The Ananda Vikatan group has vowed to take action “to both defend freedom of expression and restore access to the magazine’s website” indicating possible legal action even as the publication's website remains inaccessible to most users. The publication's face-off with the government began after the magazine has resisted an order by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to take down a cartoon featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a web-only graphic that drew the ire of BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai. The cartoon featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in chains seated beside U.S. President Donald Trump, a reference to undocumented Indians in chains being deported from the U.S. had triggered the IB ministry to block the website without any prior intimation. Aroon Deep for The Hindu reported that while the website was rendered inaccessible by some Internet Service Providers without a formal announcement from the Union government, the I&B Ministry issued a b

BIG FM hosted the third edition of its BIG IMPACT AWARDS on Feb 25 in Mumbai, celebrating individuals and businesses making a difference through innovation, creativity and purpose-driven leadership. The event, which brought together industry leaders and entertainment figures, honoured those redefining success beyond profits, according to an official press release accessed by Influencing India.  Prominent personalities, including Bobby Deol, Amruta Fadnavis, Dia Mirza, Divya Khossla, Taha Shah Badussha, Karan Veer Mehra, Hina Khan, Shantanu Maheshwari, Aditi Govitrikar, Ridhi Dogra, and Varun Sood, attended the ceremony. Miss India winners Nandini Gupta, Rekha Pandey and Nikita Porwal also graced the event. Among the winners, Amruta Fadnavis was recognised as "Inspirational Woman Achiever of the Year," while Bobby Deol received "Game Changer in the Entertainment Industry." Divya Khossla was honoured as "Best Actress for Savi," and Karan Veer Mehra won "The Reality Star" award. Hin

Nextmedia last night announced at its What's Next event its new channel masthead will be named techpartner.news and said it was, "a new era for the Australian tech channel" .  The new publication name will come into effect when the CRN Australia name returns to its global owner The Channel Company on April 1 as announced earlier this month and previously reported by Influencing. It means that come April 1, nextmedia and The Channel Company are set to compete head-to-head in the lucrative channel market.   Nextmedia's Publishing Director for B2B Velvet-Belle Templeman said, “after 20 years under a global licensing arrangement, The Channel Company (TCC) has chosen not to renew the CRN (Computer Reseller News) name licence for nextmedia as they expand their business globally. "This marks an exciting new chapter for the nextmedia team to launch a fresh, home-grown, local publication that will continue to serve and support the Australian channel community,” “We are so e

Danika Mason is joining Channel Nine's Today show team from next week, presenting daily from the company's Sydney headquarters as she replaces Alex Cullen who was stood down by the network. Mason told Carl Stefanovic this morning she was excited about what adventures her new role as the Today sport presenter would take her on. "I'm actually so thankful, it's so wonderful to be a part of the family," Mason said. "It's so exciting that you're all welcoming me into your home each morning. Mason has been with the network since 2012, starting her career as an off-air producer for Today. She currently works across 9News, The Sunday Footy Show, NRL on Nine and Wide World of Sports, as well as in frequent fill-in slots on Today. She will continue to work with the Wide World of Sports on their weekly NRL coverage. Previous sports presenter Cullen stepped down from the role late last month after accepting a $50,000 challenge from billionaire Adrian Portelli to help him rebrand on a

Tomorrow's - Friday - Australian Financial Review will carry the second annual Highflyer luxury magazine insert, and at 50 pages it's set to make an impact Highflyer will appear as a supplement insert in the March issue of AFR Magazine, which is out tomorrow, as well as on afr.com. According to publishers Nine, the annual 50-page guide "seeks to make frequent fliers’ lives easier by curating a “one stop shop” that compares first, business and premium economy offerings across the major airlines as well as guides to aviation and hotel point schemes and news on additional routes in and out of Australia". Highflyer content is also regularly updated on afr.com. Acclaimed columnist Joe Aston - who has just opened his own online news and feature venture, Rampart -  returns to Highflyer with a feature close to his heart - the inflight experience of Qantas. There are also features on ways to fly in a flat bed for less, luxury stopover options and the best culinary offerings in a

The Centre’s proposal to begin the delimitation exercise has sparked outrage across Tamil Nadu, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin calling it a “sword hanging over South states.” Delimitation refers to redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies based on population shifts. Hot Off the Press The Indian Express’ Anjishnu Das explained that Tamil Nadu, along with other southern states, fears that their success in population control will penalise them by reducing their representation in Parliament, benefiting northern states with higher birth rates. Union Home Minister Amit Shah attempted to allay fears, assuring that “not a single southern state will lose seats,” reported The Hindu. However, the concerns run deeper than just seat allocation--Tamil Nadu leaders worry about political dominance shifting towards the North, reported Neeraj Chauhan for The Hindustan Times. The debate has intensified, with Stalin accusing the Centre of favouring Hindi-s

  The Association of Radio Operators India (AROI) has welcomed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations under the Telecommunications Act 2023, calling them a significant step for the FM radio industry. Released on February 21, 2025, TRAI's proposals introduce a unified licensing system, streamlining authorisations and reducing administrative burdens. Private FM stations would be allowed to air up to 10 minutes of news and current affairs per hour and provide live coverage of national sports events, a shift from previous restrictions. Broadcasters would also be permitted to simultaneously stream radio content online, adapting to changing listener habits. AROI acknowledged the technology-neutral approach, which delinks service authorisations from frequency auctions and allows broadcasters to adopt digital transmission methods. The removal of mandatory co-location requirements would enable cost optimisation, and voluntary infrastructure sharing with telec