Maurice Oniang'o
Verified
As seen in:
The Guardian,
National Geographic,
Euronews,
Nieman Lab,
Columbia Journalism Review,
Global Investigative Journalism Network,
Editor & Publisher,
Africa.com,
PassBlue,
100Reporters
and
Covers:
Social justice, Human rights, corruption, wildlife crime, conservation
Journalist | Bylines @natgeo @guardian @CJR @foreignpolicy @AfUncensored @thecontinent_ @euronews @restofworld| @natgeo Explorer |@columbia alum|
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Intern reporter at Kenya News Agency
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No
How is social media changing news?
Everybody now believes they're journalists because they can take a photo or post breaking news & get retweets & posts
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I.M. Fletcher
What does it mean to be a journalist?
That I have the power to tell stories that not only inform but also impact lives
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Canon c100 camera for filming, Nikon D500 for photography. Softwares; Premiere pro and adobe lightroom
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Barack Obama
Why did you become a journalist?
To tell stories that impact lives
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I travelled with volleyball team & wrote articles for students
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Highlighting how cultural beliefs & fear abet poaching of an endemic snake species from Kenya
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Do your research and have your facts right, no matter who you're interviewing, if you got that you will be good
When's the best time to pitch you?
Morning hours
What's the best pitch you ever got?
To investigate corruption & mismanagement allegations of a local airline
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
To follow up on false corruption allegations about a government official
What's your favorite drink?
Milk
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Watching a documentary
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Foreign Policy and The Continent
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
For wildlife investigations that you have to have a background in environmental/wildlife field
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.