When International Women’s Day came around last year, Karissa Breen and the KBI.media team decided to do “something different” so they launched IWD Digital Magazine. This year, the team took it up a notch.  “Last year, we added a different dimension to what we do daily outside of the usual podcast, which was successful,” Breen told Influencing. “This year, we wanted to make it more creative, more fun, [producing] something I’d see as a kid, when I used to pick up magazines. “It’s now something we thought to make each year to highlight the fantastic, dedicated women involved in tech for International Women’s Day.” This year’s International Women’s Day Digital Magazine launched on March 8. The magazine’s  overarching theme of ‘Accelerating Action” was covered through interviews, articles, and listicles across the 23-page editorial.  “We spoke to women who are breaking barriers and engaging in projects that perhaps people within the space aren

  Hans van Leeuwen. Australia’s loss appears to be the UK’s gain as experienced international journalist Hans van Leeuwen gets to grips with global reporting on economics and politics for London's The Telegraph.  “It’s a very wide-ranging brief. To say the least,” said van Leeuwen on his LinkedIn page after taking on the role of International Economics  wide editor at the Telegraph in London, adding, “First stop: Germany.” The journo’s previous position for almost seven years was a Europe Correspondent for the Australian Financial Review where he wrote the kind of insightful stories only someone based on the continent could.  But back in March, the Fin decided to dispense with van Leeuwen’s services, bringing the Europe-based role back home and in-house with journalists making occasional forays to Europe.  Based in London for the Fin, the UK capital is still van Leeuwen’s base and an ideal jumping off point to cover all European news - no capital city b

In a scroll-hungry world, art journalists are crafting quieter, more lasting stories--documenting brushstrokes, clay and culture with nuance while adapting to the evolving rules of digital storytelling. Bombay-based journalist Riddhi Doshi, whose work spans BBC to Condé Nast Traveller, says the art beat didn’t begin with Instagram. “Before curated feeds and digital galleries, I was already walking into artist studios, talking to creators, building relationships on the ground. I've always been drawn to the intimacy of those moments,” she shared. Yet even she acknowledges that “Instagram isn’t just a source of ideas anymore; it’s become a real-time newsroom.” Reflecting on her reporting process, she added, “Sometimes I spend hours on the intro or conclusion, just trying to reconnect to the emotional thread of a piece. When you're under a deadline, you write fast, but often you still need to hear the story aloud in your head before it makes sense on paper.” Doshi

Dr K Vikram Rao, veteran journalist and national president of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), died in Lucknow at the age of 87. Rao had a journalism career spanning 45 years, most of which he spent at the Times of India. He also worked with Economic Times, Filmfare and served as the South Asia correspondent for Voice of America. A New Delhi native, he declined a post in the Indian Police Service to join TOI as a reporter, later working across cities including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Shillong. He was imprisoned during the Emergency in 1976 for opposing press censorship and remained a strong advocate for journalist welfare throughout his life. Re-elected as IFWJ president in 2010, he travelled to over 30 countries and held key roles in the Press Council of India and PIB. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted, “Saddened by the demise of Dr. K. Vikram Rao... He was a prolific writer and an insightful commentator who made a noteworthy contribution to In

The Central Board of Secondary Education announced the results for the Class 12 exams on Tuesday, revealing a success rate of 88.4 per cent, a slight improvement from last year’s 88 per cent.  CBSE’s Class 10 results too showed a marginal improvement of 0.06 per cent in the pass rate which was recorded at 93.66 per cent. Hot off the Press A total 24,867 students achieved an aggregate score of over 95 per cent and girls outperformed boys once again, securing a pass percentage of 91.6 per cent compared to 85.7 per cent for boys, reported Meghna Dulia for The Times of India. Vijayawada was followed by Thiruvananthapuram with a pass rate of 99.3 per cent, Chennai with 97.4 per cent, Bengaluru 96 per cent and Delhi West 95.4 per cent. In the Delhi region alone, 3.1 lakh students appeared for the exam, of which 2.9 lakh cleared it. In keeping with its recent policy to curb unhealthy competition, CBSE did not declare a merit list. However, merit certificates will be issued to the

The arrival of new gaming journalists Rio Robayo and Matt Murphy at Qualbert.com with the aim to have “a closer look” at the Australian game development scene is the right move, believes founder and Editor-In-Chief Dr Ben Schuster.  Qualbert began as a Facebook page before becoming a fully fledged site in 2020. Schuster says it has snowballed since then. Qualbert is the name of Schuster’s online identity. The publication focuses on the Australian games industry with a close eye on indie games via its news, features, interviews and reviews.  Schuster told Influencing, “We want to spread the message of many Australian indie games to a broader audience, particularly games that might not be as widely known. “We also want to highlight many games that fly under the radar and maybe deserve attention. So we’ll look at doing more interviews, reviews, insight articles into the local game development, and getting involved in as many local events as possible.” Robayo and Mu

In an era where every influencer with a ring light calls themselves a journalist, Jarshad NK still believes in the fundamentals—storytelling, substance, and covering news that matters. With over two decades in journalism, he’s held the line in some of India’s most prestigious newsrooms—Reuters, The Hindu Business Line, Economic Times, Forbes—and taught an entire generation of cub reporters as Dean at ACJ. Today, he leads the editorial charge as editor-in-chief of YourStory Media, one of India’s foremost voices in startup journalism. And yet, Jarshad isn’t clinging to the past. He’s dissecting the future—to get a pie of the AI and tech action. Mentorship, Machines & the Messy Middle “I joined journalism at a time when mistakes weren’t instantly amplified,” Jarshad says, reflecting on a career that predates X (formerly Twitter) outrage cycles. “Back then, your editor had time for a conversation. Today, most young journalists are thrown into a 24/7 digit