Impressed by West Bengal’s recent decision to provide health insurance, higher pensions for retired journalists and a Durga Puja grant to media professionals, the Assam Union of Working Journalists (Assam Barta Jibi Sangha) has urged the Assam government to introduce similar welfare measures for journalists in the state. In a statement, union president Madhusudhan Medhi and general secretary Anjan Kumar Sarma urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to act on the demand. The union sought an increase in both the pension amount and the number of beneficiaries under Assam’s journalist pension scheme, introduced in 2017. It also demanded comprehensive health insurance, citing rising medical expenses. The union raised concerns over limited medical reimbursements and delays in issuing DIPR accreditation cards to working journalists, including senior journalists, India Today reported.  

The Andhra Pradesh government has called for applications for the 2025 Best Journalist Awards, honouring journalists for their work and contribution to the field. The awards will be presented in 12 categories, with cash prizes between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. Information and Public Relations Director K.S. Viswanathan said in a press release that eligible journalists must submit their applications by 5 p.m. on September 28. Applications should be sent to the Director, Information and Public Relations Department, second floor, NTR Administrative Building, Pandit Nehru Bus Station, Vijayawada-520013. The Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao Pantulu Best Journalist Award carries Rs 2 lakh and is open to full-time journalists with at least 10 years of experience working with Telugu or English newspapers or periodicals published in Andhra Pradesh. Three Best Rural Journalist Awards, named after Khasa Subbarao, Mutnuri Krishna Rao and Madduri Chandrasekhar Rao, carry Rs 1 lakh each. The Savitribai

The Uttar Pradesh Association of Journalists (UPAJ) has demanded a pension scheme for journalists and an effective law for their protection. The demands were raised at the association’s provincial executive meeting held on Sunday at the common hall of MLA Niwas-2 in Darulshafa. The meeting discussed issues related to the safety, dignity and social security of journalists. UPAJ president Sarvesh Kumar Singh and general secretary Anand Lal Karna highlighted the role of journalists working in districts, tehsils and rural areas. The association demanded a pension scheme for accredited and unaccredited journalists after the age of 60. It also called for a journalist protection law and strict action in cases of assault and harassment. The meeting also sought financial assistance for the families of deceased journalists and support for elderly journalists. NUJ national general secretary Triveni Narayan Tiwari and former NUJI president Ashok Malik, Journalist Prasoon Shukla , JDU (S)

  Monday, 7 September 2026 The Times of India, New Delhi #1  ·  Times City  ·  Ground report / In-depth feature Home Away From Home, But At What Cost? / Next To South Campus, Exorbitant Rates Don't Translate Into Safety, Amenities By Devanshi Mehta   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page Page 7 A ground-level investigation into the unsafe, overcrowded PG accommodation ecosystem in Satya Niketan, the student housing hub adjacent to Delhi University's South Campus, where landlords illegally modify buildings to pack in more rooms, charging up to Rs 20,000 a month for conditions students describe as unhygienic and dangerous. The story draws on named student testimonies, quotes from a former DDA planning commissioner, and contextualises decades of unregulated densification since DU's South Campus opened in 1973. The reporting forms the contextual backbone of the day's biggest breaking news

  Employees of Madhyamam have begun an indefinite strike, alleging eight months of unpaid salaries for permanent staff and pressure on employees to resign and return on contracts with lower pay and fewer benefits. The protest began on Thursday outside the newspaper’s head office in Vellimadukunnu, with employees saying repeated discussions with the management had failed to resolve their long-pending demands. Reji K P, Madhyamam’s Kottayam Chief of News Bureau and president of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, told Influencing India that the salary crisis began in January 2026. He alleged that around 200 permanent employees were pressured to resign during this period, with more than 50 employees across different positions subsequently re-employed on contracts. According to Reji, permanent employees across the organisation’s units, including Delhi, have now gone without regular salaries for eight months. Portions of the January salary were paid in instalments in Jul

For senior journalist and editor Patricia Mukhim, journalism has never been about choosing the safest words. It has meant asking uncomfortable questions, standing with those she believes are being wronged and speaking even when doing so comes at a cost. In a recent episode of Influencing Insider, Mukhim, editor of The Shillong Times and Padma Shri awardee, reflected on the backlash she faced after an earlier article on tourism in Meghalaya was brought back into the public discourse following violence in Shillong. The article, titled “Meghalaya Can Do Without Maggie Noodle Tourism”, was written in 2024 after Mukhim witnessed tourists cooking by the roadside near Umiam Lake and leaving behind plastic waste. Her argument, she said, was not directed at any particular state or community but at a model of tourism that brought visitors into Meghalaya without contributing meaningfully to its local economy or accounting for its ecological impact. “I write what I feel,” Mukhim sai

The Journalists Union of Sikkim (JUS) has expressed concern over two separate incidents involving journalists in New Delhi and called for fair and impartial inquiries into the allegations. In a statement issued on September 5, the union said two women journalists, Shaheen Khan and Nafisa Khan, had alleged that they were detained and assaulted by Delhi Police personnel at Saket Police Station on September 3 while covering a public event in South Delhi. The journalists, who were on assignment for 4PM News Network, alleged that they were taken to the police station and physically assaulted. They also raised allegations of identity and community-based remarks during the incident. Delhi Police has denied the allegations, describing them as baseless and factually incorrect. According to the police, the journalists were taken to the police station after their scooter allegedly obstructed a designated VVIP security route despite repeated instructions to move it. Police also denied that th