Victorian jobless spike fuels Labor leadership jitters Victoria’s unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1% — the highest in the country — triggering a fresh political fight over whether the Allan government’s taxes, regulation and workplace policies are hurting confidence and hiring. The economic hit is colliding with internal Labor unrest and leadership chatter, turning a bad data point into a direct test of Jacinta Allan’s authority and the government’s broader “Big Build” credibility. Covered by: Herald Sun, The Australian, Australian Financial Review. Labor conference erupts over Israel, China–Taiwan flashpoint and climate pushback Labor’s national conference is being overshadowed by internal divisions over Israel policy, with senior figures trying to contain a platform fight that has become a proxy for broader factional tensions. Adding diplomatic heat, a dispute has flared after Chinese officials objected to a Taiwanese representative’s presence, while party

“Being able to create the news, not just react to it, is such an important commodity in this day and age,” says Blair Wise, the recipient of 2027 ABC Andrew Olle Media Scholarship.  “I am looking forward to pursuing that under this scholarship”, he told Influencing.  Wise was named the scholarship's 2026 recipient on Tuesday night at the Andrew Olle Media Lecture in Ultimo, succeeding Madi Chwasta. He will take up the role in January, after completing his ABC Caroline Jones Cadetship. Wise said he hoped to sharpen his skills by working alongside some of Australia's leading journalists.  "The ABC has so many incredible programs here, like Four Corners and StoryLab, which are so innovative and impactful. For me it's to spend time with some of these teams, learn and produce and be mentored by some of the journalists." He hopes to utilise such skills learnt in the ABC’s new platforms and programs, remarking he’d been working with the ABC loop team, and hoped to cont

Veteran journalist and founder‑editor of Sikkim Express, Mala Rana Patro, was honoured with the Kanchenjunga Kalam Puraskar by the Press Club of Sikkim during its 24th Foundation Day celebrations at Chintan Bhawan. The award recognises her five decades of dedication to journalism and her pioneering role in establishing one of the state’s most respected newspapers. Patro launched Sikkim Express in English in 1976, followed by its Nepali edition in 1977, making it one of the first bilingual newspapers in the region. Today, nearly 50 journalists work under the banner she built. Reflecting on her journey, Patro said, “This lifetime achievement award is for my dedication to Sikkim Express, which I founded in 1976. I also established the Nepali edition in 1977.” She recalled that after the passing of her spouse in 1994, she devoted herself fully to journalism and continued to strengthen the newspaper. Sharing advice for aspiring journalists, she urged: “Stay

Two Times of India journalists were honoured with the Sangbad Prabhakar Shera Sangbadikata Puraskar 2026 by the Press Club Kolkata during its 82nd Foundation Day celebrations on Wednesday, July 22. Pinak Priya Bhattacharya won the first prize in the English Print Media category, while Mohammad Asif received the jury award in the same category for their respective reports from Jalpaiguri and Burdwan.  

Go behind the headlines with Collective Newsroom editors Shashank Chouhan and Dr Saroj Singh as they unpack the reporting behind their WAN-IFRA-winning projects, from the Mahakumbh investigation and The Killing Call to data-driven air pollution coverage. They also discuss public-interest journalism, reporting tragedy without sensationalism, multilingual newsrooms and why some stories are worth pursuing even when the algorithms disagree. Watch the full Influencing Insider conversation.    

  When a Collective Newsroom reporter began visiting families affected by the Mahakumbh stampede, he often arrived without a camera or microphone. He carried a diary instead. The decision was deliberate. Some families were willing to speak quickly, while others needed two, three or even four conversations before they felt comfortable going on record. For Saroj Singh, Input Editor at Collective Newsroom, the priority was to give people enough space to describe what they had experienced without turning grief into a performance for the camera. Rather than beginning with the familiar question, “How are you feeling?”, Singh says the reporter focused on something more useful: “What happened?” The aim was to let families recount the events in their own words, at their own pace, and allow the emotion to emerge naturally from the testimony rather than forcing it into the interview. That reporting eventually helped Collective Newsroom establish at least 82 deat

Thursday, 23 July 2026 #1  ·  Times City  ·  Investigative Why Police May Find It Tough To Trace Protesters' Messages By Rajshekhar Jha   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page 10 An original investigative-style report examining how protesters at the CJP demonstrations used Bluetooth mesh messaging apps like Bitchat and Briar to communicate without internet or SIM cards, making surveillance by Delhi Police extremely difficult. The story draws on cyber cell investigators and technical sources to explain the hop-by-hop relay encryption architecture, why standard police tools like ISP metadata analysis and wiretaps are rendered useless, and how the only way to shut down the network is to physically disperse the crowd. It includes a detailed comparative graphic contrasting traditional messaging platforms with mesh tools. Jha sources multiple cyber cell insiders to deliver technically precise, original report