THE KING THAT BECAME A MEDIA QUEEN
Generally, how has the company been received in the industry?
The reception hasn’t been that great, this is a competitive industry and I am a small fish with limited connections and limited resources but I do try my best to promote King On Media. So far, the clients we have worked with are really happy. Some of their recommendations and advice have helped us stay on our feet and I’m grateful for each and every one of them. My close family and some of my friends have also been quite supportive; they show love and support as if it is their own company!
What are your aspirations in terms of developing King On Media?
I aspire to be a great leader and to be successful so, in everything I do, I think about the long-term benefits, consequences and how that would play a role in the success of my business and my brand. I read so that I know what has worked for other people and see if that will work for me as well as what mistakes to avoid. As much as I am a student I am also a teacher so I learn and I teach those I work with and guide them on how to do things in a way that will benefit the business and themselves. I believe that success is a team accomplishment, I like to win and I like to see my team and clients win as well. My learning is not for my own benefit but for me to teach those I work with so that we can all work towards building a bigger brand that is King On Media.
Brilliant! Tell us about your role as Executive Board Member for Women in
I specialise in publicity and public relations for the organisation. I joined because of my passion for the tourism industry. I used to run the Travel & Tourism section of Echo newspaper and felt there was more that could be done in the industry especially since Covid was limiting and crippling the tourism industry.
I have been a board member since March 2021. One of the highlights of my tenure is that I spearheaded the successful Women in Tourism Botswana High Tea Symposium, which we host every last Saturday of International Women’s month in March and that is what is currently keeping me busy.
What does your 2023 look like? What are your individual achievements?
I just completed a course last week on Cases in Gender Equality and I received an A+ for that.
I was honoured to be a speaker at the African Women in Media Conference 2021, where I presented on implementing gender policies in African newsrooms. Because of that talk, I was featured in their magazine late last year.
To add, an article I wrote on gender-based violence compounding challenges faced by people with disabilities was featured on the Gender Links South Africa website as part of the 16 Days of Activism against GBV news series in 2021, which gave my work exposure to not only the country but the region as well and I consider it a blessing to have been selected.
Last but not least, I was nominated as the Women In News Botswana Alumni Chapter last year. And a very huge milestone for me was King On Media receiving its first international client late last year. Aside from the award scooped by King On Media, I received three MISA awards, which are: Best Adolescent Reporter, Best SGC Radio and Best SDG Reporter.
Being an all-rounder, which medium do you enjoy most?
I should probably say radio or social media because I work for a radio station and I am primarily focused on social media but maybe enjoyed print/blogs, television, radio and social media in that order.
What is your standout moment in the media industry?
The tourism assignments are always memorable because I get to explore different cultures and different parts of the world. I did a tour of some provinces in South Africa at the invitation of South African Tourism and it was a magical experience because it taught me a lot about what we, as a nation, need to do to diversify our tourism offerings. I went paragliding at Signal Hill, zip lining at Magoebaskloof Canopy Tours and explored Cape Town and Polokwane as a 1st class tourist. I toured the Okavango Delta as a 1st class tourist courtesy of Botswana Tourism, explored the dunes and explored our local cultures, those sit at the top of my memories list.
What challenges do you face in your line of work and how do you overcome them?
By virtue of being a woman in a male-dominated or male-run industry, it is already a challenge to breakthrough. As much as this tends to be trivialised as playing victim, this is the reality. Women are undervalued in newsrooms so we have to work twice as hard to be seen and heard and I have never shied away from that opportunity to be heard.
Safety of female journalists, especially in the field, is something we are yet to address as an industry, I haven’t figured out how to overcome that challenge yet!
What role do you play in empowering women in media, especially up and coming ones?
I am always open to mentoring women who want to join the industry. I love to see women win. I am a self-appointed counsellor for some of the women I am close to in the industry. I majored in Psychology at varsity, and I feel I can put the theory and skills to good use. I am also passionate about policy change in the media industry because there are a lot of challenges women face such as unequal pay, sexual harassment and gender-based violence among others. So, together with some of my fellow women in the industry, we are working towards advocating for the creation of gender and sexual harassment policies in the industry as these will protect women and make them feel safer to partake in the industry because there is a lot of potential out there.
Very bright and busy. I had taken a break from volunteer work but this is the year I get back into it and make a bigger difference. Hopefully there will be more awards to win this year, or rather let me speak it into existence: 2023 looks like more awards and bigger career moves, travelling and growth for my business.
Besides chasing headlines and deadlines, what else do you do?
I run my business and I am a student of life. My life is a bit bland of late: I go to work then go home to play the role of super mom with parenting my son.
How do you balance having a family and a hectic career?
I play so many roles with the businesses or companies that I work with so there are days when I work all day and night and it gets overwhelming. I do, however, have a strict no-work-after-hours and an onweekends policy unless it is urgent. I believe in dedicating time to family because a lot of the time, they keep you sane. So, spending time with the people you love should always be at the top of the priority list.
Finally, Thank God It’s Friday, what will you be up to this weekend?
I am hanging out with my colleagues for a bit. We did not have team end-of-year party last year so we are hanging out at one of the spots that recently opened up at CBD, or we’ll find a nice place somewhere around town. I also have a Women in Tourism board meeting tomorrow.