Kenyan journalists stand high above their peers when it comes to skills and output if the awards earned are anything to go by.
Some of the names that grace TV screens and croon over radios have been recognized the world over, for standing out in their fields.
Below is a list of top Kenyan journalist who have bagged top international awards in their careers.
Jeff Koinange
Citizen TV's Jeff Koinange was the recipient of the Peabody Award in 2005.
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards) was named after American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody honour the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and online media.
Programs are recognized in seven categories: news, entertainment, documentaries, children's programming, education, interactive programming, and public service.
In the same year, Koinange was also a recipient of the Emmy Awards for news and documentaries.
His awards were earned through his coverage of the war in Baghdad, Iraq and also covering Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, US.
Julie Gichuru
Julie Gichuru was the first-ever African woman to win the Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness award for advocating against violence following the 2007 election in Kenya.
She is an entrepreneur with investments in media, fashion retail, and entertainment.
Apart from the global award, Julie was also awarded the Order of the Golden Warrior (OGW) for her contribution towards nation building by President Mwai Kibaki in 2011.
Julie is a fellow of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Program and also a beneficiary of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Waihiga Mwaura
Waihiga Mwaura was the recipient of the 2018 BBC World News Komla Dumor Award for his impeccable story-telling ability and on-screen presence.
The award was created to honour Komla Dumor, a former BBC World News presenter, who died aged 41 in 2014.
Mwaura was the fourth winner of the award after Ugandan Nancy Kacungira won the inaugural prize in 2015, followed by Nigerians Didi Akinyelure and Amina Yuguda.
Waihiga won the 2015 Mohammed Amin Africa award, 2012 CNN MultiChoice Africa Award. He is also a three-time Media Council of Kenya AJEA nominee.
Larry Madowo
While Madowo did not receive a physical award like the previous scribes, he was one of the beneficiaries of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University.
The fellowship was created in response to growing public interest in financial news and increasing demand for trained editors and reporters to cover the field of business and economics.
According to the Bagehot website, the fellowship offers qualified journalists the opportunity to enhance their understanding and knowledge of business, economics, finance, and technology, as well as gain a strong understanding of the business of journalism itself, in a year-long, full-time program administered by the Columbia Journalism School.
The Fellowship runs during Columbia’s academic year from mid-August through May and accepts up to 10 fellows each year. Each fellow receives free tuition, plus a stipend of Ksh6 million per year to offset living and healthcare expenses in New York City.
Linus Kaikai
Citizen TV's Linus Kaikai won the 1997 CNN African Television Journalist first prize for his exemplary skills while working for KTN, where he stayed until June 1999.
Kaikai then spent eight years working at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), rising through the ranks from correspondent to bureau chief. He returned to KTN in 2007 as managing editor in charge of quality and product development.
He then moved to NTV and is the current director of strategy and innovation at Royal Media Services.
Dorcas Wangira
Dorcas Wangira of Citizen TV was the recipient of the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling on April 17, 2019.
The reporter was selected from among 219 applicants for the prize by a panel of renowned judges.
Wangira emerged top following her story, "The App and the Cut" that run on KTN News in June 2018, before she was poached by Citizen TV.
The feature highlighted the plight of girls forced to undergo female genital mutilation. She also covered high school girls who invented a mobile phone app to help their counterparts evade the illegal practice.
The award, which was established in 2016 in honour of Michael Elliot, an outstanding editor, is given by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in partnership with the Elliot family.
Rose Wangui
Rose Wangui, an NTV features reporter, was named as one of the winners of the lucrative Knight International Journalism Award, alongside two other journalists- CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer and Stevan Dojčinović of Serbia in May 2019.
Wangui was awarded for her grit in tackling topics such as sexual bondage of young girls and Kenyan women who went to work in the Persian Gulf and ended up dead.
Wangui showed grit by reporting with a strong sense of purpose to tackle the sort of unique and taboo stories that usually get buried in headlines.
“She has been selected because her stories have led to major improvements in the conditions she brings to light," stated International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) in a statement.
The award honours journalists who beat all odds to get stories, even in difficult environments, to bring cases to light and effect real change.
