Ben Kitili Lands New Role As Nation Media Group Reshuffles Newsroom [LIST]

The Nation Media Group (NMG) on Friday, July 5 announced a series of changes to its entire newsroom as it bolsters the delivery of its content on its digital platforms in line with the digital disruption.

In a memo to staff and seen by Viral Tea, NMG Editor-in-Chief Joe Ageyo announced that the changes would see print production and broadcast (news bulletins) having separate workflows and feeding off the digital content.

Further, a standalone Video and Audio Hub has been created to enhance the production of digital-first and premium video content.

From Monday, July 8, the newsroom will be delivering content exclusively for NMG’s digital platforms. Ageyo revealed that the regional media house has been aggressively pursuing a digital-first approach to content generation and publishing since the completion of its Newsroom Integration project last year.

NTV anchor, Joe Ageyo. /DAILY NATION

“While we have made great progress in this endeavour, there remains a considerable gap between our achievements so far, and our stated targets.

“In order to deepen our digital-first culture, ramp up the generation of premium content and improve the efficiency of our print production, it has become necessary to make the following changes in our editorial workflows,” read the memo in part.

According to the changes, Ben Kitill who served as the News Editor (Counties) will move to the new position of Editor, Video and Audio Hub, a new Hub which will be charged with generating digital-first video and audio content for NTV‘s website and other digital platforms round the clock, as well as feeding NTV news bulletins and current affairs programming.

Kitili will report to the expanded role of Managing Editor of Newsroom Production & Partnerships.

Digital

Furthermore, Harry Misiko who has been the Lead Editor, Digital has been moved to the new position of Lead Editor, News Desk, reporting to the Managing Editor, Planning & Content Hubs. In this role, he will lead the generation of digital-first content and provide the crucial link between the content hubs and NMG’s digital platforms.

Alex Ndegwa has been appointed to the newly created position of Lead Editor, Nation.Africa (Daily). In this role, he will be charged with deepening the content of Nation.Africa, as a flagship of NMG journalism in the new dispensation, and will report to the Editor-in-Chief.

Mike Owuor who was the Lead Editor of Weekend, becomes the Lead Editor, of Nation.Africa (Weekend) and will be charged with leading the curation of compelling content for Nation.Africa over the weekend. He will report to the Editor-in-Chief.

In order to plug the content leadership gaps over the weekend, Patrick Langat has been moved to the new role of News Editor, Weekend, reporting to the Managing Editor of Planning and Content Hubs. In this position, Langat will be in charge of content generation for and during weekends to ensure a seamless flow throughout the week.

In other changes, Jackson Mutinda who is currently Lead Editor of The East African, has been redesignated to the new role of Lead Editor of Africa & Diaspora. 

“This role is aimed at expanding our coverage of Africa and Diaspora content across our platforms, in line with our vision of being the Media of Africa for Africa. Further, Mutinda will lead content generation for theeastafrican.co.ke as a primary responsibility,” added the memo.

Aggrey Mutambo has been redesignated to the role of News Editor, Africa and Diaspora to boost the generation of Africa and Diaspora content for theeastafrican.co.ke and other websites. He will report to the Lead Editor, Africa and Diaspora.

Justus Wanga moves to the role of Editor, Politics reporting to the Managing Editor of Planning and Content Hubs whereas Roselyne Obala will move to the position of Editor, Counties and Newsroom Administration, reporting to the Managing Editor of Planning and Content Hubs. Obala will in addition to coordinating regional coverage, provide administrative support to news teams in Nairobi and around the country.

Kenfrey Kiberenge has been appointed to the new role of Newsletter Editor responsible for the creation, curation, and management of all newsletters.

Reina Kimeu now has the expanded role of Editor, Native & User Generated Content. In addition to her current role of creating native content, she will also facilitate NMG’s engagement with digital content creators and will report to the Managing Editor of Audience & Engagement.

The following have been appointed as Homepage Editors for the respective websites:

1. Businessdailyafrica.com & theeastafrican.co.ke- Hellen Githaiga
2. NTV Kenya – Nick Mwirigi
3. Nation.Africa (Weekend Edition) – Grace Kerongo
4. Lynette Mukami who is currently Editor of Social, Search & Analytics will double up as the Homepage Editor, Nation.Africa (Daily). This role reports to ME, Audience & Engagement

Additionally, the Editor, Mtaa Wangu (a Local News Venture) Reitz Mureithi, will now report to the Managing Editor of Audience & Engagement

Print Production

Ageyo added that NMG is taking every step necessary to make its Print Production leaner and more efficient. This will involve, among other measures, designating a smaller team to finalise the various products for the market.

“This team will not be involved in direct content generation but will curate and repurpose digital content from our websites for print audiences,” the memo stated.

A photo of Nation Media Group. /BUSINESS TODAY

Consequently, the Chief Sub-Editors will henceforth lead the production of their respective publications, under the supervision of a common Lead Editor. Also, a team of sub-editors and graphic designers will be assigned each day to design and lay the pages.

John Kiplagat, who is currently the Lead Editor of Daily Nation, has been appointed to the new role of Lead Editor, Print to oversee the overall production of all print titles. He will report to the Editor-in-Chief.

Caroline Njung’e who is the Chief Production Editor, will oversee the smooth operation of the subbing pool in serving both the digital and print production functions.