Margherita Journalists’ Association marked its 23rd Foundation Day with a renewed call for stronger safety nets for journalists and deeper public engagement on issues surrounding the Northeastern Coalfields (NEC) of Coal India Ltd. The event also reflected on the evolving role of the media in Assam amid rapid information shifts and rising pressures on the profession, India Today NR reported. The programme started with association president Ram Prasad Ambedkar hoisting the flag, followed by a memorial tribute led by vice-president Abdul Alim. Tarun Gogoi, president of the Ledo Central Namghar managing committee, lit the ceremonial lamp before the portrait of Assamese litterateur Padmanath Gohain Baruah. A special tribute to the late musician Zubeen Garg became one of the most emotional moments of the day. The foundation day was formally inaugurated by senior journalist and writer Jagat Changmai, who in his address described the press as “society’s vigilant sentinel” and emph

The Mysore Ladies Association felicitated five city-based journalists who recently received the District Kannada Rajyotsava Award during the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations held at the District Kannada Sahitya Parishat in Vijayanagar. Journalists M. T. Yogesh Kumar and photojournalist Lakshminarayana Yadav of Star of Mysore, along with K. B. Ramesh Nayaka, M. Mahesh Bhageeratha and photojournalist Hampa Nagaraj, were honoured for receiving the District Rajyotsava Award. Photojournalists S. R. Madhusudan and M. S. Basavanna (Anurag Basavaraj) were also felicitated on the occasion. The event was inaugurated by Mallige Veeresh, former Chairperson of the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, and the President of the Mysore Ladies Association, marking a celebratory tribute to local journalists and their contributions, Star of Mysore reported.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren held an interactive session with former UNICEF child journalists and young people at his residence on the occasion of Children’s Day and Jharkhand Foundation Day. During the interaction he highlighted the government’s efforts to support education through scholarship and financial assistance schemes. He also spoke about the upgradation of 80 government schools into CM Schools of Excellence, aimed at providing high-quality education comparable to private institutions, with plans to expand the initiative to rural regions. Students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and Jharkhand Balika Awasiya Vidyalaya shared how schemes such as the Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana, Guruji Credit Card Scheme and CM School of Excellence have strengthened access to education and overall development. UNICEF Jharkhand chief Kaninika Mitra commended the state’s commitment to ensuring that every child moves forward, Millenniumpost reported.

The Times of India (TOI) won three of the eight honours at the Goa State Journalists Awards announced by the Department of Information and Publicity. TOI’s Rajtilak Naik bagged the Best Photograph of the Year award, Marcus Mergulhao was recognised for excellence in sports reporting and Gauree Malkarnekar received the award for reporting on art, as per TOI report Veteran cartoonist Alex Fernandes was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards were presented by Goa CM Pramod Sawant.

The Delhi Sports Journalists Association (DSJA) recently organised its annual awards ceremony at the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). During the programme, three senior sports journalists Pradeep Magazine, Vipin Bahuguna and K. P. Mohan were honoured for their significant contributions to sports journalism. Olympian Mirabai Chanu was awarded Sportsperson of the Year, and her coach, Vijay Sharma, was recognized as Coach of the Year. Anupam Goswami, Chairman of the Pro Kabaddi League, was named Administrator of the Year. The event was graced by Rohan Jaitley, President, DDCA, and Virendra Sachdeva, President, Delhi BJP and Secretary General, Archery Association of India, who attended as the Chief Guests. Ashok Sharma, Secretary, DDCA, was also presen, Khel Today reported.

Image source: Magic Bricks, TOI; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   In a huge relief to Union and state govts, Supreme Court on Tuesday recalled its May 16 judgment in which it had directed demolition of public projects worth Rs 20,000 crore as these were granted ex-post facto environmental clearance (EC) after payment of penalty. Hot off the Press A bench of CJI B R Gavai, and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Ujjal Bhuyan by a 2-1 majority agreed to recall the judgment. CJI Gavai, in the majority view, said if the judgment is not recalled, it will result in demolition of buildings or projects constructed with Rs 20,000 crore of public exchequer money, reported Dhananjay Mohapatra for The Times of India. AIIMS in Odisha, and a greenfield airport in Karnataka were among the projects cited by the CJI. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, writing separate but concurring opinions, allowed a batch of review petitions and declared that the May verdict, d

  News Corp may become the latest media company to become embroiled in an underpayments scandal relating to an overtime agreement. As reported by Daanyal Saeed at Crikey today, News Corp is staring down the barrel of an audit into allegedly underpaying staff dating back as far as a decade.  The union representing journalists, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), is looking into what could end in a multi-million dollar bill for News Corp if it’s found the media giant hasn’t been properly paying staff, as The Age first reported in late October. The union’s suspicion relates primarily to unpaid overtime — News’ enterprise agreement requires that staff are owed double pay for additional shifts when working more than five shifts across a seven-day week.