The Web Media Sammelan and 7th Foundation Day of the Web Journalists Association of India (WJAI) was held in Bhagalpur on December 27.  The event was inaugurated by former Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Prof. Dr. Sanjay Dwivedi, News 18 Group Editor Brajesh Kumar Singh, Amar Ujala Bihar Head Kumar Jitendra Jyoti, and other media experts by lighting the lamp. Speaking during the event, Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said that web media is a strong pillar of democracy, where speed must be balanced with credibility, accuracy, and responsibility. Technical sessions guided journalists on reliable content, Google evaluation, and digital tools. News 18 and Punjab Kesari experts shared insights on news selection and digital tools. As per Amar Ujala, guests were honored by WJAI President Anand Kaushal and General Secretary Dr. Amit Ranjan. Political figures such as Murari Paswan and Rohit Pandey were present. An open session featured journalists discussing security, reco

India witnessed a sharp deterioration in free speech protections in 2025, with journalists among the most targeted groups, according to the Free Speech Collective (FSC) Report, December 2025. The year began with the disappearance and killing of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar in Bastar, setting the tone for a year marked by intimidation, censorship and violence. The FSC documented 14,875 free speech violations, including: - 9 killings (8 journalists and 1 social media influencer) - 117 arrests, including 8 journalists - 11,385 cases of censorship - 208 instances of lawfare (criminal cases filed against individuals) - 3,070 cases of internet control, such as shutdowns, app bans and blocking orders Digital censorship was a major concern, with government requests to withhold thousands of accounts on X. Between January and June 2025, X reported 29,118 removal requests, complying with 26,641. Journalists faced 40 physical attacks, 33 of them targeting reporters in rural ar

Image source: Internet Freedom Foundation, FSC and The Indian Express; Edited by Dinesh Raj M     Indian journalism in 2025 is not operating under a formal ban. Headlines still appear, panels still debate, bylines still move, and that is precisely why the crisis is harder to confront. What the Free Speech Collective’s 2025 report lays bare is not the death of journalism, but its conditioning. It documents something far more effective: a system where speech is allowed in theory, but constrained in practice through procedures, portals, permissions, takedowns, and “friendly calls”  With 14,875 recorded violations, the headline isn’t violence alone, though nine killings, mostly of journalists, should shock any democracy. But the deeper story sits inside newsrooms, not police stations. The report shows that censorship now overwhelmingly outnumbers violence. Over 11,000 instances involved content takedowns, account blocking, institutional regulat

Freelance journalist Ezrela Dalidia Fanai, 41, was found dead at her residence in Aizawl on Christmas Day, The Hindu reported. Police said she had been living alone since her mother’s death in July. Fanai was last known to have answered phone calls on the morning of December 24, but did not respond to a local church group that organised a Christmas carol at her premises later that evening. On December 25, when relatives were unable to reach her by phone, they, along with locals, broke into the house and discovered her lying dead on the floor.

The High Commission of Canada, in collaboration with Newsreel Asia and the Chandigarh Press Club, will host a two-day workshop on narrative journalism and human interest storytelling on February 9–10, 2026. Targeted at mid-level and senior journalists, the programme aims to strengthen storytelling skills by placing people and lived experiences at the center of reportage. Sessions will focus on narrative techniques that foster empathy and deeper public engagement. The workshop will be held at the Chandigarh Press Club, Sector 27-B, with around 40 participants selected through a screening process. Journalists with at least three years of professional experience are eligible to apply. Applicants must arrange their own travel and accommodation if coming from outside Chandigarh. The deadline to apply is January 12, 2026, 11 pm IST, with selected participants notified via email Interested journalists can apply here.

Comedy remains a widely consumed format across platforms. Tapping into this space, Red FM has launched The Aditi Mittal Show, a new original programme. Hosted by stand-up comedian and writer Aditi Mittal, the weekend show is airing across 28 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Chandigarh, and Jammu. The show brings together a mohalla of Aditi’s popular characters, from Aadhe Maa and Munni Mursheed to Non Humans of India and Coach Jagruti, creating a fast-paced, character-driven comedy universe rooted in everyday India. Airing every Saturday from 9 am to 11 am, with a repeat on Sundays, the 13-week series blends satire, sketches, and storytelling, offering a humorous break from the daily grind.

Image source: PC Gamer and MSN; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   Top publishing houses and authors' associations suing AI firms for Copyright violations has become old news by now as we wrap up yet another year of endless debates on AI vs Journalism. However, in what could be the beginning of a new trend with multiple implications, NY Times journalist and author John Carreyrou, along with five other writers, has sued Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Perplexity and xAI alleging that they trained their AI systems on copyrighted works without permission. According to a Reuters report, John and the other writers accused AI companies of pirating their books and feeding them into the large language models (LLMs) that power the companies' chatbots. Though the lawsuit filed at the California federal court is one of several copyright cases brought by authors and other copyright owners against tech companies over the use of their work in AI training. Unlike other pending ca