The media industry is considered a volatile environment for journalists who have to cope with various changes and risks such as resignations or facing the proverbial axe.
For the majority of journalists, seeking employment in another media house seems like a safer bet, however, for others, they delve to launch their own media house.
Kenyans.co.ke takes a look at five journalists who created media empires after either quitting or getting fired.
Captain Njoroge wa Njeri
Fondly known as CNN, the former TV presenter is known for working at KBC's Coro FM- amassing over ten years at the radio station.
However, the seasoned journalist extended his wings and delved to launch his own media house. He left for the United States of America in 2013 and through the help of his friends based in Boston, he managed to launch Jambo Boston Station- a vernacular based station.
According to Njoroge, he sought to launch a Kikuyu based station in the USA as he felt there was a need for a market for vernacular discussions and conversations.
John Marete
It's a journalist's nightmare to get the proverbial axe, however, this was the case for former Citizen TV manager John Marete who was the head of the Camera Unit at the time.
Undeterred by the circumstance, Marete went on to launch two tv stations (Weru TV and Mutongoi TV). His first project, Weru FM and Weru TV, drew in hundreds of thousands of viewers and listeners primarily in the Eastern region for its local dialect.
His subsequent project, Mutongoi TV, a purely Kamba station, was launched in April 2021. Marete entailed in a past interview that he sought for Mutongoi TV to follow in the footsteps of his first project, Weru TV.
Mac Otani
After amassing over three years at Nation Media Group as a digital Sub-Editor, Otani delved to launch his own media company, Swala Nyeti company.
The company, which was launched in 2020, centers on providing breaking news and videos from the entertainment industry. His inspiration to launch the station came from his need to change conversations surrounding the entertainment world.
According to the journalist, the media company is set to expand rapidly into a reputable entity in the industry.
Joab Mwaura and Nancy Onyancha
After the outbreak of the global pandemic, various media houses went on a scaling down campaign in a bid to save on costs and cut down on redundancy.
This saw hundreds of seasoned and novice journalists getting fired. Among those affected included Joab Mwaura and his wife Nancy Onyancha who were fired from Mediamax's K24
This led the couple to launch Sauti Tajika Company- which deals with TV and online commercials, documentaries, event coverage and voiceovers.
Both Mwaura and Onyancha noted that the mass layoff gave them a chance to invest more into their company in order to break even and ultimately generate extra income.
Asha Mwilu
The acclaimed journalist is synonymous for her time in KTN and Citizen TV whereby she engaged in different projects. From 2011 to 2018, Mwilu worked as a features and documents editor and as a senior reporter at KTN before jumping ship to Citizen TV in April 2018.
She worked as a special projects editor for two years before ultimately leaving employment in order to focus on launching her own media company, Debunk Media.
During a past interview, she noted that her passion to launch her own media company delved from the need to produce unique content for African audiences. Debunk media focuses on combining a team of experts from various fields in order to make sense of the various issues affecting the audience.
