Kenya’s Veteran Journalist Joins Reuters in Advisory Role

Veteran Kenyan journalist Catherine Gicheru is among eight new members named to the  Reuters Institute Advisory Board.

Gicheru is currently an International Center for Journalists Fellow working with Code for Africa’s Academy and Communities Programme. She is also the pan-African lead of WanaData, a network of women data journalists and data scientists.

Gicheru was the first female bureau chief and the first female news editor of the Nation Media Group, and was founding editor of the Star newspaper. She was a Journalist Fellow at the Reuters Institute in 2013-14.

Members of the board, chaired by Lord Patten, provide expert insights, and help develop valuable networks, to further the institute’s research and fundraising activities.

Those selected have worked at the highest level around the world in the fields of journalism, policy making, academia and business.

The others are Javier Moreno, editor-in-chief of EL PAÍS América; Maria Ressa, founder of Rappler.com, one of the Philippines’ leading online news organisations; Noa Landau, who covers foreign relations for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper and sits on its editorial board; and Helen Boaden, who was the first female Director of BBC News, leading 8,000 news staff around the world.

Natali Helberger, University Professor of Law and Digital Technology, with a Special Focus on AI, at the University of Amsterdam (UvA); Ed Richards, currently a Managing Partner at Flint Global Ltd, a business advisory firm specialising in policy and regulatory issues; and Wolfgang Blau is the Chief Operating Officer and President, International, at Condé Nast overseeing companies in Asia, Europe and Latin America  will also sit on the 18-member advisory board.

Need for diversity in media industry

The Director of the Reuters Institute, Rasmus Nielsen, said: “All our research suggests that news media require a diversity – including a mix of journalistic instinct, editorial experience, and commercial, technological and strategic insight – to thrive today. I’m proud to welcome eight new members of our advisory board all of whom contribute to that diverse mix and all of whom have generously agreed to help support our mission of exploring the future of journalism worldwide.”