KTN has reshuffled journalists in its bureaus across the country to enhance coverage in those regions. The TV station, owned by Standard Group and the second most popular in the country after Citizen TV, has also launched in a new bureau in Meru County as it expands its coverage of counties for its 24-hour news channel KTN News.
In the reshuffle announced internally last week, it emerged that Carol Nderi, who quit to take a job at the Nyeri County Government, declined to be moved to Nairobi and chose a job that would keep her in the countryside. Rachel Muigai has taken over from Carol in Nyeri, while Samson Ndege has been moved from Nyeri to the newly opened Meru bureau.
Meanwhile, Francis Ontomwa, the KTN and Standard reporter based in Mombasa, has been moved to the head office in Nairobi. Ontomwa has been covering crime and terrorist-related stories at the coast. Ontomwa began his career in Kakamega bureau with the Standard then jumped ship to print. In 2014, he moved to Mombasa.
He will be replaced in Mombasa by Victor Ogale, who was at the Nakuru bureau, where he covered mostly stories on banditry in Baringo County. Ogale, on the other hand, will be replaced by Caroline Bii, a graduate of the Standard Journalism Academy. At the Mombasa bureau, Ogale will work with Francis Mtalaki. Ogale previously worked in Kisumu between 2014 and 2016 before moving to Nakuru.
READ ALSO
> Coincidence or design? Three main media houses without CEOs
> Mukami Wambora debuts as Citizen TV prime time news anchor
> Linus Gitahi returns to Nation Media – and causes a stir
William Lusige, also a graduate of the Standard Journalism Academy, moves to Kakamega County bureau, which has not had a reporter for two years. The region was covered by reporters from Kisumu or Bungoma.
Reshuffles are normal in media houses where regional editors or reporters are rotated to realign skills and strengths. Changes in bureaus are also meant to prevent flourishing of compromising relations between journalists and news sources in those regions.
While a good thing, reshuffles are often used by top editors to punish journalists by pushing them to hardship or low-profile areas and reward others. When a senior editor or reporter is moved to the bureau it could mean the beginning of the end in that media house.
