Nation Media bids farewell to Editor-in-Chief Tom Mshindi

Nation Media Group's leadership has bid farewell to outgoing Editor-in-Chief and Executive Director, Tom Mshindi, after 24 years of service.

At an event attended by board member Wangethi Mwangi, Group Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gitagama, former CEO Joe Muganda and other senior managers, Mr Mshindi was described as a team leader, diplomat and an intelligent person.

MAJOR CHANGES

In his address during the ceremony on Thursday evening, Mr Mshindi noted that journalism is fundamental "because without it we are dead".

"We must do good journalism but we must always remember that we cannot be dogmatic,” he told guests at the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi.

Mr Mshindi also talked about convergence, saying that it stems from the realisation that viewers and readers are now in control of media outlets by way of their mobile phones.

"People read what they want and listen to what they want," he said.

“Our industry is in huge turmoil but there are also great opportunities. The questions is whether we have the courage to jump in when we should and jump out when we cant and move on."

Regarding his journey in the profession, Mr Mshindi said his first assignment was to use a ruler to analyse the use of stories in newspapers.

“I used to take a ruler and measure how a story had been used in the Nation, Standard and Kenya Times,” he said.

He added that it was veteran journalist Philip Ochieng who identified him and asked him to write an editorial, which was published as he submitted it.

BIG ASSET

Mr Gitagama said the outgoing Editor-in–Chief was a significant asset to the company.

“He did a lot for the company selflessly and was always at hand to support me,” he said.

Mr Muganda said Mr Mshindi made him understand what he signed up for when he took the job at the media house.

He asked the media to continue playing its critical roles such as exposing corruption in the society.

Executive Editor Mutuma Mathiu said Mr Mshindi’s legacy of good journalism will never die and thanked him for his contributions to the profession in Kenya.