Carole Kimutai, who is set to join Standard as managing Editor Digital, started out as freelance journalist, mainly working in magazines. The appointment is a culmination of over a decade of honing her skills and trying out various options.
She also was a contributor for six years at Bizcommunity.com, based in South Africa. “That is where I learnt a lot and saw the potential in digital.”
She says he stint at Bizcommunity also influenced the choice of her graduate degree, Masters in New Media and Society. She also was the editor for years at Management, the monthly magazine published by the Kenya Institute of Management, before joining Tuko.
“One of the professional transitions I took is my move from Kenya Institute of Management to start Tuko.co.ke, a new business owned by Eastern Europeans,” says Ms Kimutai, who is also a Rotarian.
Related: Standard hires former Tuko editor to head digital
“I had a good permanent job with perks at KIM but I decided to bite the bullet and took a contract job at Tuko with no perks. I was looking for a challenge. I decided to jump so I could get an experience of launching a new media brand in the market. I have been in the trenches. I now have the t-shirt to prove it.”
Carole is an alumni of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, Moi University, and the University of Leicester (UK). Her MA dissertation was a case study about the Classic 105 FM Breakfast Show. She is also a prolific writer and has contributed to various local and international publications, and online news sites like the Sunday Nation, The Star, BizCimmunity.com, Forbes Africa and Forbes Woman.
BUSINESS TODAY interviewed Carole Kimutai on her transition to Standard Group.
So, what’s your take on joining Kenya’s second largest media house? Big challenge there, right?
Yes. Good challenge. I come in when the traditional media has finally woken up. So it will be fun. Plus I hope to train the younger folks.
Good. But are we going to see a replication of the Tuko model at Standard Digital?
Not really. Tuko has no journalists on the ground. With digital everything is data and analysis driven. With more hands on the ground, we can turn around how we give Kenyans good journalism.
Well, Standard is huge, with various platforms such as TV, radio, Standard newspapers, The Nairobian, SDE….that’s sounds like a mouthful for you.
Yeah. I will try my best.
[crp]
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