Janet Otieno was editing the final page of a magazine for the Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, when she received a call from human resources. It was 5pm in April 2020, about a month after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Tanzania. Janet, the acting managing editor and features editor at Mwananchi Communications in Tanzania, stopped mid-sentence…
18 December 2020 – After battling it out in the Labour Migration Reporting awards, eight journalists from across Africa walked away with $500 each at a colourful virtual ceremony held on International Migrants Day. The winners are expected to use the grant to contribute to the labour migration discourse through their reporting assignments over the…
My story started late at night when I received a late night call from my superior which I was tempted to ignore as I was so sleepy thought it was my wake up alarm. Little did I know that it was a wakeup call for me. He asked me to try and apply for the…
“Life is a test, never give up” Journalism is not for a faint heart! Every Female journalists around the world has a story to tell about the terrible ordeal they (have) had been through while in the line of their duties. Some say they missed opportunities, promotions or those ‘big’ assignments because they said no…
As I walk through Lindi area of Kibra, the largest slum in Kenya and Africa to conduct interviews for my pitch, so many questions linger in my mind considering the rate of crime; how safe am I? How safe are my equipment? Could there be someone tracking me since I look more of a stranger?…
There is no lie in the claim that social media is a power tool in discovering opportunities that are way beyond what we expect. I learned about African Women in the Media through a social media post from an acquaintance. Since the pandemic has created a lot of spare time, I decided to research about…
In this episode with Emmy-nominated journalist, Ruona J. Meyer, we talk investigative journalism, how to pitch yourself and your stories, and making use of the platforms available to you. Her undercover investigation ‘Sweet, Sweet Codeine’ highlighted the plight of young Nigerians addicted to codeine syrup. Less that 24 hours of broadcasting Sweet, Sweet Codeine, the Nigerian government banned the import and manufacture of codeine-based syrup. In 2019, Ruona became the first Nigerian journalist to be…
