Another Giant Media House Announces Plan to Sack its Employees

Radio Africa Group, which owns the Star newspaper, Bamba TV, Kiss 100, Classic 105 and Radio Jambo, has announced plans to send packing some of its employees over its struggles in revenue earnings.

In a notice reportedly datec Monday, November 18, the group CEO Patrick Quarcoo lamented over shrinking revenues leading to the company’s inability to meet its financial obligations.

Radio Africa Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo.

“In the last four years, the media industry in Kenya and worldwide has undergone radical changes.

“Many media houses are struggling to maintain revenue through the traditional print and broadcast models,” reads in part the statement by Quarcoo.

Quarcoo, a Ghanian media investor, issued a one-month redundancy notice to the affected and said the company had no option but to reorganize itself.

“We are five months into our new financial year and we continue to experience downward pressure on total revenue.

“We are now forced by the changes in the advertising markets to transition from our old media revenue model.

“This now requires a phased restructuring of our business which may include reorganization of job positions, job roles, as well as operational and divisional structures in the company,” added Quarcoo.

It is not yet clear when the affected will stop being employees of the Radio Africa Group.

The number of people affected was not revealed too.

The Waiyaki Way based media house shut down its lifestyle radio station, XFM, in March this year.

The station used to play rock and alternative music with its target niche being the affluent and aspirational urban audience.

Some of the radio stations and newspaper owned by Radio Africa.

The latest redundancy notice comes weeks after Mediamax Limited laid off hundreds of its employees over a decline in revenue collections.

The move saw senior journalists and news anchors part ways with the company including K24 Swahili Anchor Mwanaisha Chidzuga and her co-anchor Ahmed Bhalo, Deputy Managing Editor Ali Mtenzi, Swahili Editor Franklin Wambugu among others.

The struggles by the media houses to raise revenue is attributed to invasion of foreign firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter which have taken the majority of the revenue streams that the broadcast companies used to enjoy.

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