Rita Tinina Quits KTN, Rejoins NTV [EXCLUSIVE]

Renowned journalist Rita Tinina has rejoined Nation Media Group's (NMG) NTV, having left Standard Group Limited, Viral Tea can now exclusively report.

According to a source at the Kimathi Street-based media house who whispered to Viral Tea, Tinina made a comeback at the TV station where she previously served as a senior reporter.

Tinina was one of the senior reporters at KTN having formerly served in the same position at NTV.

"Rita Tinina has moved to NTV. She is there. I met her at Nation Centre yesterday...but confirm from sources," the source told this writer.

Another source at NMG confirmed to Viral Tea that she officially joined the regional media house, terming her entry as a huge boost given her 'legendary' status on TV.

When Viral Tea reached out to sources at Standard Group to inquire about Tinina's departure, they confirmed that she left the Mombasa Road-based media house and that "She started there (NTV) on Monday."

It remains to be established what role Tinina will take up at NMG, and she was yet to speak regarding her latest move by the time of publishing this story.

NMG has been thriving in a mixed atmosphere owing to changes since charting a roadmap that will enable the media stable transition from the traditional media business model to the modern model that places a huge emphasis on digital media.

Moreover, NTV has been fighting to regain its prominence as one of Kenya's top TV stations, with a recent ranking by GeoPoll placing it way behind Citizen TV in terms of its cumulative audience within seven days (Sunday, September 3 to Saturday, September 9, 2023). While Citizen TV boasted 22,861,000 viewers, NTV followed with 10,680,000.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Tinina joined Standard Group in December 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Nairobi (UoN).

She has been termed one of the best reporters according to many viewers of the station and is one of the most sought-after talents having been reportedly offered several proposals to join top Kenyan media houses.

It was at NTV where her groomed talent turned her into among the top 10 best news anchor women in the country and so unshaken was her loyalty that in 2012, she was reportedly offered a job by an international media house to represent the East and Southern Africa region which she rejected, leaving that media house to scout for another talent.

Meanwhile, the woes continue to hit Standard Group as the media house is still witnessing financial challenges, with the uncertainty, coupled with internal memos threatening mass firings at the century-old media house, unsettling journalists regarding their future at the 100-year-old media house.

Its last redundancy notice was issued to staff on Friday, September 1 and was the first since the promotion of its Managing Director-Broadcast Division, Joe Munene as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO).