Four people have been arrested by Puducherry police for allegedly assaulting Rajkumar, a reporter with a Tamil daily, while he was covering an incident involving the removal of banners put up by supporters of Independent legislator Azhagu alias Azhaganantham.  The incident took place on Sunday when Public Works Department (PWD) officials were removing banners installed on Vazhudavur Road ahead of the inauguration of the MLA’s office.  Police said the legislator’s supporters opposed the removal of the banners, following which an argument broke out. Rajkumar was allegedly attacked while recording the exchange between officials and supporters.  He suffered injuries to his head and neck and was treated as an outpatient at a government hospital. Police have also registered a separate case against unidentified persons for allegedly erecting the banners. 

Bilal Ahmad Bhat, an investigative journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Awami Reporter, has sought protection from the authorities after alleging that he was assaulted while reporting on suspected illegal earth-filling activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Bhat said the incident occurred on August 1, 2026, at Ranger Stop in Saidakadal. According to his complaint, he sustained injuries, received medical treatment and reported the matter to the police. He has also asked the authorities to preserve CCTV footage and other electronic evidence that could assist the investigation. The journalist said he has faced threats and intimidation over his reporting on environmental degradation and alleged illegal construction in ecologically sensitive areas, including Dal Lake, Pahalgam, Gurez Valley, Gulmarg and the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra corridor. Speaking to Influencing India, Bhat said he had spent more than a decade reporting on Kashmir’s fragile ecosystems. “I have been working on environmenta

#1 · Investigative E20 and the lurking threat from chloride, water By Prerna Madan, Pallavi Singhal   ·   Hindustan Times (Delhi Edition)  ·  Page 4 An in-depth investigation into the controversy surrounding India's rollout of E20 ethanol-blended fuel, examining how chloride and moisture contamination in the ethanol supply chain is causing corrosion in fuel-system components (injectors, pumps, EGR valves) and phase separation leading to vehicle stalling. The story maps the science of pitting corrosion and phase separation, traces chloride sources across the supply chain, and details both SIAM's since-withdrawn letter to the petroleum ministry and the industry body's clarifications, alongside government assurances and the precautionary 3 ppm guideline already in place. The reporters go well beyond the SIAM letter controversy to build a layered technical explanation — sourcing a peer-reviewed 2017 stud

Senior Journalists Federation of India - SJFI gave a memorandum to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw demanding a National Media Commission for the work conditions, rights and welfare of journalists. NK Premachandran MP, and George Kallivayalil are in the picture.   Senior Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) has submitted a memorandum to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging the Centre to establish a National Media Commission to examine the working conditions, rights and welfare of journalists across the country. The federation has sought a national pension scheme, comprehensive healthcare benefits on the lines of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), and stronger social security measures for journalists, particularly senior media professionals and those employed on contractual terms. George Kallivayalil, Editor (National Affairs), Deepika newspaper, New Delhi and general secretary of the Delhi Senior Journal

The irony of Nine CEO Matt Stanton complaining that the government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive legislation is “distorting the market” is almost beyond parody. The entire scheme - which essentially strong arms tech platforms into entering into bargaining agreements - is extreme government interventionism deliberately designed to distort a market that media companies are losing. If the media industry can’t accept this scheme as a gift horse, then the government should just pull it off the table and admit its attempt to “distort the market” couldn’t achieve reasonable consensus. The debate over the past two days has been farcical. Last night a friend commented to me how poorly the government had handled the legislation, and I asked what changes he believed were ill-considered. He admitted he wasn’t sure on the details, just that it had been very poorly received. Of course, it has. News and Nine both feel aggrieved their si

Sidebar Sports will sit where sport meets culture, co-founder Jimmy Smith says after launching the weekly vodcast. "It's sports, it's entertainment, it's the internet, it's the comment section," Smith told Influencing. It’s not about downloads, though, for Smith.  “Success is turning this into something. I know that good things take time, but you can actually make things happen. You just have to be really patient with it. So for me, it's probably about [creating] that sense of community. “If they're sending us a meme or a sports clip or something, they got this feel sidebar; it's starting that vernacular [conversation] and then growing it, making people feel they can be part of it, coming each week, joining the journey." Smith set up the vodcast with former professional rugby union player Conor Dolan after years of conversations about the intersection of sport and pop culture. "A lot of our conversations with mates were going from sport to culture. We could be at a Sydne