18th Indian Journalism Festival 2026 kicks off
Indore, October 2, 2026 : The 18th edition of the three-day Indian Journalism Festival 2026 commenced today, Friday, (2 October) at the Jaal Sabhagruh in South Tukoganj, Indore. Organized by the State Press Club, Madhya Pradesh, the prestigious national gathering has brought together over 150 prominent journalists, editors, and digital media experts from across the country.
This year’s festival centers around the theme "Gen-Z" and its influence on print, electronic, and digital media. The event pays rich tribute to the "Saptarishis" (seven legendaries) of Hindi journalism: Late Rahul Barpute, Rajendra Mathur, Prabhash Joshi, Manikchandra Vajpayee, Rameshchandra Agarwal, Abhay Chhajlani, and Krishnakumar Ashtana.
The grand opening ceremony featured distinguished guests, J K Maheswori Justice of Supreme Court of India as the Chief Guest alongside Umang Singhar, Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Bijay Manohar Tiwari VC of Makhanlal University, MDH Chairman Rajiv Gulati as a Special Guests. International media leaders also graced the event, with SAARC Journalist Forum President Raju Lama and Secretary General MD Abdur Rahman along with Gautam Lahiri President of Federation of Press Club, Prakash Nanda, Secretary General of Correspondent Club of India also participated as Special Guests.
The announcements were highlighted by Festival Coordinator Sudesh Tiwari, Program Director and State Press Club MP President Praveen Khariwal, and Chief General Secretary Navneet Shukla.
A highlight of the festival is the presentation of honors recognizing excellence and lifelong contributions to journalism:
Saptarishi Lifetime Achievement Award: 73-year-old senior editor Devpriya Awasthi is being honored with this prestigious award, instituted in memory of the legendary poet and literary icon Late Naresh Mehta.
National Journalism Awardees: Hardik Vikas Dave (Zee News), Tejashree Purandare (NDTV), Pankaj Wankhede (News India), Shubham Gautam (NDTV MP-CG), Preeta Upadhyay (Zee Media), Shikha Sharma (Magnon Group), Vaibhav Palnitkar (Dainik Bhaskar Group), Vishnukant Tiwari (BBC News Hindi), Vani Mishra (IBC-24), Himanshi Tiwari (India TV), and RJ Anadi Tiwari.
State Journalism Awardees: Girish Upadhyay, Prakash Bhatnagar (Anadi TV), Deshdeep Saxena (The Wildlife.com), Sharad Dwivedi (Bansal News), Sudhir Dixit (News18 MP-CG), Prabhu Pateriya (Swaraj Express SMBC), Shifali (ETV Bharat Digital), Shruti Tomar (Hindustan Times), Rajesh Sharma (Dainik Bhaskar Digital), Shashikant Trivedi, Bhavna Shukla (The Hitavada), and Pankaj Shukla (Subah-Savere).
Over the next three days, panel discussions, media summits, and interactive sessions will address the evolving landscape of Indian journalism in the digital era.