Sipho Kings
Verified
As seen in:
The Continent,
TED,
AllAfrica,
Mail & Guardian,
Climate Home News,
Nieman Reports,
New Frame,
BusinessBrief,
Banoyi
Publisher, @thecontinent_, a weekly African newspaper | @risj_oxford Climate Journalism Network advisory board | @NewmarkJPlus | '18 Harvard @niemanfdn
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Intern at the Mail & Guardian.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I started writing as a young thing using my dad's typewriter.
How is social media changing news?
It is killing off the need for media breaking news, and pushing us towards analysing news and why things happen.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Why pick a fictional one when real ones are far more interesting?
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Ask questions that find out what people are really doing, and why they are doing it. Then work out what this means for the environment.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By being told the truth.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
One trillion more people.
Why did you become a journalist?
To question the status quo and find ways in which we should be doing things.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I worked for our high school publication as a writer.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Any article that involves talking to communities and asking why they are ignored in decisions that adversely affect them.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read anything and everything, especially in your beat.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Now
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I'm always excited when people do some research before, and talk to me as if I am a human.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.