In a heartwarming tribute, Nation Media Group Editor-in-Chief Joe Ageyo has revealed that the late Rita Tinina was set to make her on-air debut at NTV after rejoining the media house as an editor in October 2023.
Ageyo explained that Rita was working on a special report, a slightly different task to the backroom editing job she had been doing since heading back to the Twin Towers.
The editorial boss revealed that the report was expected to have been ready by the end of this week.
“This week, Rita was supposed to finalise a special report which would have marked her on-air debut since rejoining NMG in October last year,” explained Ageyo
He further elaborated that Rita had offered to help on a story he was working on.
While mourning the journalist, Joe Ageyo remarked that he and Rita met more than 23 years ago, leading to a working relationship across different projects.
Ageyo narrated that he sought Rita’s help when he landed a role at KTN as the Managing Editor, requesting her to move to the new station with him.
“When I requested to her to come and help me on my mission, she never hesitated, never argued and never bargained for her salary, just get me a good deal', she said, and a few days later she resigned and came on board. And for the following five years, we did some amazing journalism and even launched a news channel, for which she became a key pillar, “Ageyo noted
However, later he moved back to Nation Media Group after he was named the Editor-in-Chief. He once again poached her.
Ageyo narrated that he had successfully managed to convince Rita to rejoin Nation Media Group alongside him and to take up the role of an editor, which she had declined over time.
“In September last year, now back at NMG and in a new role as Editor-in-Chief, I was in the middle of a newsroom reorganisation. We needed to collapse all our various newsrooms into one centralised operation and re-orient our journalism in response to changing audience needs. It was clear to me that in every space I needed to have, not just seasoned hands, but dependable professionals who would keep the ship steady at every turn”.
“Once again, I reached out to Rita and for the first time in her career, and after many previous failed attempts, I managed to convince her to take up an editor role”, stated Joe.
Ageyo also lauded Tinina for being humble and keeping her life drama-free despite her fame in the industry.
Victoria Rubadiri to Leave Citizen TV Developing Story
