Immediate former TV47 Chief Executive Eugene Anangwe did not resign as couched in his social media platforms but rather was pushed out to accommodate ‘new ideas’, Business Today has learnt.
On Saturday, Anangwe took to social media to announce his departure from the budding station stating that he” had resigned due to personal reasons”.
But that appears not to be the case as sources at the company indicate that TV47 owner Prof Simon Gicharu is unhappy with the progress made so far since the broadcaster went live in July 2019 and is now trusting experienced heads to narrow the viewership gap between the mainstream channels and the station.
Surprisingly, former Switch TV Presenter Leah Ngari who was recently recruited to TV47, has also left. She is a fairly experienced having worked for Citizen TV& Switch TV before. Inside sources say she resigned to pursue personal interests.
In April, TV47 brought in experienced heads including CNN fellow John Mwaura, Former KTN assignments editor Sam Gakunyi, and producer Diana Tarik.
Upon their arrival, John Mwaura, a former Ebru TV head of news, took up the role of Editorial Director, while Sam Gakunyi was placed in charge of Marketing, Revenue Generation, and Branded Content. Diana was given the task of being the Production and Programmes manager.
The three it appears, had different ideas to lift the channel from its status prompting the exit of Anangwe.
“Most of the talent that built TV47 from scratch has been sent home. The management said that they are inexperienced. The new guys have gone about changing everything around the place without appearing to show any interest to accommodate the old talent,” said the source.
According to the source, the remaining day-one journalists at the media house are living in fear of getting sacked anytime.
Meanwhile, media observes maintain that TV47 has its work cut out if it is to realise its dream. Improvement is needed in all departments ranging from technical, design, marketing, editorial and management.
While the station its size has tried to come up with a good product, its viewership numbers are still very low and major reforms are required to challenge the big guns in the industry.
