DSM Place, the building that houses K24. [PHOTO/ COURTESY]
K24 will be unveiling a new ‘dream team’ today, Monday June 22 after collaboration talks with KTN hit a snag.
The new team entails five presenters poached from rival station Switch TV, which is owned by Kenya Red Cross.
All of K24 Senior staff have been sent home after their positions were declared redundant.
New Faces
Among the top talent poached from the station include Giverson Maina, famously known for his programme at Switch TV, Africa Focus.
Formerly, Giverson worked for the Kenya News Agency before joining the defunct Kenya Television Service (KTS) as a reporter and a presenter.
He holds a bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Graphic Communication and Advertising from Moi University.
K24 will also be relying of the talent of Swahili anchor Daniel Kituu from the same station to turn things around.
He studied Electronic Media at Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Corporate Communication at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Former “The Presenter Season 2” top contestant Abuller Ahmed will also be joining the team that will be unveiled on Monday.
Ahmed formerly worked for KTN for three years before joining Switch TV where he served as a Swahili News anchor, Sports Presenter and Editor.
The station owned by Mediamax Networks Ltd will has also tapped the talent of Diana Rose, former health reporter and News Editor at Switch TV.
She has previously worked as a broadcast TV reporter for NTV’s now-defunct Kiswahili channel, QTV from 2012.
She also interned at KBC Radio Taifa and Shine FM.
Nicholas Nduati will be another big name from Switch TV who will join K24 as News Editor after serving in the capacity of Supervising editor at Switch TV.
He holds a masters degree in International Studies from University of Nairobi and a bachelors degree in Communication and Media from Egerton University.
K24 was served a blow recently after one of its big names, Betty Kyalo resigned following a salary row.
Before Betty Kyalo, the media house’s top-most editor Peter Opondo, in charge of editorial functions of print, broadcast, and digital divisions also resigned.
Later, Head of Commercial Caroline Mwangi resigned in a low key turn of events, that left the media house dented.
The company had declared intention to slash employees’ salaries by 20 to 50 per cent citing adverse effects of Covid-19 on its business.
However, a section of employees moved to court and successfully overturned the move by management for the month of April and May.
Last week, the employees wrote a letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta saying they have been neglected by the company, despite the President cushioning employees in other sectors due to Covid-19.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, we have seen you personally institute measures to cushion Kenyans against the economic shocks that came with it. However, at Mediamax, the esteemed organization that’s associated with your family has shown nothing but utter disdain for its biggest driving force – its staff. Unlike other companies that held dialogue with their employees through the painful but unavoidable measures, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ken Ngaruiya, was unilateralist in his approach,” says the company.
According to the letter, employees who moved to court to defend their rights have gone without pay for more than two months and this has exposed them and families to untold suffering, financial insecurity and psychological distress.
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