Verah Vashti Okeyo
As seen in:
Defrontera,
LinkedIn,
Medium,
Africa Renewal,
The Guardian,
Quartz,
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism,
Daily Nation,
Nairobi News,
Inter Press Service,
The Standard (Kenya)
and
Covers:
Science Policy, Global Health and Medicine; Psychology; Technology; Environment, climate change and agriculture; Education; Gender, Diversity and Inclusion; Media, Culture and Entertainment
Doesn't Cover:
Politics
CEO @defronteramedia | Schools @medialse, BA @maseno_uni, PhD-ing medical anthro @uonbi | @Prince, Celine Dion & Darlene Zschech superfan
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Cameraman
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No
How is social media changing news?
News reaches people faster and journalists have to play "catch up"
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lois Lane in Smallville LOOL
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be able to communicate even the hardest pieces of information to professors in that field and laymen and leave them both satisfied
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Through email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Computers, camera and an array of video and audio editing software
What's your favorite social network?
Pinterest
Who do you wish followed you?
Barrack Obama...
Why did you become a journalist?
It is a faster way of keeping those in power in check, faster than the law which I also love
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was the president of the journalism club
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
One about atheists in Kenya, a religious country
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read. Do not be motivated by money. Learn from those who have been there before you and excelled
When's the best time to pitch you?
Evening, past 5pm
What's the best pitch you ever got?
To spear head a detailed report on state of health in Kenya
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
To write about a politician's good deeds when there were no good deeds at all
What's your favorite drink?
Tea
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In my house
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That science reporting is for boring journalists who are afraid of the confrontation of political reporting.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.