Kenyans excel in CNN MultiChoice African Journalist awards

Kenya retained the overall Journalist of the Year award at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2012 Awards  held in Lusaka, Zambia. Tom Mboya and Evanson Nyaga’s The African Tribe in India, which aired on Kenya’s Citizen Television, won the top prize. Five other Kenyan journalists were also feted.

The Star newspaper science journalist John Muchangi won the HIV and Aids reporting award for his story Inside the life of a Nairobi male sex worker (http://bit.ly/MCpADY).

The judges said that through his compelling writing the journalist, who is also a Knight Science Journalism fellow, bravely highlight a new group at high risk of HIV.

“I view the award as the beginning’ of a journey. A promise to consistently deliver better stories to my readers.  I have to raise the bar because upcoming journalists may also begin to use my work as benchmark of ideal journalism,” says the Internews alumnus.

 “The story that won took several months to build and I met several sources and settled on two who sex workers. The story was controversial because many people could not believe male sex workers exist and do ‘business’ in Nairobi. My editor was absolutely generous to publish it because I’m told such a subject would hardly see the light of the day elsewhere,” he adds.

NTV’s Nimrod Taabu Mwagamoyo and Charles Kinyua Kariuki won the TV News Bulletin Award while Citizen’s sports journalist Waihiga Mwaura together with cameraman Jephitha Mwai scooped the Sports Journalist of the year award.

Mboya and Evanson, who were among 34 finalists for the top prize, also won the Television Features Award.

We congratulate the winners for making Kenya proud.

For more on the awards visit:
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/22/world/africa/african-journalist-awards/index.html
http://www.citizennews.co.ke/news/2012/local/item/2567-citizen-tv-journalists-scoop-top-cnn-awards

Media Matters Blog - latest posts

As the media and the country await legislation on the right to information, a judge in a recent case has given direction as to who can access any information held by the State. High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi ruled in a case in which Nairobi Law Monthly Limited, publisher of the Nairobi Law Monthly, had ... Read more

After the hotly contested General Election nothing captured the collective imagination of Kenyans like the presidential election petition. Within hours of the start of the Supreme Court hearings legal jargon like Amicus curiae (friend of the court) and others entered the Kenyan lexicon. But just as fast after the initial ruling, the interest quickly dissipated ... Read more

One of the first lessons I learnt as a young journalist is that readers place a premium on stories that have a direct impact on their lives. I believe health stories are at the top of the ladder in that regard. Health determines the ability of individuals to enjoy life and realise their hopes as ... Read more

The coverage in the Kenyan media of a recent study on fake tuberculosis drugs that was published in The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease was a depressing read. It revealed to me how media outlets rely on cut-and-paste reporting: repeating the same stories from international media outlets and agencies without making an effort ... Read more

Share this page