Veteran journalist Alex Chamwada was forced to sell his house while venturing out to start his own company.
The Kenya Editors Guild, which presented Chamwada with the Pioneer/Trailblazer award on Saturday evening, honoured him for his bravery in starting Chams Media despite financial uncertainty.
KEG, in a statement, indicated that the journalist quit his well-paying job and sold his house to finance his endeavor and produce the popular Daring Abroad TV show.
"We live in fear and hopelessness. Yet we have people amongst us who stand as living examples that one can walk away from the safety and security of a well-paying job in an established media house, venture into the uncertainty and risk of media entrepreneurship," the Editors Guild revealed in a statement shared by Chamwada.
"Ten years ago, this well-known television reporter, anchor and producer quit his job, scrapped his savings together, sold his house and went into the world of independent content generation."
"His communications consultancy firm specializing in TV documentaries and features has since won numerous awards."
The communications consultancy firm he founded, where he serves as Chief Executive, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
In an earlier interview, Chamwada revealed that he was faced with the hard decision of quitting Citizen TV in 2014 at a time when his career was at its peak. He was an associate editor and senior reporter at the time.
He revealed that the stories he wanted to tell were not receiving enough airtime noting that he was not comfortable being censored and confined to the normal content in the newsroom.
"First I had grown in the industry as a reporter. I was a prominent political reporter but then at some point, I felt I was not growing. I felt confined to the normal content in the newsroom, confined to cessation and politics," he stated.
"I felt I needed to control my stories. In the newsroom, I was not really in charge of my stories and I wanted stories that impact people. So I decided to step out so that I can tell my story and now begin the journey afresh as an independent content producer."
After setting up his company, he has since partnered with local media outlets including KTN News and NTV which acquire content from him and broadcast it.
