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

Albanese pitches cost-of-living relief as One Nation looms Anthony Albanese is using Labor’s national conference to acknowledge household “pain” and promise more cost-of-living assistance, sharpening the party’s election narrative ahead of a third-term bid. Across the coverage, Labor is also positioning the rise of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a central political threat, signalling a campaign that will lean heavily on economic relief and a fight against populism. Covered by: The Age, Australian Financial Review, The Australian, The Advertiser. Hanson’s domestic violence remarks spark national backlash Pauline Hanson has drawn swift condemnation after describing domestic violence as a “two-way street” and implying women should leave abusive relationships, with advocates warning the comments shift responsibility away from perpetrators and ignore the real dangers of leaving. The controversy is landing amid heightened scrutiny of political rhetoric on men’s behaviour

A student-led media experiment that turned an English classroom at a Chennai government school into a miniature newsroom has now earned national recognition. The Classroom TV initiative at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar, was selected for presentation at the National Council of Educational Research and Training's National Seminar on Innovative Educational Practices. The seminar showcases innovative teaching practices from schools and teacher education institutions across India. This year, just 31 educational innovations from across the country were selected for presentation following evaluation by a panel of NCERT experts. Among the educators selected was R. Hemalatha, B.T. Assistant at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar, who developed the Classroom TV model to help students improve their spoken English through media-based activities. Hemalatha presented the project, Empowering Spoken English Skills and Leadership through Classroom TV:

Sports journalism in India extends far beyond scores and match results. It covers governance, corruption, athletes' struggles and the politics and economics surrounding sport. Yet journalists working on the beat say it remains undervalued, while cricket continues to dominate coverage and women remain underrepresented in sports newsrooms. Prakhar Sachdeo, sports journalist and creator of the YouTube channel Prakhar Talks Sports, said the impact of sports journalism is often underestimated. "One of the biggest reasons sports journalism still does not receive the recognition it deserves is that many people underestimate its impact." Sachdeo said sports journalists can receive less editorial support and job security than those covering politics, business or finance, while athletes in disciplines such as chess, boxing and Kudo struggle for sustained mainstream attention. "I believe sports journalism is about telling stories that inspire people, encourage participati