Newly appointed Royal Media Services Strategy and Innovation Director Linus Kaikai and Editorial Director Joe Ageyo have formally commenced their jobs at Communications Centre, six days after being unveiled as part of a star-studded dream team.
All eyes are on Kaikai, formerly the NTV General Manager, and Ageyo, the immediate former KTN Managing Editor, to cement RMS’s foothold on the Kenyan media scene as the SK Macharia-founded firm seeks to eclipse its competitors, mainly the Nation Media Group and Standard Group.
Media observers are keenly watching how the two media giants will work together and lead the entire team to grow both audience and revenues for Kenya’s biggest broadcast house.
Macharia has in recent weeks been on a poaching spree to strengthen RMS’s editorial and commercial divisions. Apart from Kaikai and Ageyo, RMS has also named former NTV anchor Jamila Mohammed has been named as the Managing Editor (Swahili) replacing Swaleh Mdoe, who has been acting in the position since November last year.
Former Nation Media Group Advertising Director Michael Ngugi was also last week confirmed as the Commercial Director to lead a team that includes executives poached recently from the Standard Group. Earlier, he had poached three business development managers from Standard Group.
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RMS also plucked veteran radio journalist Vincent Ateya from Qwetu FM to become the the head of Luhya language-broadcasting stations, Mulembe FM, Sulwe FM and Vuuka FM.
Internally, Fred Afune was promoted to the position of Director, Radio and Technical Services. Caroline Wanyama was appointed Marketing Director, Latifah Ngunjiri (Production Director) and Moses Karanja (Chief Engineer).
NTV news anchor Victoria Rubadiri and another senior editor are also said to be on their way to Communications Centre cementing one of the biggest media coups of recent years.
On Tuesday, a photo of Kaikai and Ageyo with Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka was circulating on social media, the first indication they have got down to business.
kakai cant connect to papa shiladula’s plot and content , its also hard for the talents and well trained journalist to accept a boss who was fired elsewhere because of practicing politics in his employers station. the citizen audience is very different from nation audience, see how jeff is struggling , he has to go through jalango, a comedian to be relevant in kibera where citizen is watched by millions. madowo may have gotten better job but as an English speaking journalist with ego he will clash big time with mzungu. cold war which goes unreported. Citizen were clever this time in politics , they couldn’t have used their station to do raila politics because their business could have been hurt, so they looked for a media house whose owner was away , and directed the information through key staff , at a fee, and when they were caught , they hired them,but they know their personalities and localisation of the content is a mismatch and within a short time they will fire them selves , its like getting a mzungu banker to manage equity accent ridden town of keumbu kisii, where customers, in gumboots , sombrero hats carry axes and pangas to the bank ,complain there are no toilets..all the same its very difficult for a trained broadcaster to change to untrained narrowcaster