Why Dennis Okari Quit BBC & returned to NTV

NTV news anchors Denis Okari and Olive Burrows
NTV news anchors Denis Okari and Olive Burrows
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While it is a dream for most journalists to work for international media houses, it was not the same for NTV anchor Dennis Okari who opted to come back home and do something he loved.

The news anchor, in an interview with Daily Nation's digital platform, stated that he was not given a platform to tell his stories the way he wanted to.

"A couple of reasons made me leave BBC. I always felt like I wasn't telling the kind of stories I wanted to tell.

"I really wanted to tell my stories but BBC was not giving me that platform. BBC is like a beast and there are so many people and there is no space for you to tell the African story the way you want to tell it," Okari stated.

NTV News anchors Dennis Okari and Olive Burrows on set.
NTV News anchors Dennis Okari and Olive Burrows on set.
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Further, the news anchor stated that he travelled a lot when he worked for the international media house, something that kept him from seeing his family.

"The travelling was a bit too much for me, I was not enjoying it. I wanted to stay and be around my family. I was homesick," he added.

Okari noted that NTV, which he joined months after he had quit BBC, gave him a platform to tell his stories.

"It was fun at BBC, it was a good experience but I can now do NTV Investigates, an opportunity I did not get at BBC," he narrated.

The news anchor went on to disclose that he had never tarmacked looking for a job his entire life.

He narrated that he started off as a producer working for KBC’s Metro TV, where he also doubled up as a video editor and reporter.

Afterwards, he joined Family Media before leaving for Baraka FM, a station based in Mombasa.

"I later went to KTN, then I went to Radio Africa then came to Nation Media Group. I was then poached by the BBC, went worked in the UK then came back to Nation Media Group after a few months,” he stated.

The news anchor was among journalists who shaped Kenyans' conversations in 2019. Among features he highlighted included; Red Alert and White Alert which were conversation starters for the Country.