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

  The Mooknayak Deputy Editor Ankit Pachauri has been selected for the prestigious Voices Fellowship organised by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune. Held from December 16–20 under IISER’s CARE Project, the five‑day programme brought together around 40 journalists from across India to strengthen science, environment and climate reporting through a data‑driven approach. Sessions covered topics including climate science, data journalism, fact‑checking, visualisation tools, and integrating field reporting with scientific evidence, led by scientists, researchers and senior environmental journalists. The fellowship was mentored by Nidhi Jamwal and Hirdesh Joshi, with Dr Shalini Sharma as programme coordinator. According to The Mooknayak, Pachauri said the training helped him view climate change as not only an environmental crisis but also one linked to social justice, public health, livelihoods and constitutional rights, stressing t

Journalist Farhan Khan, 30, died late Sunday evening following a road accident on the Bulbulpur–Sithauli road in Patranga, Jagran reported. According to Jagran, the accident occurred while Khan was returning from Khajuri village in Tikaitnagar. It is suspected that his motorcycle lost balance, struck a tree and overturned into a ditch, leaving him critically injured.

Senior journalist Jitu Sharma Rajkhowa, President of the Assam State Journalists’ Association, has been conferred the Swarna Hazarika Memorial Journalist Award 2025 by the Sadou Asom Lekhika Samaroh Samiti, The Sentinel reported. Rajkhowa, a prominent figure in Assam’s media landscape, played an active role in the Assam Agitation against illegal foreigners, enduring repeated hardships during the movement. He later dedicated himself to social service while continuing his journalistic career. With over 42 years of experience, Rajkhowa has consistently highlighted social issues and human suffering through his reporting. He currently serves as the Bokakhat correspondent of Asomiya Pratidin and is Editor‑in‑Chief of Raijor Khabor, published from Bokakhat, The Sentinel reported.