The Nation Media Group (NMG) on Friday unveiled its ninth class of graduate trainees for the Media Lab programme in partnership with the Aga Khan University.
Seventeen trainees from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania were selected to take part in the four-month course offered in collaboration with the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC).
The students from various disciplines, including law, criminology and journalism, will be taken through rigorous training designed to produce all-round journalists who will be attached to the digital, print and broadcast platforms of East and Central Africa’s largest media house.
“This is a unique class. We had very many applicants and we got the best from the region. They have various skills from different faculties. We expect them to be multi-skilled and handle story-telling across the platforms,” NMG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Gitagama said when the trainees were announced.
During the event that took place at the new Aga Khan University Centre in Parklands, Mr Gitagama emphasised the need to fully embrace convergence journalism, where news is first broken on digital platforms for immediate consumption by online readers, and the creation of specialised content targeting a majority of consumers.
“We're relying on you to inject the youth agenda in our reportage, create more content targeted at the majority (youth),” the CEO told the 2021 group.
NMG Editorial Director Mutuma Mathiu, using the background of a biblical story, articulated the need to have unique attributes like an eye for detail and staying power besides hard work in order for the young professionals to excel in the journalism field.
“Journalists must have certain attributes to be successful. You must pay attention to detail. What the source tells you should not be taken at face value. Also, hard work is paramount in the industry as you have to endure the long hours of work,” Mr Mutuma said.
The Media Lab is hosted at GSMC, which also offers academic and technical input.
Vice Provost East Africa Dr Alex Awiti said the programme will offer the students hands-on training and first-hand experience in newsrooms, where they will build relationships and tap the experience of seasoned journalists and industry leaders.
Dr Awiti said incorporating faculties other than journalism is a progressive idea aimed at enhancing specialised reporting that is the least travelled road in the region’s newsrooms.
“This is where journalism needs to go. If you look at some of the best media houses in the world, they have legal, health and education correspondents, who are experts in their field. This is what’s lacking in local journalism,” he said.
“The primary education should not be journalism. You first need to have a degree in some field, be in environment or education, for our reportage to be more in-depth,” he said.
NMG's Head of HR, Jane Muiruri, said the recruitment process, which targeted East African residents, attracted interest even in Nigeria and South Africa.
Agatha Gichana, who studied law at the University of Nairobi, and Dudley Muchiri, a criminology graduate, are among the lucky trainees who, through the programme, made a life-changing decision to become storytellers.
“With my background in law, shifting to journalism made me a little anxious. But just a few days into the Media Lab class erased every fear and I am confident that this will sufficiently prepare me for the newsroom,” said Ms Gichana, who is inclined to human rights and social justice issues.
For Mr Muchiri, the change of career from a criminal intelligence expert to investigative journalism was unexpected, but is now exciting.
“I am a storyteller in my own right. But with the training and platform, I am going to tell interesting and impactful stories,” he said.
