- Phenomenal. Faridah Nakazibwe has been a journalist for 17 years. She anchors news and hosts a show on NTV. In an exclusive interview, she talks about career, family, love and fashion.
NTV news anchor and show presenter Faridah Nakazibwe. PHOTO/FILE
I was into fashion, art and design. My father wanted me to be a teacher, but told him that was not the profession I wanted. He gave me an opportunity to choose what I wanted and I chose journalism.
When I finished my degree at Islamic University in Uganda, I got an internship opportunity at UBC when it was still UTV. I also spent a month working as a waitress and receptionist at one of the big hotels in Masaka. My mother requested the then minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Gerald Sendawula, who was a friend to my late father, to find me a slot in a media house. He contacted Gordon Wavamunno who gave me a chance to work at WBS TV. I was asked what I wanted to do and I told them news anchoring. With limited knowledge and skills, I did a screen test and failed. I was told my voice was not good for broadcasting and I was given an opportunity to do reporting, after which I was tasked to be a producer of a traffic show called On The Road to give traffic updates and how to use the road. Two years at WBS, Nalongo Rose Bukilwa and Williams Kato, who were editors then, shaped my career. I later applied to do reporting and editing.
How then did you end up as a news anchor yet you were told your voice was not good enough?
At NTV, the panel asked me if I could anchor news and I answered in affirmative. They gave me a script, which I read both in Luganda and English. NTV trained us for three months and when the contract came, I was given an anchoring job. We were, however, trained as visionairs- people with the ability to see the big picture and accept the concept and not just anchors. We were all round.
Read her full interview with Daily Monitor here: I have no time for negative energy, says NTV’s Faridah Nakazibwe