Citizen TV has once again looked to familiar territory to fill talent gaps after suffering the consequences of losing top talent to the State and other media outlets.
NTV news anchor Olivia Burrows has been selected to succeed outgoing Victoria Rubadiri, who is expected to join her former coworker Larry Madowo as an African correspondent at the CNN owned by Warner Media, according to people with knowledge of the most recent poaching wave.
As part of Royal Media Services’ star-studded roster of news anchors, Burrows is now on notice and will make her debut at the Dennis Pritt-based media outlet within the next month.
Following her departure from Capital FM in May 2018, Olive Burrows joined Nation Media Group and has since established herself as a staple on Kenyan television, hosting AM Live, a morning conversation show, and providing prime time news.
But for Citizen TV, the story doesn’t end there.
Additionally, our sources have disclosed that Royal Media is debating the most effective way to replace its departing personnel.
In the Ministry of Defence and the Office of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, for example, it has become problematic to replace Chemutai Goin and Hassan Mugambi, who joined the government as communications specialists.
Newsaih.com has investigated and has been informed with reliability that Melita Ole Tenges, the political reporter for NTV, has been contacted by Citizen TV to take Goin’s job.
Moving to Citizen offers political reporters a greater overall prospect in terms of professional progression and the cash package involved, therefore it is anticipated that prieding Tenges from the Twin Towers won’t be too difficult.
Still, it will be far more difficult to replace Mugambi. According to sources, NTV reporter Brian Obuya for Special Projects, Crimes, and Investigations has caught the attention of Citizen.
Nation will be hesitant to let Obuya go because NMG is depending on its Crime and Investigations bureau to support its paywall plan and drive traffic to its content website. However, NTV is likely to let Tenges go without causing too much of a stir.
NTV is presently re-engineering all of its editorial programming in an attempt to make them more competitive in the current broadcast media landscape, as Kenyans.co.ke has previously reported.
The same sources disclose that, as it moves into what it views as the next frontier, NMG has made every effort to prevent its talent from departing the Crime and Investigations bureau.
The current personnel of NMG’s Special Projects, Crimes and Investigations desk are: Ngina Kirori, reporter; Duncan Khaemba, reporter; Ibrahim Karanja, reporter and backup news anchor; Brian Wasuna, print reporter; and Brian Obuya, reporter.
As this is going on, insiders have revealed that Citizen is prepared to pay whatever price to get skills in the fields of crime and investigations.
Based on trend analysis, the theory holds that only in-depth crime and investigative stories will draw the eyes required to regularly keep viewers engaged and bring in the ensuing advertising income.
Sources reveal that Citizen TV has recognized KTN reporter Emmanuel Too as a potential candidate for a political reporter role in addition to focusing on NMG talent.
Citizen will focus on KTN’s Crime and Investigations Desk, which is now run by former BBC reporter Francis Ontomwa, in accordance with this objective, if NMG turns into a challenging playground.
Experienced web reporters Fred Kagonye and Francis Odee are among the other reporters on the KTN Desk.
