When a city pauses to listen to stories, arguments, memories and ideas, it often begins with a book. This January, Chennai will once again become that listening city as The Hindu Lit For Life returns for its 13th edition, reaffirming its place as one of India’s most thoughtful and intellectually rich literature festivals. Scheduled for January 17 and 18, 2026, at the Lady Andal School premises, the festival comes back with an expanded canvas that moves beyond literature alone and into the wider worlds of ideas, culture and public life. Backed by a strong roster of partners, Lit For Life 2026 promises a richer and more immersive experience than ever before. Over two days, more than 100 acclaimed voices from India and across the world will gather across 50-plus sessions, conversations and workshops. Writers, thinkers, journalists, economists, historians and cultural commentators will share the stage, offering audiences multiple ways to engage with both the written word and the

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   For years, English-language newsrooms in India have narrated their crisis as a familiar trilogy: shrinking attention spans, hostile platforms, and evaporating revenues. None of this is entirely false. But it is profoundly incomplete. India has not stopped consuming news. It has simply stopped consuming it in English. According to Dalberg’s The Future of News in India, India is on track to have nearly 700 million digital news consumers by 2026, with daily news consumption continuing to rise. The decisive shift lies in where this growth is coming from. Hindi and regional-language news is growing six to eight times faster than English, powered by mobile-first users in tier-2 and tier-3 towns, many of them first-time digital consumers. English news, by contrast, is becoming a slower-growing, narrower market: urban, elite, and increasingly self-contained. This shift is already reshaping the economics of journalism. Dalberg projects that print

As news organisations enter 2026 - nearly three years after the release of ChatGPT jolted the media industry - journalists and executives are grappling with a question that has become impossible to ignore: what is next for generative AI and journalism? A Reuters survey of 17 senior editors, technologists and strategists, alongside an open call to readers, suggests the coming year will be defined less by novelty and more by structural change. While no one claims to have a crystal ball, five recurring themes stand out: audiences accessing news through AI interfaces, rising demand for verification, deeper newsroom automation, investment in AI infrastructure and skills, and new opportunities for data journalism. The most widely shared expectation is that audiences will increasingly encounter journalism through AI-powered tools rather than traditional news websites or apps. As large language models become embedded in browsers, phones and wearables, search referrals are expected to

Police have arrested three people, including the main accused, in connection with the recent assault on two journalists inside Kalipur College, The Statesman reported. The incident occurred during a student protest when the college principal was surrounded by students. Journalists Tuhin Das and Asik Hossain were covering the protest and taking photographs when Hasan Chowdhury, along with others, allegedly attacked them on campus. Both journalists sustained serious injuries and were taken to hospital before filing a complaint at the Arambagh police station. Initially, no arrests were made, sparking concern among local journalists. Chowdhury, said to be a civic volunteer from the Kotulpur police station area and a former student of the college, was accused of acting like a students’ union leader despite being an outsider. Members of the Arambagh District Press Club strongly protested the delay, demanding accountability and raising concerns about journalist safety. Following this p

The crime beat is often imagined as a chase for exclusives and breaking news. In reality, it is a daily negotiation with chaos: police stations that never sleep, crime scenes charged with grief and anger, families at their most vulnerable, and hours that stretch without warning. For women journalists, it is also a constant negotiation for space in a field that remains deeply male dominated, where credibility must be earned repeatedly and safety is never taken for granted. For Raina Assainar, correspondent with the Free Press Journal in Mumbai, the entry into crime reporting began quietly. But barely a month into the job, a single observation altered the trajectory of her career. In July 2008, as the Ahmedabad serial blasts shook the country, she noticed a brief line in national reports that one of the accused had studied engineering in Navi Mumbai. Acting on instinct, she and a photographer went to the college, persuaded the principal to share records, and traced crucial personal

Morning, welcome to the first issue of The Brief for 2026, and hope you all had a decent start to the new year. Over in Victoria many people of course didn't get that restful break as out of control bush and grass fires swept through several communities, and that gets a lot of coverage in our dailies this morning.  The sense of despair of those affected is ably covered by The Australian which had a good-sized team on this. 'Hundreds of home wiped from the map as state wakes to death and destruction' is the headline on a piece by Damon Johnstone, Mohammed Alfares, John Ferguson and Liam Mendes and that's coupled with a picture of 13-year-old Violet Mitchell sitting in the ruins of the family home and cuddling one of the family's surviving chickens.  The Melbourne-based papers - The Age and Herald Sun - not surprisingly also cover the fires in-depth (many of which are still burning) with Nine's daily using it as the main

Vigor Media Worldwide has secured the media and public relations mandate for Vikram Roller Flour Mills Limited, as the agro-products company looks to strengthen its communication efforts while expanding its presence across regions. The mandate will be handled from the agency’s Delhi-NCR office and will focus on media outreach and brand communication. Established in 1973, Vikram Roller Flour Mills manufactures wheat-based staples including atta, maida, sooji, dalia and basmati rice. Its products cater to both household consumers through leading e-commerce platforms and institutional buyers such as hotels, bakeries and FMCG brands. Speaking on the association, Shubham Garg, Director, Vikram Roller Flour Mills Limited, said, “Vikram Roller Flour Mills has a long presence in the market and is recognised for the quality of its products. As the company continues to engage with markets and stakeholders across regions, communication plays an important role. In this context, we