Tabitha Onyinge is a strategic communication consultant with more than twenty-five years of experience in media and development communication. She is currently the CEO of Deer Leaps Communications Limited, an organization she co-founded eleven years ago. Tabitha’s uniqueness is in strategic and extensive approach to communication, hinged on experience working in various media settings – radio and TV production, print media news and feature generation and editing, public relations and sales, as well as strategy development and implementation. She has written for and edited various print media, including the Standard and Parents magazine, and had a stint in television and radio news and programming at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Tabitha has been instrumental in strategy development and content generation (publications) for the East African Community, the Council of Governors, AMREF Health Africa, TradeMark East Africa, The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, among others.
Tabitha has a degree in Communication for Development, from the University of Nairobi, as well as a diploma in Journalism from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication. She is in the final stages of a Master’s in Management and Leadership at the Management University of Africa (MUA).
Change management and organizational sustainability, which are key in the contemporary media scenario, have been major components of Tabitha’s work and study since 2016. It is noteworthy that her Master’s thesis is on The Impact of Change Management on Business Performance of the Media in Kenya, out of which she published in February 2020, an academic paper: Managing change in media transition from print to multi-platform delivery: A case of Kenyan newspapers. She is also a trained Media Viability Consultant with DW Akademie, currently involved in training small and medium media houses in Kenya, with preference for Accounting and Financial Modeling, as well as Digital Trends and Innovation in the Media.
In sustaining her media viability consultancy, Tabitha hopes to support media houses in remodeling their businesses through diversified fundraising approaches, and inter-media cooperation, e.g., sharing of resources and tools where applicable, to minimize capital expenditures. She also hopes to support training of managerial and operational staff to adopt modern media practices that enhance outputs, by encouraging entrepreneurial approach to work. This, she believes, will motivate media staff to expand their skill sets and exert themselves in a more gainful manner.
| What motivates you to be part of the Media Viability ecosystem?
Change management and organizational sustainability, which are key in the contemporary media scenario, have been major components of my work and study since 2016. It is noteworthy that my Master’s thesis is on The Impact of Change Management on Business Performance of the Media in Kenya, out of which I published in February 2020, an academic paper: Managing change in media transition from print to multi-platform delivery: A case of Kenyan newspapers. |
| What impact do you want to make in the media sector?
I hope to support media houses in in developing resources and tools where applicable, to minimize recurrent capital expenditures which leads to wastage. E.g., a tool that eases audience research and engagement, that requires minimal and low-cost management (and upgrading). I also hope to support training of managerial and operational staff to adopt entrepreneurial approach to work. This will hopefully motivate media staff to expand their skill sets and exert themselves in a more gainful manner. |
| What can media organisations as beneficiaries expect when they work with you?
Practical approach to change management in the media organizations, which spans: improved leadership approaches and staff motivation (and staff attitude change where applicable); strategic alignment to industry specific and other applicable laws and policies (legal framework); financial modelling; proposal development; and audience-centered content generation. |
