Famous Innovations has been onboarded as the official communications partner for the World Pickleball League (WPBL).   The agency will lead WPBL’s digital presence with a full-spectrum mandate, covering content strategy, real-time storytelling, social-first videos, trend-driven engagement, influencer collaborations, and daily channel management.  Gaurav Natekar, founder & CEO of WPBL, said the collaboration aims to build not just a league but a cultural movement around Pickleball in India.  Shiv Sethuraman, chief transformation officer at Famous Innovations, called it an exciting opportunity to shape the identity of one of India’s most dynamic new sports ventures, adding that the agency is all in to help build a bold, community-rooted league.

Image source: India Today, PTI, Bhaskar English, Deccan Chronicle, TNIE and India TV News; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as Vice President first made headlines yesterday but what was left unsaid spoke louder, at least according to some media reports.  Hot off the Press Diwakar and Akhilesh Singh for The Times of India traced the beginning of the fallout to Dhankhar’s surprise acceptance of the Opposition’s impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, which the Modi government had planned to initiate in the Lok Sabha. His uncharacteristic support for Mallikarjun Kharge and a refusal to toe the line triggered a silent fury best exemplified by the Prime Minister’s tersely-worded farewell on microblogging platform X. The Hindu's Sreeparna Chakrabarty highlighted the chain of events that suggested deepening cracks: no Cabinet members attending Dhankhar’s final Business Advisory Committee meeting, opposition parties rallying behind their for

Alice Clarke has had a successful 2025 so far. In March, the consumer technology and game journalist picked up the Lizzy for Best Games Reviewer at the Australian IT Journalism Awards.  Just last Thursday, Clarke joined Influencing Insider, where she explained how she reviews games.  “I approach games reviewing the same way I approach tech reviewing…Generally, I get the code, play the game, think about it, and focus on ‘is it what it said it was supposed to be’; if it's not, is it better or worse? “Then I ask myself questions: Did I enjoy it? Was it original? Was it good? Was it fun? And even if the answer to everything is that it was good, that doesn't necessarily mean that's fun, and vice versa. “There are a range of different factors to balance. You also have to look at the narrative or the gameplay, the broader cultural implications of the narrative in the gameplay, and how it fits in with other games.” Clarke didn’t just provide insight into her game revie

    The news that long running Vacations & Travel magazine is up for sale - as its ex-editor claimed on LinkedIn - is no longer the case according to Tina-Louise Jackson, General Manager & Publisher at Signature Media which owns the publication.  Leanne Archer, who until recently was the editor of the publication, took to LinkedIn to say, “I have handed in my resignation at Vacations & Travel mag. This is due to the publication being up for sale so leaving me with no job security going forward. I’ve left on my own terms!” But Jackson told Influencing, “we did explore the sale of Vacations & Travel briefly a month or so back, however decided to retain the title.” Leanne Archer. The magazine is well established - the print edition first appearing in 1983. Meanwhile Archer, who is looking for a new role, said, “I’m now up for new opportunities as a freelance or permanent publication editor, writer, chief sub-editor or copywriter. Anyone inte

   Bruce MaAvaney and Tamsin Manou will broadcast from Tokyo.   World champion Tamsyn Manou and renowned commentator David Basheer will join the evergreen Bruce McAvaney as SBS’s broadcast team for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, which is shaping as a milestone event for an exceptional Australian team. Every session of the nine-day World Athletics Championships (14 sessions of arena and road events, September 13-21) will be broadcast live and free across SBS VICELAND, and the World Athletics Championships Hub via SBS On Demand, which will also feature daily extended highlights, short clips and full replays of each session. Lead commentator McAvaney said he was excited to be part of such a skilled and experienced commentary team guiding Australian audiences through this year’s world championships, which is regarded as the third-biggest sports event in the world in global reach (over one billion) behind the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. Triple Olympian Man

  “Business demands Albanese go greener” Parliament reopened yesterday, and as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his XXXL parliamentary majority squeezed into the House, noise built up outside it from big business—led by Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue—for a 75% cut to Australian emissions by 2035. As Paul Sakkal and Nick O’Malley report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Labor avoided a tussle over clean energy during the May election by deferring the decision on the interim target required by the Paris Agreement. “The government Climate Change Authority is expected to force his hand when it delivers its long-awaited advice within weeks.” The target is not only ambitious but marks a further step away from alignment with the United States, which is itself turning away from climate action and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, they note. Also, on the SMH front page, David Barwell reports Sydney’s Ku-ring-gai Council—proudly touting itself as the city’s “g

NDTV has informed the stock exchanges that it has voluntarily surrendered the approval for uplinking and downlinking its proposed news and current affairs channel, NDTV Gujarati, according to a report by e4m. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had originally granted this approval on August 17, 2023.  The company stated that the decision is part of its strategy to streamline operations and focus on key priorities. Since the channel had not yet launched, NDTV clarified that this move will not impact its financials or overall business. It described the step as a strategic shift aimed at better resource utilisation and aligning with future goals.