{Photo courtesy of SOC}
By Benjamin Wanguba
On Thursday, 10th August, 2023, BBC’s Waihiga Mwaura And Citizen TV’s Jason Mwangi were the chief guests at an interactive session with students of Communication at Daystar University. The event which was dubbed the Journey of a broadcaster, allowed the two guest speakers to speak to the aspiring journalists on what it takes to get to the top while enlightening them of their journey to the big screen.
The first guest Mr Mwangi, a Daystar class of 2019 alumnus, recapped his journey from Athi River campus to getting to work for the biggest media house in the country. Jason Mwangi, who is a Digital Producer and Photo Journalist at the Royal Media Services encouraged the students to be proactive and go out and network as early as possible to allow them to familiarize with the industry. He also motivated the students to utilize the resources at the school while they were still here. Mr. Mwangi further gave the students tips on what to do once they secure an internship. “When you get an internship please don’t allow yourself to leave that place. Try and spot a gap in that organisation and fill it. For me I noticed a gap in terms of photography and ran with it and I am still there up to date.”
The photojournalist also encouraged the students to avoid laziness and to always be on time. He recounted how as a student he missed an interview with Victoria Rubadiri by just 10 minutes and since then he has always been early to meetings. “Someone’s time is very valuable. Please don’t waste people’s time, be early.”
In regards to the field of photo journalism, he encouraged the students to always tell stories with their pictures and that no story was worth dying for.
Once he had finished, the second guest of the event Waihiga Mwaura rose to the stage. Waihiga took the audience through his journey to get to the big screen. The BBC journalist who is a Computer Science graduate reminisced on how moderating one church event led to him being a seasoned journalist. It was after moderating that event that his pastor encouraged him to try out an on-screen career. Several auditions later, Waihiga would end up being a Sports Reporter at Citizen TV for 7 years then rise through the ranks and eventually become lead reporter. He encouraged the audience never to neglect an opportunity.
Mwaura also encouraged the attendees to go above and beyond classroom learning in order to be the best. “Schools give a great foundation but you still need to learn on your own. He also added that, “Some people attend foreign universities and are the best. Others attend lesser known universities and are still the best. It is also the same for the inverse. It all depends with what you do with what you have.”
In regards to the future of journalism, he encouraged the students to embrace change. He highlighted how most Gen Z’s get their news from Tik-tok and how the young journalists can embrace this space. “AI will change journalism and you have to learn and adapt with the change,” he added. He also advised the attendants on the need for building one’s brand before they graduate in order to be ready for the marketplace.