The 20th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, India’s most prestigious recognition for journalistic excellence, was presented on March 27. Vice‑President of India C. P. Radhakrishnan, addressing the ceremony, underscored the crucial role of journalism in sustaining democracy, emphasising that credible and courageous reporting remains central to public accountability. This year’s awards honoured 24 journalists across 19 categories, spanning print, digital, and broadcast platforms. The winners were recognised for impactful work in investigative reporting, politics and government, civic journalism, sports, books, and regional language journalism. Among the standout honourees: Sreya Chatterjee and Arvind Ojha (India Today) for civic journalism in digital, with Chatterjee also recognised for her investigation into illegal immigration along the India–Bangladesh border. Praveen Jain (ThePrint) for excellence in photojournalism. Vidh

The ACJ Alumni Association congratulated Srikkanth Dhasarathy (batch of 2012–2013) and Tannu Jain (batch of 2016–2017) on winning the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in the Print category.  Srikkanth Dhasarathy, a reporter with DT Next, won in the Sports Journalism category for his feature on the life and achievements of Indumathi Kathiresan, a leading woman footballer from Tamil Nadu.  Tannu Jain was recognised in the Environment, Science & Technology Reporting category. She had written extensively on environment and climate change for Hindustan Times and was currently studying at Columbia Journalism School.  The association expressed pride in their achievements and wished them continued success.   

Image of the Day The scheme under the VB-G-Ram G Act, 2025 is yet to be rolled out. Picture by Moorthy G-The Hindu Live-in couples in stable relationships to be classified as married Bharti Jain for The Times of India reported that a live-in couple staying in a household in a “stable union” shall be treated as a married couple in Census 2027. In an FAQ reply listed on the census self-enumeration portal — to whether a couple in a live-in relationship will be considered a married couple during self-enumeration or the enumerator’s visit to the household — the authorities state: “If they (the couple) consider their relationship as a stable union, they should be treated as a married couple”. Though a clarification on the issue has been publicly offered the first time, possibly as respondents will be self-enumerating, an official involved in previous census exercises said unmarried couples living together and declaring themselves as “married” to the enumerator were rec

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   For decades, the television rating system in India has operated like a casino where the house always wins and the house, in this case, was a cosy club of broadcasters, advertisers and a single all-powerful ratings monopoly. The numbers that determined which news channel got the ad money, which prime-time anchor kept their job, which story got told louder -- all of it flowed from a system that was, at best, opaque, and at worst, gameable. Then on March 27, 2026, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting quietly did something rather radical: it rewrote the rules entirely. The TRP Policy 2026 isn't glamorous legislation. There are no ribbon-cutting ceremonies for audience measurement reform. But read between the lines of the MIB's notification, and what emerges is a blueprint that could genuinely shift the power dynamics of Indian news media -- if the industry has the courage to let it. Start with the most overlooked reform: the man

Kaabil Kids, an online chess learning platform for children, has partnered with Verve Media to strengthen its AI-led SEO and organic growth strategy. The collaboration will focus on improving visibility across search engines and AI-driven answer platforms, helping more parents discover structured chess learning programs. Verve Media will work on discovery audits, technical SEO, and content restructuring, while also enhancing performance for intent-driven queries such as online chess classes, coaching, and tutors. “Parents want a clear view of what their child will learn and how the coaching works,” said Saad Merchant, Co-founder, Verve Media. “Our role is to strengthen Kaabil Kids’ discovery across modern search and help their key pages communicate with more clarity and confidence.” “At Kaabil Kids, our goal is to help more children benefit from structured chess learning,” said Kitty Mahapatra, Co-founder and COO, Kaabil Kids. “Stren

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has issued a notice to Prasar Bharati following a petition by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) over the public broadcaster’s plan to onboard linear television channels onto its OTT platform, WAVES. AIDCF argued that the move violates the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022, particularly Clause 11(3)(f), which allows signal decoders to be provided only to authorised distribution platforms like MSOs, DTH, HITS, and IPTV operators, not OTT services. The federation warned that broadcasters risk regulatory violations and an uneven playing field, as OTT platforms operate under lighter oversight. According to MediaNews4U, Prasar Bharati has positioned WAVES as a step to increase accessibility of TV content digitally. The NIA application deadline was recently extended, showing continued momentum for the rollout. TDSAT has directed Prasar Bharati to file a response ahead of the April 29 hearing. Advoc

Influencing held the 24th Annual Samsung Australian IT Journalism Awards on Friday evening at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf Pyrmont in Sydney. Please see a collection of the photos from the evening.  Influencing would again like to thank our sponsors for the evening, including Samsung Australia, Cisco, MYOB, Meta, Optus, Kinetic IT, PEXA, ACS, ARMHub and Watterson, as well as Award supporters Adobe, Aussie Broadband and Apptio.