Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is accelerating its transition towards a digital-first content strategy, with the WAVES OTT platform and a new pay-per-view content acquisition framework emerging as key pillars of its expansion, especially among younger audiences.  According to information shared in Parliament, Prasar Bharati is now sourcing content for Akashvani, Doordarshan channels and its WAVES OTT platform under its Content Sourcing Policy 2024. The move reflects a broader shift from conventional television and radio broadcasting to digital content distribution.  The pay-per-view framework, launched in 2025, allows the broadcaster to acquire and distribute content specifically designed for OTT and digital platforms, including WAVES. The initiative aims to diversify programming and attract viewers who increasingly consume content online rather than through traditional broadcast channels.  The government also indicated tha

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   It lasted about two hours. That is how long The Wire’s Instagram account disappeared from India on February 9. In digital terms, that may sound trivial. In democratic terms, it is anything but. The trigger was a 52-second satirical cartoon criticising Narendra Modi for avoiding questions in Parliament, referencing former Army chief MM Naravane’s memoir on the 2020 China standoff. What followed was telling. Users opening The Wire’s Instagram page were met with a stark notice: the account was “not available in India” due to a legal request. The account had over 1.3 million followers. The satire vanished. So did the newsroom, briefly.   When questioned, officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied blocking the account. Informally, The Wire learned that the ministry had asked Meta to restrict the cartoon alone, and the platform had blocked the entire account “in error”. Access wa

Over 800 journalists and media workers in Tripura staged a three-hour mass sit-in protest in front of Rabindra Bhavan in Agartala on Monday, demanding action on a 11-point charter of issues from the state government.  The protestors, from various media organisations, submitted the charter to Chief Minister Manik Saha, calling for urgent steps on press freedom, journalist safety, fair access to information, better working conditions, and other professional concerns.  According to the Tripura Chronicle, media professionals from various organisations carried banners and raised their voices, urging the state government to respond to their memorandum.  The demonstration underscores growing unease among the journalistic community in Tripura regarding professional rights, protection, and government accountability on media matters. 

Kulithalai police have registered cross cases against Srirangam MLA M Palaniyandi, his son Vimalathithan, two quarry workers and two journalists following an altercation at a private quarry in Kulithalai on January 30. As per a DTNext reported, TV journalist I Kathiravan and cameraman R Sebastian were allegedly assaulted after entering the quarry to record visuals. Both sides sustained injuries and were treated at government hospitals in Kulithalai and Tiruchy. Cases were registered on February 5 based on complaints from both parties. Journalist associations condemned the incident and staged protests.

Two international rights organisations, the Human Rights Foundation and FORUM-ASIA, have approached the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seeking the release of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj, calling his imprisonment illegal. Mehraj was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in March 2023 and has been lodged in Tihar Jail since then, with his trial yet to begin. Rights groups say his detention is linked to his earlier association with a Kashmir-based human rights group. They have urged the UN body to declare his detention unlawful and ask the Indian government to release him immediately. Mehraj is accused in an NGO-related case, which activists say targets independent voices in Kashmir.

Refraction Media managing editor Jasmine Fellows has gone back to university to undertake a PHD. The decision, she said, came from annoyance about science publications being closed down.  “I am so sick of science media outlets being shut down. Twenty years of Cosmos gone, 40 years of Double Helix magazine inspiring young Australians, gone,” Fellows told Influencing.  “I know too many science journalists who are underemployed right now. They can tell the most amazing stories, investigate, dig-up stories, and information that Australians need to help them make evidence-based decisions to participate in democracy.” Fellows is studying the Science Media Ecosystem while at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science for her PhD.  For Fellows, to be at the university is really an exciting and energising place to be. She said, while only a few weeks in, she hopes to “find some methods to better understand this ecosystem and look for opportunities”.