Foreign media reporting about Africa is what inspired Larry Madowo to quit BBC and move to CNN as a correspondent for Africa headquartered in Nairobi.
Madowo on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Bizcommunity said that he had for long raised issues with how Africa is covered by foreign media houses.
His moving to CNN gave him a better opportunity to tell of Africa’s plight to the last bit.
“We’ve discussed my role with the leadership at CNN since last year and this was the perfect time. I’ve always been critical of some of the foreign media’s coverage of Africa, so I felt challenged when the CNN opportunity came up,” he said.
He added that “It’s easy to criticise other journalists’ African reporting from the comforts of America, but I chose to come back, so the audience can hold me accountable to the same standards I preached.”
Madowo has been stationed as BBC’s North America correspondent in Washington DC after attaining the Knight-Bagehot Fellow status while working with BBC.
“I’m thrilled to be heading back home (to Nairobi) and starting a new assignment with CNN covering a patch that’s close to my heart.
Whether I’m working in Johannesburg, London or Washington, Nairobi has always been special to me.
Speaking of his new job and posting back home, he said “This is an amazing platform to showcase the full breadth of African life with a massive audience and I can’t wait to get started. I’m an African and covering this continent’s history being written in real-time is a huge privilege.”
