Thursday, 25 June 2026 #1  ·  Times City  ·  In-depth feature Bedsheets as camouflage, mothers as shields: How they keep girls safe By Devanshi Mehta   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page 12 In the aftermath of the abduction, rape and murder of a 10-year-old homeless girl by a cab driver in south Delhi's Chhatarpur, the reporter conducted ground visits to multiple flyovers across the city where families live on the streets. The piece documents in vivid detail the nocturnal survival strategies employed by mothers — sleeping as outer human shields, wrapping children in heavy bedsheets as camouflage, keeping chilli powder in their dupattas — and captures testimony from women like Fatima, a new mother widowed while pregnant, and Shanti, who has lived on Delhi's streets since childhood. The story also reveals that these women prefer the open streets over government night shelters, which they

  When Palani Kumar explains what his collective does, he frames it as a question of authorship. "We are storytellers for communities whose stories are rarely told. If everyone wants to hear the story of a lion, it matters whether that story is told by the hunter or by the lion itself. We belong to these communities, and we document their lives, livelihoods and struggles from within," he says. That question now has institutional weight behind it. After years of informal workshops, the Chennai-based People's Photographers Collective that Kumar founded has registered as a non-profit trust, a shift he treats as the difference between running projects and building infrastructure. "After years of effort, we've taken an important step. People's Photographers Collective is now a registered non-profit. This marks a new phase in our journey of learning, collaboration and shared creativity," he says. "Becoming a registered trust means we can now cre

Senior journalist Mr Periyasamy passed away following a prolonged illness. His mortal remains were kept at the Chennai Press Club (CPC), where members of the media fraternity gathered to pay their last respects. Many senior journalists, editors and young reporters shared memories of Periyasamy, recalling his valuable contributions to journalism and the lasting impact he made throughout his career. Colleagues described him as a respected figure whose work and guidance influenced generations of journalists, leaving behind a legacy of commitment to the profession.

Harrison Polites has dropped the paywall on his gaming Substack, Infinite Lives, in a bid to bolster the publication's growth, and is part of a wider rethink as to what monetisation looks like for the publication.  Polites introduced the paywall last year under a model that allowed readers to access new stories for a limited time before they moved behind a subscription barrier. He told Influencing most paid subscribers signed up to support his work rather than gain access to archived content. That noted, access to the archives did tempt some people, “But what [people] did was sign up, read the article, and then unsubscribe, which wasn't necessarily the plan.” Polites said the paywall had nevertheless achieved its objectives. “It proved that my writing was worth paying for… It also proved that people believe in the mission of what I'm doing, which is trying to find a way to make gaming journalism more sustainable”.  Polites said Infinite Lives' subscriber base had ne

The Walkley Foundations have confirmed that former ABC journalist Ben Butler has resigned as head of the chair of the Walkley judging committee, following allegations that he was heard to say a colleague should be ““killed and buried in a shallow grave”. He has been replaced by Gay ­Alcorn of The Age. Alcorn is a three-time Walkley Award winner and a senior writer with Good Weekend magazine. Butler’s resignation follows The Australian’s media editor James Madden reporting on allegations of the offensive comments made during a “heated phone conversation” in the ABC’s Melbourne newsroom. Butler resigned from the ABC following the incident, but Butler told The Australian that the events “appear to reflect a distorted version of an overheard private conversation. I resigned from the ABC following a series of short-term contracts.”  Announcing the change of the chair, the Walkley Foundation would only confirm that “Ben Butler has resigned as the chair of the

ASIO sounds alarm on Iran-linked plots and a worsening terror landscape ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has warned the “probable” terror threat setting may understate the real danger, flagging a more volatile mix of ideologies and the prospect of Iran-aligned networks attempting violence in Australia. The intervention sharpens pressure on government to recalibrate public threat messaging and bolster counter-terror and foreign-interference settings amid heightened community anxiety. Covered by: The Australian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian. Karl Stefanovic fallout deepens as Nine weighs exit after far-right podcast storm Channel Nine is grappling with reputational and commercial blowback after Karl Stefanovic’s podcast interview with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with reports ranging from negotiations over his departure to claims he has already been dropped from the Today role. The episode underscores how quickly talent controversies can trigger

Madhur Singh, founder of Climate Action Live, has issued a call for pitches from journalists, researchers, and practitioners across the climate ecosystem. The platform is seeking evidence-based stories focused on climate solutions, including AI and climate transition, grassroots innovation, emerging climate technologies, policy and accountability, and the global climate transition. Formats welcomed include reported features, investigations, explainers, profiles, data stories, and visual journalism. Interested contributors are invited to send a 200–300 word pitch, along with a reporting plan, key sources, and links to previous work, to info@climateaction.live. writing and news media.