Kenyan freelance journalist David Njagi<\/a> has a special attachment to his stories. A story<\/a> recently published by DeSmog<\/a> had been \u2018killed\u2019<\/a> by his editor ten years ago, when he worked for The Daily Nation<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis story died at the Daily Nation desk but it continued to live in me,\u201d he said of \u2018We Need Water Before Oil\u2019<\/a> – his story on how a poor and marginalized community in northern Kenya was impacted by oil exploration activities conducted in the area by a Chinese firm.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n News that Kenya was joining the league of oil producing countries was received with excitement. That was back in 2008 when the China Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced it had identified 15 wells which showed strong signs of holding oil and gas deposits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journalists and media organizations were readying to tell the story of prosperity. In 2010, David Njagi was sent to Merti, the little town in the north where oil was reported to have been discovered. His brief was simple: to find out if oil had indeed been found and how long it would take before the first barrel of crude went to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a whole different story awaited him in Merti. There was no oil, CNOOC was pulling out, the wells were gaping open with shrubs grown around them and residents had been disillusioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe people had issues to raise,\u201d he said, \u201cthey complained of damaged land and promises of boreholes and health facilities that were not met.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n David thought this would have made a bigger story but his editor did not, and so it was not published but he kept it in mind and remained in touch with the sources he had established. And ten years later when Mat Hope, <\/a>editor of DeSmog UK<\/a> contacted him for a story around oil exploration activities in Kenya he had the perfect one.\u00a0<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n More than many journalists I know, David relies on local people’s voices in his storytelling, much more than expert opinion. I asked why. \u201cScience journalism creates impact and makes people interested in issues when it is done from a people\u2019s perspective,\u201d he explained, adding that people like to read about people \u2013 how they live and how their lives are influenced by the events of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was one of the first lessons he learnt when he chose to specialize in science reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt Nation they used to warn us against being too technical because you easily lose your readers,\u201d David said, adding that while expert opinion and quotes from the UN and major development organizations are important in science and development reporting, it is community voices that best help to put scientific evidence into perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExperts have to explain the concepts and the findings of their reports and when you add that to the people talking about their lived experience, that\u2019s powerful. That\u2019s the heart of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing for an international audience comes with greater responsibility. David understands that to stay on top of his game, his content has to be rich and his prose intricate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent article<\/a> for the BBC\u2019s Future Planet<\/a>, the flair of his writing is evident from the lead. He attacks the story (you really have to read the story to appreciate this) with a nut graph<\/a>. The quality of the direct quotes tell of well-framed interview questions and from his paraphrasing you can tell he listened well. He applies the principles of the four paragraph lead<\/a>, of which The Bloomberg Way<\/a> says: \u201clearn how to apply this to stories\u2014all stories\u2014and you will know how to succeed.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n I asked how long he thought about that lead and what kind of questions he asked to get such strong quotes. \u201cThis was not part of the interview,\u201d he explained. After his interview with Jane Nderu, a farmer in Central Kenya, David engaged her in a general conversation, even walked with her to her farm and while there asked conversationally what it felt like to be in a hailstorm. \u201cShe asked if I had ever been in a riot and then went on to explain that hail is exactly like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The small talk after the interview formed the basis of his lead and storyline. \u201cThe quality of your journalism very much depends on the quality of the relationships you build with your sources,\u201d David explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organic growth is perhaps what best describes David\u2019s career journey. Today he writes for several international media organizations<\/a>, including the BBC, Reuters, Daily Mail, DeSmog, All Africa, Climate Home, The East African and more. It’s a culmination of a difficult journey.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started writing while still in college. I wrote full page articles for many media organizations for free,\u201d David said, explaining that in the beginning his sole focus was to build a strong profile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While in college, his free time was spent pitching and writing stories for different publications without demanding a cent. Even when he was engaged as an intern at the Public Relations Society of Kenya<\/a> (PRSK), he would still \u201cthrow some stories to Kenya Times, People Daily and The Leader.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\nPeople like to read about people<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Writing well<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Writing for international media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n