…For Nigerian Most Outstanding Investigative Journalist in the Diaspora
*Red Carpet ceremony slated for Sunday, September 17 at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja by 3:00pm
* 11th Glamorous Edition to Attract African Celebrities across the world
*100 entries considered from around the globe
* “ We are stepping up this year. There will be lots of surprises and part of it is where this event will take place this year”-Sola Olugbemiro, ceo of Solkem Communications
BY SAMSON SHOAGA/MANAGING EDITOR, ABUJA
HISTORY is about to be made in the media center of Africa’s most populous black nation on earth, as Sola Olugbemiro, owner of Solkem Communications rolls out Red Carpet at the prestigous Lagos Airport Hotel in Ikeja to host the 11th edition of Nigeria Media Nite Out Award (NMNA) 2017 where celebrities of African origins have comfirmed attendance in this ceremony.
Obviously, the highpoint of this event will be who wins in the category of Nigerian Most Outstanding Investigative Journalist in the Diaspora category? From a list of 100 entries considered by NMNA Commiittee, it was narrowed down to FOUR, whose identities are: Abby Phillips of Washington Post, Femi Oke of Ajazeera Television, Tunde Agoe, a Senior Correspondent with AFP in their Lagos Bureau office and George Elijah Otumu, a multple award wining international journalist, Foreign Bureau Chief for Naija Standard Newspaper in United States.
Below are the final FOUR Media Nominees Profile:
Abby Phillips is an African-American famous national reporter for Washington Post newspaper covering White House and a Contributor on Cables News Network (CNN). She is a reporter covering the White House for The Washington Post and covered the 2016 presidential campaign.
Abby is a digital journalist best known for her reporting work on politics & her appearances on CNN & other TV networks. This cerebral lady was considered an academic from a young age. In 2006, she began attending Harvard University, having been accepted straight out of High school.
Originally, she began at Harvard with the intention of completing a pre-med degree to assist her with becoming a heart surgeon. But an assignment from a class required her to write a one-off blog about her experiences with a service trip. It was this assignment that made her realise her heart was in journalism and from there she transitioned into Harvard’s school of Arts. She graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts and a major in Government.
From there she branched out into television and radio appearances for networks such as WJLA ABC-7 News, MSNBC, News Channel 8, Fox News, CNN. She presently specializes in digital journalism. Her prowess, specialty lays in the following areas: Politics, Health, Crime, Breaking News & Washington based popular and internet culture.
She joined the Washington Post in 2004, beginning in their general assignment team. In 2016, she was upgraded to a political reporter and was the Post’s correspondent following the Presidential Campaign that eventually saw Donald Trump elected to the White House.Though her focus is writing on politics, she enjoys writing on science & human-centric stories. She has been a contributor to the POLITICO website as well.
Since joining The Post’s general assignment team in May 2014, Abby has been a news dynamo, filing hundreds of stories based on primary reporting and aggregation that have broadened the scope of our news report and kept us current amid fast-breaking events. She’s covered an astonishing array of topics – from the Ebola outbreak to Jane Birkin’s newfound tears for crocodiles to Martin O’Malley’s awkward AMA. She’s also helped out National in New Orleans and Charleston, where she wrote memorably about Gov. Nikki Haley’s pivot on the Confederate flag.
Abby earlier worked in Washington bureau of ABC News, where she was a digital reporter covering politics. Before joining ABC she spent two years with Politico as a White House correspondent and as a reporter on the money and politics beat. Abby has a degree in government from Harvard and was news executive editor of the Crimson.
Femi Oke: Femi Oke (born 30 June 1966) is a British television presenter and journalist. Femi was born in London, England, to Nigerian parents of the Yoruba ethnic group. She is a graduate of Birmingham University where she received a bachelor’s degree in English literature and language.
Femi began her career at age 14 working as a junior reporter for the United Kingdom’s first talk radio station London Broadcasting Company. During 1993, Femi worked for a cable station called Wire TV, this was pre-Janet Street Porter’s L!VE TV. Femi presented several shows for the station, including the popular Soap on the Wire on a Saturday afternoon, with soap opera expert Chris Stacey.
In the early 1990s, Femi presented the BBC’s flagship educational science programme Science In Action and was also a presenter of Top of the Pops. She has also worked for GMTV, London Weekend Television, Men & Motors and Carlton Television. She is a former anchor for CNN International’s World Weather service at the network’s global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
She presented weather segments for the programs Your World Today and World News. She also regularly hosted Inside Africa, now fronted by Errol Barnett, a programme that looks into the economic, social and cultural affairs and trends in Africa. She joined CNN in 1999, and worked there until 2008. She used to appear as a daily newscaster, contributor and interviewer on Public Radio International/WNYC’s morning public radio news program, The Takeaway.
Currently, she hosts The Stream on Al Jazeera English. She has accepted an invitation to teach on behalf of the World Meteorological Organization in Buenos Aires, Argentina, conducted guest lectures for the University of Liberia, Emory University in Atlanta and been a guest speaker at the United Nations, addressing the World Food Programme in Rome, Italy.
Tunde Agoi: AFP Correspondent for Lagos Bureau is well trained journalist who has covered hundreds of breath-taking news stories, Breaking news on politics, business, entertainment, fashion and other sectors of Nigerian economy. He is consistent and have strong sources across every sector of Nigerian state.
George Elijah Otumu: He is our highly celebrated multiple, award-wining international journalist, representing Naija Standard Newspaper officially in United States where he daily files in news stories as Foreign Bureau Chief. Otumu is a well known reporter whose strength is in Investigative Journalism. He has written thousands of news stories, broke many stories and won over 15 media awards across the world. He is the authour of Amazon No1. famous book: ‘Nigeria 2015 Elections…Reporters’ Survival, Democracy and International Community’ written in English, Spanish, French and Arabic languages in one book.
Otumu has worked succesffuly from been a reporter to becoming editor in several mainstream media establishments in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Liberia, Kenya, Europe, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and in United States where he still blazing the trail on news stories regarding Nigerians at homee and Nigerians in the Diaspora.
He has spent over 20 years in active media practice, enjoys strong contacts from sources across the world, conduct many undercover news stories and won many international awards and he is a member of many various media associations including: American Society of News Editors (ASNE), Foreign Press Association (FPA), Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), World Editors Forum (WEF), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); and many others.
For the records, Otumu is Vice president of Nigerian American Press Association (NAPA) and Publicity Secretary of Reporters Beyond Borders (RBB), a pressure media group ensuring journalists’ freedom of quality reportage not infringed. Also, he won among many media awards: MBE Investigative Journalist/Blogger off the Year in Manchester, United Kingdom September 2016 and DEE DEE Media Icon Award in Maryland, USA.
Meanwhile, Sola is raising the bar in this year’s event. This publisher of Ace magazine said: “We are stepping up this year, raising the bar, bringing in surprises as part of what is where the event we take place this year. There will be lots of good and positive surprises. That is why we have move the award night to Lagos Airport Hotel. As at today, we have received confirmation from several African top celebrities that has assured us they will be physically present. A lot of big personalities will grace the event. We received 100 entries and our distinguished committee narrowed it down to FOUR.
“Our award is for people who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields, and you must be a worth recipient for you to be given this award.
So I can tell you that this year own will raise a bar as far as award event is concern in Nigeria.”
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