ALBO WALKS THE WALL — BUT ON WHAT GROUND?   The Prime Minister’s six-day diplomatic blitz through China has so far delivered all the visual clichés of serious statecraft: smiling CEOs, a Shanghai glad-hand, and a photo-op atop the Great Wall meant to echo Whitlam. But beneath the grand optics, the substance feels murkier. For instance, in The Age (“Albanese defends ‘status quo’ position on Taiwan to Xi”), Paul Sakkal reports that Anthony Albanese had to downplay Xinhua’s portrayal of his remarks as a shift in Taiwan policy, a portrayal that’s part of Beijing ramping up pressure over Labor’s decision to reclaim control of the Port of Darwin.     Meanwhile, The Australian’s Peta Credlin saw something else entirely, if not exactly for the first time when it comes to the PM - or as she calls him “the student radical from Marrickville”. In her column “If PM had his way, we’d be Switzerland of the South Pacific”, she dismissed Albo as a man wh

    Google has quietly struck new deals with a string of digital and independent publishers, in some cases on significantly reduced terms, as Labor prepares to resume work on fresh laws aimed at forcing tech firms to pay for news, reports John Buckley at Capital Brief.  Buckley revealed Google has reached agreements this year with Schwartz Media, publisher of The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, and Mamamia, as well as with Yahoo, Australian Community Media, Crikey publisher Private Media, and youth publisher Junkee. “Some of these new deals carried reduced values,” he reported one of the sources had told him,, speaking on the condition of anonymity as the information is confidential.  Negotiations were opened in some cases with offers as much as 40% below their original values, said Buckley.. “Google has continually demonstrated strong support for public interest journalism, and is the only technology company with an extensive number of significant commercial agreemen

  Network18 reported a year-on-year revenue dip for the June quarter, largely due to a high base from last year’s election-linked advertising and a muted ad market. The company cited persistent weak consumer demand and a sports-heavy quarter as further pressures on ad revenue. Despite these headwinds, the news business declined only 4.9 per cent, while overall revenue rose 9 per cent compared to the same quarter in FY24--a period that also lacked election-related boosts. Chairman Adil Zainulbhai noted that Network18 continues to deliver strong operating performance, with recent product launches underscoring its focus on diversification and future growth.

Tata Play Binge has added Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform WAVES to its content lineup. Viewers can now access over 20,000 hours of shows in 12 Indian languages, including Doordarshan classics like Byomkesh Bakshi, Fauji, and Hum Log, as well as newer shows like Sarpanch Sahab and Jaiye Aap Kahan Jayenge.  WAVES also offers live content such as Mann Ki Baat, Aarti from Ayodhya, and sports like the Kabbadi World Cup and German Football Cup, along with 35+ live TV channels.  Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi said the aim is to make public service content more accessible in the digital era. The partnership brings together Doordarshan’s legacy and Tata Play Binge’s modern streaming experience under one platform.

Image source: The Federal, Civils Daily, Shutterstock and NASA; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla (Shux) ended his space mission with spacecraft Dragon Grace’s gentle splash into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 3.02 pm (IST) Tuesday, wrapping up months of training, experiments in orbit, and India’s latest stride in human spaceflight participation. Hot Off the Press Grace had undocked from ISS at 4.45 pm on Monday, carrying, besides Shux, mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu and Slawosz Uznanski. As part of the re-entry and splashdown operations, Grace began the 18-minute de-orbit burn around 2.07 pm (IST) on Tuesday. By 2.27 pm, Grace jettisoned the trunk, and the nose cone was closed by 2.33 pm. Shux’s Axiom-4 mission comes at a time India is making a deeper entry into human spaceflight, expanding ambitions beyond satellites & rockets, reported Chethan Kumar for The Times of India. And this ha

A special delicious. gloss lift-out in The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser, on sale Wednesday, August 27 will feature winners of the delicious. and Harvey Norman Produce Awards, which are celebrating 20 years of championing Australia’s finest producers.  delicious. Content Director Krysia Bonkowski said: “For two decades, the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards have done what no other food industry awards program has done – acknowledge Australia’s finest producers; the quiet champions behind our leading chefs and restaurants.  “Our aim is to unearth the producers leading the way and driving progress. Despite the challenges facing their industry, these producers demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, quality and community in everything they do.  “We are thankful to have a partner like Harvey Norman for eight consecutive years; their continued support and collaboration is integral. I also thank each of our judges for the

Well-respected New Zealand-based tech journalist, Rob O’Neill, has confirmed he’ll be retiring this September, after a journalism career spanning over three decades.  O’Neill told Influencing, "I turn 66 in September, so I feel it is time to slow down a bit. I have a small yacht that needs some TLC and some use, neither of which it has received in recent years.” In a statement to Influencing, Reseller News Editor Julia Talevski said, "Rob’s exceptional reporting, deep industry knowledge, and unwavering professionalism have left a lasting mark on Reseller News and the broader IT community. Over the decades, he has built an extraordinary network across New Zealand, earning the admiration and respect of peers who regard him as a true industry legend. “His presence on the Reseller News beat will be deeply missed. We extend our warmest wishes to Rob as he embarks on a well-deserved retirement." Journalism was, in fact, not O’Neill’s first professional career; he ini