Desk Report: The 18th edition of the Indian Journalism Festival 2026 began in Indore on Friday, bringing together more than 150 journalists, editors and digital-media professionals from across India for discussions on the rapidly changing media landscape.

Organised by the State Press Club, Madhya Pradesh, the three-day festival is being held at Jaal Sabhagruh in South Tukoganj, Indore. This year`s central theme is “Gen-Z”, with particular attention to how the younger generation is influencing journalism across print, television and digital platforms.

The festival also commemorates seven celebrated figures of Hindi journalism, collectively remembered as the “Saptarishis”—Late Rahul Barpute, Rajendra Mathur, Prabhash Joshi, Manikchandra Vajpayee, Rameshchandra Agarwal, Abhay Chhajlani and Krishnakumar Ashtana.

The opening ceremony brought together prominent figures from India`s judicial, political, academic and media sectors.

J K Maheswori, Justice of the Supreme Court of India, attended as the chief guest. Umang Singhar, Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly; Bijay Manohar Tiwari, Vice-Chancellor of Makhanlal University; and Rajiv Gulati, Chairman of MDH, were among the special guests.

The festival also featured international participation, underscoring its wider regional media dimension. Raju Lama, President of the SAARC Journalist Forum, and M.D. Abdur Rahman, its Secretary General, joined the programme as special guests. Gautam Lahiri, President of the Federation of Press Club, and Prakash Nanda, Secretary General of the Correspondent Club of India, also participated.

Festival Coordinator Sudesh Tiwari, Programme Director and State Press Club Madhya Pradesh President Praveen Khariwal, and Chief General Secretary Navneet Shukla highlighted the programme and its objectives.

One of the major attractions of the festival is the Saptarishi Lifetime Achievement Award, which is being presented to 73-year-old senior editor Devpriya Awasthi for his contribution to journalism. The award has been instituted in memory of late Naresh Mehta, the noted Hindi poet and literary figure.

A number of journalists are also receiving national and state-level journalism awards in recognition of their professional contributions.

The National Journalism Award recipients include Hardik Vikas Dave of Zee News, Tejashree Purandare of NDTV, Pankaj Wankhede of News India, Shubham Gautam of NDTV MP-CG, Preeta Upadhyay of Zee Media, Shikha Sharma of Magnon Group, Vaibhav Palnitkar of Dainik Bhaskar Group, Vishnukant Tiwari of BBC News Hindi, Vani Mishra of IBC-24, Himanshi Tiwari of India TV and RJ Anadi Tiwari.

Among the State Journalism Award recipients are Girish Upadhyay, Prakash Bhatnagar of Anadi TV, Deshdeep Saxena of The Wildlife.com, Sharad Dwivedi of Bansal News, Sudhir Dixit of News18 MP-CG, Prabhu Pateriya of Swaraj Express SMBC, Shifali of ETV Bharat Digital, Shruti Tomar of Hindustan Times, Rajesh Sharma of Dainik Bhaskar Digital, Shashikant Trivedi, Bhavna Shukla of The Hitavada and Pankaj Shukla of Subah-Savere.

The festival comes at a time when traditional journalism is undergoing significant transformation. The growing influence of younger audiences, social-media platforms, mobile journalism and digital news consumption has created new opportunities as well as challenges for media organisations.

Over the next three days, journalists and media experts are scheduled to participate in panel discussions, media summits and interactive sessions focusing on the future of journalism in the digital age.

The emphasis on Gen-Z is particularly significant as media organisations worldwide seek to understand how younger audiences consume, share and engage with news. The discussions in Indore are therefore expected to provide a broader platform for examining the relationship between journalism, technology and changing audience behaviour.

With participation from journalists and media representatives from different parts of India and guests from the wider South Asian media community, the Indian Journalism Festival 2026 is also providing an opportunity for professional exchange and dialogue on the future direction of journalism in the region.