Former Nation Media Group Editorial Director Joseph Odindo has joined Standard Group, where he honed his editing skills as a young copy editor over 30 years ago.
The announcement was made today by the company’s CEO Sam Shollei in a memo to staff, ending speculation about the position, which fell vacant following the acrimonious exit of Chaacha Mwita early last year.
The move has understandably caused jitters at NMG, where editorial products will be up for serious competition spearheaded by a former Nation Centre insider. Mr Odindo is also likely to touch off a new round of poaching from Nation Media to arm Standard with the people he feels will deliver his dreams.
JO, as he is popularly known among journalists, was in a jovial mood walking around the Standard Group’s newsroom in Mombasa Road today morning catching up with some of his former reporters and editors at the Nation Media Group Ltd, just moments before the memo was sent out.
“Joseph Odindo, one of Kenya’s distinguished journalists,” said Shollei in the memo, “has been appointed Group Editorial Director of the Standard Group, owners of The Standard newspaper and KTN television station.”
Mr Odindo, who started work today today, was until last year Editorial Director of the Nation Media Group, where worked for close to 20 years in different editorial leadership positions.
Mr Odindo will be in charge of journalism across the group’s print, digital and broadcast platforms and would provide strategic leadership for The Standard Group’s editorial development.
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“We are proud to welcome into our team one of the country’s best respected editorial managers,” he said. ”The group’s editorial team, known for its competitive journalism and diligence, will be infinitely stronger under Mr Odindo’s leadership.”
Mr Odindo is a former chairman of the Media Council of Kenya and sits on the board of The World Editor’s Forum, an affiliate of the World association of News Publishers. A newsroom veteran, he worked with The Standard as a young sub-editor in the 1980s.
In addition, he was the founding editor in 1994 of The East African, The Nation Media Group’s regional weekly and served as managing editor of the Daily Nation from 1999 to 2004. He served as the Group Editorial Director from 2007 to 2014.
Mr Odindo holds an undergraduate degree from Kenyatta University and a Master’s degree from University of Wales. He has also completed professional education programmes at the Harvard Business School and Cambridge University.
The Standard Group is the oldest news publishing company in Kenya. Besides The Standard and KTN, it also runs Radio Maisha, the Nairobian, Standard Digital, the current affairs East African channel KTN News and Think Outdoor, a billboard advertising company.
It is, however, not clear how solid his contract is to shield him from the top management volatility.
How we reported: Former Nation insider set to join Standard Media
