The Bharatiya Janata Party's announcement of a proposed Rs 5,000 monthly pension for journalists in West Bengal has been welcomed by Press Club Kolkata, which called it a step towards addressing a long-pending demand from the media fraternity. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya made the announcement at a meet-the-press programme at Press Club Kolkata on April 18, saying the pension would be introduced if the party comes to power following the assembly elections. Speaking to Influencing, Press Club Kolkata president Snehasis Sur said the demand for a journalist pension has been pending for years. "Many states have similar provisions, but the amount varies. If BJP comes to power in West Bengal and enhances the pension, that is welcome. We are asking for this enhancement from whichever government comes to power," he said. Sur reiterated Press Club Kolkata's position that any such scheme must go beyond accredited journalists to include the wider media fraternity such as desk staff

Image of the Day:   1) Migrants Race Home To Protect Vote: NDLS Teems With Factory Workers, Labourers And Others Rushing To Bengal Amid SIR Fears By Koushiki Saha, The Times of India · Page 3 Hundreds of migrant workers from West Bengal — factory workers, labourers, domestic workers — are rushing back to their home state ahead of the Bengal Assembly elections, fearing their names may have been struck off electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The report captures ground-level chaos at New Delhi's railway station, with vivid first-person accounts from migrants who face a painful trade-off between losing a month's income and losing their voting franchise. The story contextualises the fear around SIR deletions, the uncertainty of citizenship documentation, and the political anxiety gripping Bengal-origin workers across Delhi-NCR. The story combines strong ground reporting at a live news scene — New Delhi Railway St

Image credit: Mathrubumi   A row has erupted in Kerala’s media circles after journalists were allegedly asked to delete visuals of Vivek Kiran, son of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during his family’s visit to the Guruvayur Temple on Monday evening. Devaswom officials reportedly stopped a media person from recording footage and instructed them to erase the material, sparking debate over transparency and press freedom, while journalists argued that documenting a public figure’s temple visit does not amount to wrongdoing Reji K P, President of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, called it a “highly contemptible and deplorable act,” and further added, “The Kerala Chief Minister is a person known for his stand against idol worship and religious practices. His son visiting the Guruvayur temple and performing poojas and making offerings in the midst of an election is definitely news. Assaulting journalists reporting this is not only against media freedom but also

Given everything that’s been happening, we’re publishing a special mid-week edition of PReeps to cover all the latest PR and PR-related developments. Vanyer Media staffs up As Ricki Green reports in Campaign Brief today, VanyerMedia has announced a major expansion of its leadership team, appointing four senior specialists in response to the rapid shift of both consumer attention and marketing investment into social platforms. Elle Batchelor, previously with TikTok, has been appointed Director of Creative Partnerships. Sophie Tschuchnigg, previously with Akcelo, has been appointed Project Director. Belle Brown, previously with Howatson and Co., has been appointed Client Partner. And Nathan Bramley, previously with Hello, has been appointed Senior Account Director. Karen Coleman, Country Manager, VaynerMedia Australia, said, “These hires ensure we have the depth and capability to support our clients to keep pace with that shift [to social media] and win where at

The Editors Guild of India (EGI), in collaboration with the India International Centre (IIC), hosted an offline conference on April 17, 2026, titled “Reimagining Journalism in the Time of AI”. The event opened with an introductory note by Sanjay Kapoor, President of EGI and Editor of Hardnews, followed by a keynote address from Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire, who spoke on the evolving impact of artificial intelligence on journalism and public discourse. Speakers included Sanket Upadhyay (Founder, Double Check), Pradeep Gairola (Chief Digital Business Officer, The Hindu), Nandagopal Rajan (CEO – Digital, The Indian Express), and Sonia Bhaskar (Public Information Integrity Consultant and Trainer). Sessions were moderated by Bilal Bhat, Editor at ETV Bharat. Discussions focused on how AI is reshaping newsrooms, editorial practices, verification processes, and the broader media ecosystem. The event brought together editors, journalists, and media

TechDay has appointed David Shilovsky as its Sydney-based Interviews Editor, starting April 28, Influencing can reveal. Shilovsky joins from The Roar, where he has worked as a sub-editor and journalist since November 2020. He has also held roles at Kick360 and Peninsula Living Magazine. His main focus “will be on attending the increasing number of in-person events we are invited to in Sydney. So conferences, roadshows, launch events and in-person interviews,” TechDay publisher Sean Mitchell told Influencing.  His appointment sees him become TechDay’s fourth Interview Editor. Australian Anthony Caruana and New Zealander Donovan Jackson were appointed earlier this year and Canadian Jake MacAndrew last year. Interview Editors focus on in-person or Zoom interviews. Mitchell is confident Shilovsky will strengthen his busy editorial team.  “This is fantastic for ensuring the crushing pace of today's newsroom doesn't swamp our lofty editorial g

Court cases often involve dirty laundry being publicly aired. That’s certainly how things are playing out with the Kyle and Jackie O bust-up, with salivating journos pouncing on evidence filed in Federal Court yesterday.   In today’s Daily Telegraph, Eliza Barr and Jonathan Moran report that Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a subsidiary of KIIS FM broadcaster ARN, filed documents detailing a dispute that occurred months before the pair’s spectacular on-air divorce. In September last year, Sandilands spoke “contemptuously” to Henderson during a segment. The bickering then continued off-air. According to CBC documents, Henderson said, “Kyle, that’s a bit rough, like f … en hell, I haven’t done anything to f … en cop it.” Sandilands allegedly replied, “You wanna know the truth, here’s the truth. Today’s the first day you’ve ever paid any attention or had to carry anyth