Barely a day after issuing a restructuring notice, Mediamax Network Ltd has started firing journalists across its media platforms by declaring them redundant. Big names have already been sent home in what turns out to be a deeper surgery than expected for a company still trying to find space at the media industry high table.
A letter seen by BusinessToday tells the affected journalist that, “…the position has been abolished in restructuring, thus rendered redundant.” Fingers are crossed and tension has hit fiverpitch at Mediamax head offices on DSM building on Kijabe Street as skittish newsroom staff count their blessings.
People Daily (PD), its newspaper brand, has lost a number of editors, including Eric Nyakagwa (political editor) and once-popular investigative and historical writer Kamau Ngotho, who was the special projects editor.
The other big name is Millicent Muthoni, who was magazines editor. Sub-editors who have been sent to the streets at PD include Rebecca Nandwa, Robert Onsare and Rose Wanjiku. Newspaper reporters who have been shown the door include, Wanjohi Githae (Parliament), Maureen Ng’ang’a (news) and Racheal Mburu (court).
“When God closes a door somewhere he opens another,” Ms Muthoni said on her Facebook account moments after receiving her letter. “That’s one of my favorite lines from Sound of Music.”
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Notably, Ms Nandwa has been twice unlucky. She left Nation Media Group a few years ago where she worked on Taifa Leo, the Kiswahili daily newspaper, after being pushed out through a restructuring. Ms Wanjiku, on the other hand, was among an army of journalists poached from mainly Standard newspaper three years ago when the Kenyatta family pumped in cash after acquiring the People Daily from politician Kenneth Matiba.
The People Daily appears to have more casualties, exacerbated by the closure of the weekend newspaper, PD Weekend.
In broadcast, the notable people who have received their redundancy letters include business editor Solomon Kirimi, who had moved from Radio Africa Group’s Star newspaper and senior reporter Janet Chapia, formerly of Citizen TV. Other TV reporters sacked are Chris Thairu, a political reporter and Dancun Khaemba and Anders Ihachi.
K24 sports desk has lost Geoffrey Wachira, a reporter who moved from Citizen, and Wycliffe Orandi who doubles as reporter and sub-editor.
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