.” Morton said the move to The Conversation marked a significant change as he departed the NZ Herald after 14 years as a science, energy and sustainability newspaper journalist.  He says in the new role, his job is to help craft what academics have written into a piece that's going to be accessible to wider media. “In the end, it is the academic who has to approve and sign off on the piece because it’s their name on the piece. So my job is very much in the background, giving it journalistic flair.” He’ll be joining Editor Finlay MacDonald and Veronika Meduna as NZ-based scribes at The Conversation, with his

Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett have won the 2025 Gold Walkley, Australian journalism’s highest honour for a series of stories on 7.30, Four Corners and ABC online. The Walkley Judging Board unanimously selected the pair’s multi-month multi-platform investigation into the systemic failures in childcare as the story of the year. Ferguson and Gillett won three Walkley categories: TV/Video: Current Affairs Short, TV/Video: Current Affairs Long, and All Media: Investigative Journalism (the latter two with colleagues Ben Butler and Lara Sonnenschein). In addition, they were finalists in the All Media: Coverage of a Major Event category and Scoop of the Year. The Walkley Judging Board unanimously described their work as the investigation of the year, noting its impact was continuing amid wide public interest. The 70th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism were presented in 30 categories. Christopher Hopkins was named the Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year fo

Welcome to Thursday and while there is no one major story across all our dailies, The Australian Financial Review stands out as it announces its Business Person of the Year and what is really excellent about the four page feature - and the grab on the front page - is the use of not pictures of each of the top biz folks, but rather brilliant illustrations drawn by the very talented David Rowe. It's a wonderful way - and a different way - to tell the story.   Yes, pictures would have been easier for the AFR team, and almost certainly quicker, so all credit to them for going with the coloured pencils. James Thomson leads the editorial story and each profile is penned by a different reporter - Anthony Macdonald, Lauren Sams, Angela Macdonald-Smith, Michael Smith, Nick Lenaghan, and Carrie LaFrenz.  'Rates fears' Meanwhile, most of the News Corp papers go big on interest "rates fears", as The Australian puts it in its f

  A Parliamentary panel has recommended stronger measures to tackle the growing menace of deepfakes and misinformation, including cancelling the accreditation of journalists or creators found guilty of publishing or telecasting fake news. The proposal was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, December 2, as part of the report Review of Mechanism to Curb Fake News. The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, also urged the government to clearly define “fake news” and incorporate safeguards within the media regulatory framework to ensure freedom of speech is not compromised. The report advised the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to consult all stakeholders before finalising the definition, The Telegraph reported. Reacting to the recommendations, Akshaya Sahoo, State Head of The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle in Odisha, said ethical journalists should not be penalised. “I don’t think journalists who work within