Agartala, 2nd October 2026 : The three-day 18th Indian Journalism Festival 2026 began at Jaal Sabhagriha in South Tukoganj, Indore, on Friday, bringing together more than 150 journalists, editors and digital media professionals from across the country.
Organised by the Madhya Pradesh State Press Club, the festival is centred on the theme of ‘Gen-Z’ and its growing influence on print, electronic and digital journalism. A series of discussions and interactive sessions will examine the changing media landscape, technological transformation and the future of journalism.
Supreme Court Justice J.K. Maheshwari attended the inaugural ceremony as the chief guest. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication Vice-Chancellor Vijay Manohar Tiwari and MDH Chairman Rajiv Gulati were among the special guests.
Representatives of international and national journalist organisations, including SAARC Journalist Forum President Raju Lama, Secretary General M.D. Abdur Rahman, Federation of Press Clubs President Gautam Lahiri and Correspondent Club of India Secretary General Prakash Nanda, also attended the event.
A major feature of the festival is the commemoration of seven stalwarts of Hindi journalism—late Rahul Barpute, Rajendra Mathur, Prabhash Joshi, Manikchandra Vajpayee, Rameshchandra Agarwal, Abhay Chhajlani and Krishnakumar Asthana—as the ‘Saptarshi’ (Seven Sages).
Veteran editor Debapriya Awasthi, 73, is being presented with the Saptarshi Lifetime Achievement Award, instituted in memory of renowned poet and litterateur Naresh Mehta.
The festival is also presenting National and State Journalism Awards to journalists from organisations including Zee News, NDTV, BBC News Hindi, Dainik Bhaskar, India TV, IBC-24 and Hindustan Times.
Festival Coordinator Sudesh Tiwari, State Press Club President and Programme Director Pravin Khariwal and Chief General Secretary Navneet Shukla outlined the festival’s programme.
Over the next two days, panel discussions, a media summit and interactive sessions will focus on Gen-Z, digital journalism, technological change and the evolving relationship between technology and the media.
