At just 23 years, Juney Karisa is one of the youngest journalists in the mainstream media, currently working at the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation.
After just one year working at the station as a senior reporter, doing news stories and human-interest features, she got designated to head the station’s Mombasa bureau, and that’s not all. As far as her dreams go, this is just but a beginning to a revolutionary journalistic voyage, whose ultimate destination and potential we still can’t fathom, leave alone imagine as possible.
Juney’s career journey and current position is one someone may ignorantly refer to as lucky, easy or even a walk in the park.
That could not be further from the truth. It has been sweat, blood and tears, quite literally.
Her hard work, sacrifice, stubborn resilience, positive energy and unwavering integrity have seen her defy all odds to put her life in its current trajectory.
She hopes to inspire many young women out there to conquer the world in the media industry or any other field, to defy all the odds to achieve their dreams.
JUNEY’S DIARY
06.30AM
My day basically starts at 6.30 am. It begins with a date with my daily bread: my Bible and a notebook. I proceed to plan my day’s assignments with my technical crew, interns or my fellow colleagues from other media houses, just to get an all-round picture of whom and what will make the headlines of the day. Planning involves checking press invitations, confirming press invites, designating who will do what and at what time.
3PM
Depending on the day’s diary, I arrive at the office as early as three or as late as five to package my stories for the day’s seven and 9pm bulletin. Administrative work is quite manageable, so I channel most of my energy on the news bit.
9.30PM
I chuck the office as early as 9.30pm, yes, very exhausted! I go to bed pretty late, rather satisfied, if I may add.
WEEKENDS
I haven’t quite defined my off-days, so most weekends may find me back at it or resting with my family or attending a wedding or burial. I spend a big chunk of my free time with my baby niece. She somehow refreshes my energy and persistence to be the best in what I do.
Being such a demanding profession, my life basically revolves around my job and family. I basically have a small circle of friends, manage what I can and let go of what can overwhelm me.
I have lost touch with 60 per cent of what I considered as my social life, and lost some dear pals along the way. However, I live a contented life as I continue to take life a day at a time, thanking God for who and what I am in life.