Image source: The Hindu, Business Today, PM India, Raw Pixel and Tribune India; Edited by Dinesh Raj M The government’s latest flagship agriculture push, the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY), has been met with a mix of optimism and cautious scrutiny in the press. At the heart of the Rs 24,000-crore-a-year initiative lies the convergence of 36 schemes from 11 ministries, targeting 100 low-performing districts–a scale not seen in any prior agri-scheme. Hot Off the Press The Hindu dissected the scheme’s operational vision, highlighting that committees at national, state and district levels will lead planning and execution. Notably, each District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti will include progressive farmers and prepare plans aligned to national goals such as crop diversification, water conservation and organic farming. The inclusion of private sector partnerships was flagged as a key pillar. Meanwhile, Hindustan Times framed the scheme’s urgency and potential reac

<>   In the early days of The Conversation, a small team of ten journalists huddled around a single IKEA table, their phones constantly ringing as they reached out to academics across the country.  Editor-in-Chief Misha Ketchell remembers assembling that table himself with an Allen key, creating what would become the humble beginning of a groundbreaking media organisation which has now spread globally.  The initial pitch to academics seemed almost comical, Ketchell told Influencing Insider. "We've just started, we have no audience, no money, and we can't pay you - but would you write an article in the next three hours?"  Despite numerous rejections, the team persevered, gradually building trust and understanding between the worlds of journalism and academia. Arguably their breakthrough moment came during one of the darkest events in recent history - the Christchurch massacre. When the editor called Ketchell suggesting they wait a few weeks before covering the tragedy,

Australian Podcast Ranker for June has revealed the ABC has topped the charts with a podcast that averages just over 6000 downloads an episode. ABC News Top Stories produced 415 episodes in June, with 2.5 million downloads between them. With a monthly listenership of 781,067, according to Triton’s ranker, the podcast toppled Hamish and Andy from the top spot. The duo Hamish released four new episodes in June, to 776,321 listeners – and 1.5 million downloads. ABC’s Mushroom Case Daily scored 3.35 million downloads across 29 episodes, to land in third place this month – its highest placement to date, and no doubt its peak. But there’s still the sentencing to come, so expect another ABC News Daily and Conversations also performed well for the national broadcaster, with 1.17 million and 2.1 million downloads respectively, and monthly listenerships of 405,000 and 365,000. Mamamia Out Loud slipped to fourth place, with 537,000 listeners and 1.74 million downloads, while Sha

  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

    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.