Welcome to Friday and our roundup of today's main news and let's begin with a story that focuses on the rising cost of power.  Angela Macdonald-Smith at The Australian Financial Review pens their front page lead story this morning ('Gas exporters' east coast offer') about a consortium of major gas exporters in Queensland offering to cut purchases of gas from local suppliers and trim LNG shipments. The move is in response to the federal government looking at getting it hands on more of our gas for domestic consumption, in a bid to tamp down energy costs. Yes, of course these things are complicated but all this selling of our own energy resources by international companies overseas while prices soar for consumers and businesses here, doesn't pass the pub test. Once the gas has gone, it's gone and what will we have to show for it?  Another interesting piece in the AFR - picture and pull-in on page 1 and story by tech editor Paul Smith

The Kalamassery police have registered a case against a senior official of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) and the owner of Malayalam news channel Reporter for allegedly tampering with television ratings data. The FIR, filed on Monday, follows a complaint by C. Unnikrishnan, Senior Vice President of rival channel 24 News. According to The Hindu, the complaint accuses Premnadh, a senior manager at BARC, of manipulating viewership data between July 14, 2025, and subsequent dates to artificially boost ratings for Reporter while suppressing those of 24 News. The FIR also alleges that Premnadh shared confidential data from BARC’s rating meters with the second accused, identified only as the “owner of Reporter channel.” The manipulation reportedly led to an estimated Rs 15 crore loss in advertising revenue for 24 News. BARC, an industry body responsible for monitoring television viewership across India, has not yet issued a public statement. The accused have been b

The Editors Guild of India (EGI), in a statement released on December 3, 2025, expressed deep concern over the raid conducted by the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) at the locked premises of the Kashmir Times office in Jammu. The raid was reportedly justified on the basis of grave charges levelled against the newspaper’s editor, Anuradha Bhasin, including allegations of “disseminating terrorist and secessionist ideology” and “challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India” through print and digital content. The Guild noted that no credible evidence has been presented to support these claims. The EGI said the Editor of the paper confirmed that the raid took place in premises that have been shut and unoccupied for several years. Officers allegedly recovered ammunition and grenade pins from the site, though the authorities have not explained the relevance of these items or how they relate to the charges. Terming the timing of the raid “deeply troubling,�

Navneet Kumar Sehgal has resigned from his post as Chairman of Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) confirmed that his resignation, dated December 2, has been accepted with immediate effect under Section 7(6) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, Hindustan Times reported. A retired IAS officer from the 1988 Uttar Pradesh cadre, Sehgal had taken charge of the role on March 16, 2024. His tenure saw key developments in public broadcasting, though no official reason has been cited for the resignation. The move comes amid broader conversations around leadership transitions in India’s media institutions.

Image Edited by Dinesh Raj M   The rupee finally crossed a line economists hoped it wouldn’t. Sliding past the psychologically loaded 90-per-dollar mark, the currency hit an intraday low of 90.29 before closing at 90.19. On paper it’s just another number; in the real economy it’s a signal — of trade anxieties, foreign exits, tariff shocks and a market whose old correlations have quietly snapped. As policymakers preach calm and investors scan for red flags, the question shifts from why the fall to what the fall sets in motion. HOT OFF THE PRESS Times of India traces the speed of the slide: a 5.5 per cent weakening since Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2, $17 billion in FPI withdrawals this year, and record bullion-led imports blowing up the trade deficit. Analysts quoted by TOI note that the breach of 90 triggered a wave of stop-losses offshore before the RBI stepped in to cap the fall. TOI also flags an unusual diver

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.