Vision Group gets new Editor-in-Chief

KAMPALA - Veteran journalist Sidney Miria has been appointed as the Vision Group’s new Editor-in-Chief, replacing Barbara Kaija, who will retire at the end of next month.

Vision Group’s chief executive officer, Don Wanyama, announced the news yesterday in an email to all staff, saying Kaija will retire after over 30 years of dedicated and sterling service to the leading multimedia company in Uganda.

He said for seamless transition and to ensure continuity, the board of directors appointed Miria as a replacement for her.

Miria, who currently serves as special projects content manager, has been at the Vision Group for 26 years, having joined in 2000 as a freelance journalist.

Miria noted that as a market leader, the company needs to continue to set the trend that it has been setting in the past.

He then served as a sub editor, Sunday Magazine editor, deputy regional news editor, regional news editor and supplements editor before assuming his current role.

Wanyama said as Editor-in-Chief, Miria will provide overall editorial leadership, strategic direction and quality control for all content across Vision Group’s media platforms (newspaper, TV, radio and digital).

“Working with the team, he is expected to drive innovation, audience engagement, oversee cross-platform integration and ensure that we remain competitive, relevant and trusted,” he said.

Barbara Kaija, the outgoing Vision Group Editor-in-Chief congratulated Sidney, and she will retire at the end of next month.

We welcome you! 

On behalf of the board and management, Wanyama congratulated Miria on this promotion.

“I pray that we offer him all the support needed to successfully execute his new assignment,” the Vision Group boss implored staff.

He immensely appreciated Kaija for her selfless service to the company. “We shall celebrate her appropriately in the coming days,” Wanyama added.

Vision Group’s chief executive officer, Don Wanyama, announced the news yesterday in an email to all staff, saying Kaija will retire after over 30 years of dedicated and sterling service to the leading multimedia company in Uganda.

Miria speaks  

Asked how he felt about the new appointment, Miria, 49, said it was not about the feeling, but the task ahead.

“We have a lot of work to do. We need to ensure that Vision Group is profitable; that the shareholders at the end of every financial year are able to get a dividend and that the quality of journalism remains high,” he said.

He noted that as a market leader, the company needs to continue to set the trend that it has been setting in the past. Miria described his new role as a big responsibility, saying he does not take it lightly.

“But based on the fact that I have been at Vision Group for the last 26 years, I have been part and parcel of the developments that have happened at Vision Group. We can only expect to get better, to serve our audiences better and to ensure that we remain a very profitable company,” he said.

He also observed that COVID-19 took a toll on media houses, and Vision Group was no exception.

Miria described his new role as a big responsibility, saying he does not take it lightly.

“However, it (COVID-19) also taught us lessons of how to survive. We speak on those lessons and act on those lessons. Our pledge to our audiences is to continue to serve you better, to meet you at your points of need.”

Miria earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Education, from Kyambogo University in 2003.

He currently holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies from Makerere University, a postgraduate diploma in Investigative journalism and is currently a PhD student at Uganda Christian University.

Kaija welcomes Miria  

Kaija welcomed Miria and urged him to trust God as he embarks on the new task.

“Congratulations Sidney. We thank God for He has prepared you over very many years. Just remember that as God was with me, He will be with you. Call on Him, and He will help you. The teamwork at Vision is strong, I know you will receive the support like I have.

I am confident that with you at the helm, we shall serve our audiences, our clients and our country even better. I am sure the Content Generation and Distribution department will go to even greater heights,” she said. 

Kaija welcomed Miria and urged him to trust God as he embarks on the new task.

See Kaija’s full message on the right.

Barbara Kaija’s message

I joined New Vision on January 10, 1992. I thank God for His mercy and the gift of life and wisdom that has enabled us to serve for 34 years. Only the Almighty God could enable a small village girl oversee the editing of national media platforms for 16 years.

I was appointed Editor-in-Chief (EIC) April 2010. I must say the incoming EIC has my full support. We groomed him from the time he stepped into Vision Group. He was deployed at different desks in the newsroom:

He reported, edited regional news and Sunday Vision. He has worked on special revenue projects and attained skills there. So, he balances editing and revenue generation skills well.

I have no doubt that he will take Vision Group to better heights. I also appreciate my supervisors, past and present, for seeing me through the journey.

First of all, James Tumusiime, the founding editor for Vision Group, who recruited me into New Vision, David Sseppuya, my supervisor, William Pike, who identified and supported me through the years and Robert Kabushenga, with whom we worked well, are partly the reasons why I got here, because he gave me the opportunity to try out different things.

I joined New Vision as a sub-editor trainee and rose through the ranks, sub-editor, deputy features editor and features editor, a job I did for 10 years.

From there, I became a deputy editor-in-chief for four years before becoming EIC. It is rare that it is one individual who does something. We have done many projects and have excelled in development journalism.

We have big events like Best Farmers and Best Teachers competitions. So, we have achieved a lot and contributed to our communities and audiences. I also appreciate the political establishment, especially President Yoweri Museveni, because the media can only operate when there is political goodwill.

And the political goodwill over the 40 years has enabled us to practice journalism and full careers at Vision Group. The political environment allowed us to express ourselves, highlight what was going wrong, without fearing that you would end up in jail.

At Vision Group, we have a policy where we are able to criticise the Government without being an institutional opponent.

I appreciate the chief executive officer Don Wanyama for giving me the opportunity because at Vision Group we retire at 55, but I have been allowed an extra seven years. Mr Ndyanabo has been a good professional mentor to me over the years.

He is one stable factor that has kept me through, and I really appreciate his support. I appreciate the deputies I have worked with: Ben Opolot, John Kakande, Felix Osike and all the other editors.

I appreciate my colleagues at Exco. I am still around until the end of June, so we are using this period to make sure that there is a peaceful transition. We will be supporting the incoming EIC to make sure that transition is smooth.

There should be no worry. Our audiences should not worry because the people who are coming in have been working with us. So, they will be able to continue doing what we have been doing without any problem.

Also, the team should not worry because it is our own who has been promoted and he has been part of the team. We have worked with him all these years. He is a good person. He is a good leader and he will be able to transition and even to get to heights that we have not gotten through.

And to Miria, I celebrate him. I am happy for him, and I wish him a very prosperous career. Of course, we also appreciate the board, past and present: David Sebaabi, Monica Chibita, Patrick Ayota and now Edward Damulira Sengonzi and all members.

I would like to thank the President and the First Lady, Mama Janet Museveni. Mama has always stood with me throughout my career, and I really appreciate her.

I want to thank my husband, Mr Patrick Kaija and the children for supporting me all these years because you cannot do journalism without a supportive family.