Meet TUKO.co.ke's New Managing Editor Who Started Out At US Company

Jacob Otieno Onyango was on Thursday, April 27 unveiled as TUKO.co.ke's Managing Editor, replacing Julia Majale who was promoted to the Managing Director (MD) position.

In his new role, Otieno will be expected to administer the day-to-day operations of TUKO.co.ke. This includes generating story ideas; planning, assigning and editing content; overseeing spending; commissioning stories and art; overseeing production schedules and editorial calendars; and supervising editorial staff and freelancers.

He may also write copy, and monitor and/or edit social media posts. Just like Majale, Otieno's new role was a promotion, having been in charge of the digital media house's business desk operations and steering it into an authoritative platform for business reporting in the country.

"Prior to his appointment as Managing Editor, Jacob served as the Head of the Business Desk at TUKO.co.ke where he oversaw the coverage of all business-related news and events in Kenya and the region.

Tuko Media's Managing Director, Julia Majale (left) and Managing Editor, Jacob Otieno pose for a photo inside a studio in Nairobi on Thursday, April 27, 2023. /TUKO.CO.KE

"During his tenure, he led the team in breaking major stories and providing insightful analysis of the latest trends in the business world," TUKO.co.ke stated in a press release sent exclusively to Viral Tea.

Otieno has worked with various reputable media houses, where he covered a wide range of topics, including finance, investment, entrepreneurship, and economic policy.

He started out as a Part-Time Editor at Special Learning Inc., a company located in the United States (US) city of Chicago. Special Learning is a web-based autism solutions company for parents, providers and educators who are helping individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) around the globe.

He then made his mark as a senior business reporter and Acting Editor-in-Chief at The East African Business Times between 2014 and 2017.

During this time, he had the privilege of travelling across East Africa and conducting interviews with notable figures such as state ministers, parastatal bosses, vice chancellors of top universities, as well as corporate managers of leading companies like Toyota Kenya, RMA Kenya, Telkom Kenya, and more.

Otieno's journalistic accomplishments extend beyond East Africa. In 2019, he was one of a select few African journalists invited to attend and cover the second Africa Tourism Leadership Forum in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

His unwavering commitment to journalistic excellence, passion for covering compelling stories, and keen eyes for detail have earned him a reputation for being a trusted source for insightful and informative business news.

Otieno joined TUKO.co.ke in February 2017 as a journalist and editor before rising through the ranks as the Head of Department (HoD) and Copy Editor and the Head of the Business Desk (Biashara) as well as the Senior HoD prior to his recent appointment during the six years he has worked at the media house.

"Jacob holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Media Technology from Maseno University. Over the years, he has also gone through various media training programmes, including on ESG Reporting and Accounting Standards by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) and KPMG; Public Procurement Systems by the Kenya Editor's Guild (KEG) and Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)," TUKO.co.ke describes him.

Both Otieno and Majale will be expected to continue from the progressive work done by digital strategist Gibendi Ramenya, who left the media house in April 2023, having started at the media house in 2015, the year TUKO.co.ke began.

A screenshot of TUKO.co.ke's homepage. /TUKO.CO.KE

The digital website has grown to become an award-winning company of dedicated journalists. It focuses on breaking topics in news and business as well as the production of bright entertainment content and engaging human interest stories.

In less than two years after being set up by Legit Media, it rose over traditional leaders of the digital space like Citizen Digital, Standard Digital and Nation.Africa. A 2021 State of the Media Survey report place TUKO.co.ke as the largest online news website in Kenya with an extensive reach marked by over 10 million users each month.

On July 15, 2022, TUKO.co.ke was ranked as one of the top ten publishers on Facebook across the world, having clocked over 10 million engagements on the world's biggest social media platform in one month.