Seamus Byrne joins Influencing as Tech Editor-at-Large
By Phil Sim in Media News on Tuesday, 11th February 2020 at 11:28amComment from Influencing CEO Phil Sim
 
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Seamus Byrne has joined our team as Editor-at-Large to drive the reboot of our technology media and comms vertical.
 
Way back when I launched the MediaConnect business in 2000, we began with a website called ITJourno. I’d been a technology journalist and I thought there was a need for a website that made it easier for tech journalists to work with the PR community and vice versa.
 
Over the years, our business has grown and diversified. We scaled beyond tech and now do all kinds of cool, clever techie stuff in media engagement and monitoring.
 
However, the ITJourno community is still where my heart lies. 
 
So in the year where we will celebrate our 20th anniversar...
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Press Club of Kashmir lauds LG's Sinha's crackdown on fake journalists
By Staff Writer in Media News on Tuesday, 04th November 2025 at 7:02pm
                                    
                                        
 
Club president Mohammad Saleem Pandit lauded the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) for issuing clear guidelines to prevent the impersonation of “uneducated, self-styled” individuals posing as journalists. He said the order would help protect the integrity of the profession and ensure that only verified and qualified media professionals are recognised.
He also urged all District Information Officers (DIOs) to ensure that press releases, media invites and official briefings are shared only with verified journalists or recognised media outlets. “A close watch must be kept on any person or entity misusing media credentials or attempting to malign officials, institutions, or individuals for personal gain,” Pandit said.
The directive comes after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha instructed officers to take stringent action against fake journalists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. During a high-level review meeting in Srinagar, Sinha emphasised that those misu
                                    
                                TODAY'S TEN: Counting every voice or losing it? The SIR debate begins
By Pragadish Kirubakaran and Meena R Prashant in Media News on Tuesday, 04th November 2025 at 4:09pm
                                    
                                        
Image source: Wikimedia Commons, The Hindu and The Tribune; Edited by Dinesh Raj M
 
India’s democracy enters another test of trust today as the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls begins across 12 States and Union Territories—covering over 51 crore voters. What’s meant to be a clean-up of voter lists has instead sparked fears of disenfranchisement, legal challenges and political unease.
Hot off the Press
The Times of India reported that the DMK has moved the Supreme Court, calling the SIR “arbitrary” and warning it could “disenfranchise lakhs of voters.” Senior leader R.S. Bharathi argued that Tamil Nadu had already completed a voter revision earlier this year and that a fresh enumeration, similar to Bihar’s, risks removing names without due process.
The Hindu Bureau detailed how the exercise will run from November 4 to December 4 across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and others, with final rolls set for 
                                    
                                AZK Media’s new AI Search PR Solution - six months in the making
By Will McLennan in Media News on Tuesday, 04th November 2025 at 1:26pm
                                        
Tech PR Agency AZK Media has launched its new AI Search PR Solution, providing tools for B2B companies to be ‘AI search ready’. 
It’s a solution that, according to AZK Media Founder Azadeh Williams, that was at least six months in the making, and it took that long to make sure it worked faultlessly. 
“We did an intense amount of research and tested many different tools and strategies. We re-evaluated our entire workflow and put so much effort into creating a neat and practical way to help our clients without over-engineering it.” Williams told Influencing. 
“It took about six months from the time we decided to pivot until we did all the research.”
Williams described the new solution as “a PR strategy that is Generative Engine Optimised first to make our clients search-ready in the age of AI and ready for new ways prospects are finding them”. 
The research by AZKMedia found potential clients were increasingly conducting AI-led searches and obtaining AI-gene
                                    
                                Changes at Junkee Media as Griffin and Stewart depart
By Tony Bosworth in Media News on Tuesday, 04th November 2025 at 9:21am
                                    
                                        Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director at Junkee Media, Alice Griffin has announced she is leaving the online publisher after three years to focus on her own creative work.  
Alice Griffin.
Also leaving after two years is Multimedia Reporter Ky Stewart who said on LinkedIn: “I’ve learnt that you need to take care of yourself when things aren’t quite working out the way you wanted them to. Working in Australian youth publishing is no easy task, especially when you’re the only Indigenous person in the room.”
Ky Stewart.
Griffin, also announcing her move on LinkedIn, said: “ After three years, two (hot!) publication relaunches, several podcasts, and reaching communities in the millions, I’ve decided it’s time to move on from my role as Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of Junkee Media and start focusing on my own creative work.” 
She added that “introducing Junkee’s next era and taking the publications from site-first to a fully fledged editorial ecosy
                                    
                                THE BRIEF: Climate challenges
By Tony Bosworth in Media News on Tuesday, 04th November 2025 at 6:13am
                                    
                                        
Morning and welcome to Tuesday on a day Liberal leader Sussan Ley very soon has to make a decision - and no it's not which horse to back in the Melbourne Cup.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that couldn't be truer this morning thanks to a great shot by Nine newspapers' Alex Ellinghausen whose work graces the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald this morning, and which shows the pressures a somewhat lonely-looking leader faces.
The serious papers, as they are sometimes called, are certainly analysing, dissecting and reporting in depth on the challenges facing Ley after the Nationals ditched any aim of going for net zero emissions by a set date, though in fairness, as pointed out in the Sydney Morning Herald lead story, Ley has never advocated for net zero herself. 
At the SMH, and The Age ('Coalition in crisis as Ley fights for her job' - SMH) there are certainly a good number of journos working on the ever-evolving saga. The lead is penned by Paul Sakka
                                    
                                APUWJ and APC condemn 'unethical' interview of child abuse victim
By Staff Writer in Media News on Monday, 03rd November 2025 at 9:37pm
                                    
                                        
The Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) and the Arunachal Press Club (APC) have condemned a media outlet for allegedly publishing an interview video featuring a child allegedly involved in a recent abuse case in Mebo, East Siang district.
In a joint statement, the organisations called the act a violation of media ethics and child protection norms. They cited guidelines from the Press Council of India (PCI) and provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which prohibit disclosing the identity of minors in cases involving alleged sexual or physical abuse.
The statement said that broadcasting such content compromises the dignity of the child and breaches legal safeguards. It further urged journalists, media organisations, and digital creators to exercise restraint and uphold ethical standards when reporting on sensitive cases.
“Responsible journalism means informing the public without compromising a victim’s dignity or rights
                                    
                                Jharkhand journalists honoured at Media Excellence Awards 2025
By Staff Writer in Media News on Monday, 03rd November 2025 at 9:26pm
                                    
                                        
Veteran and emerging journalists from Jharkhand were honoured at the Media Excellence Awards 2025, organised by the Ranchi Press Club on Sunday, November 2. The event celebrated excellence across print, electronic, and visual journalism, recognising outstanding contributions to the field.
According to The Stateman, senior journalist Srinivas, formerly associated with Prabhat Khabar, received the Lifetime Achievement Award along with a cash prize of Rs 51,000 for his decades of work in regional journalism. Awards carrying Rs 25,000 each were presented to Shakeel Akhtar (Best Reporting – Print, Prabhat Khabar), Rajkumar Singh (Best Reporting – Electronic, Samachar Wala), Manik Bose (Best Photography – Print, Dainik Bhaskar), and Rakesh Tiwari (Best Video Journalist, Aaj Tak).
In the outstanding category, Sonali Das, Brajesh Rai, Chandan Mishra, Dilip Srivastava, Neelu, and Shyam Kishore were recognised for their work, while Gauri was honoured as an emerging journalist.
The awa
                                    
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