The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
One glance at James Smart can make one belief that the illustrious career of the celebrated Kenya Television Network (KTN) news anchor was one of roses and gold staircases in his quest and rise to the peak. But that, is farther from the truth.
In a rare insight into his background, James smart chose to bare it all in an interview with Spirits of Nairobi.
“I was born and brought up in Korogocho slums, in an area called Highridge B by my grandparents in a ten by ten shanty house.”
Smart says that life in the slums was difficult and had to share the shanty house with their extended family and during the rainy season had to shift the positions of their beds because the roof was leaking.
His dreams of being a journalist started at that tender age in Korogocho.
“My grandfather was an office messenger so he always came home with an assortment of newspapers that I would diligently pore through the papers which triggered my interest in national issues at a very early age.” Said Smart.
By coincidence, Nairobi River which meandered across the slum near their house burst its banks, flooded homes and washed away some shacks.
This was the first time he saw a journalist after he saw a man with a camera and notebook being taken around by village elders whom he would later learn was a journalist who had come to cover the story.
With his curiosity aroused, he asked his teacher at Baba Dogo Primary School what one needed to be a journalist and was summarily told it needed languages.
After primary school he proceeded to St. Paul’s High School Kakamega, where he joined the drama club and became one of the best solo performers in the Western region.
Like most kids from the slums who fall into the cracks due to lack of college fees, Smart went back to Korogocho slums after high school and volunteered to teach kids how to play table tennis at St. John Catholic Church, Korogocho.
As luck would have it, while volunteering at Korogocho, he landed a scholarship to study journalism at Catholic University but after graduating he never got work apart from part time engagement in a street children rehabilitation program.
“One day, as I took some video footage to KBC for consideration, I spotted an advert that said they wanted announcers. I applied and got the job after beating more than 300 applicants in a series of four interviews,” added Smart.
He worked at KBC for eight months then switched to Capital FM before joining NTV where he pioneered The Trend show before finally settling at KTN as a news anchor and host.
In his conclusion Smart lends out a nugget of wisdom to draw from his experiences; “I strongly believe that where you were born and bred in this city does not define who you are or become. It’s your effort, believe in God and zeal to grind that defines your destiny."
