Henry Ssali, the editor of Daily Monitor’s Sqoop, has today officially laid down his tools at the Namuwongo based newspaper after serving it for over a decade. Henry has revealed that he quit to start his own Newspaper.
Here’s his resignation letter:
“Today marks my last day of work at Daily Monitor, but definitely not my last in journalism. I am just switching gears.
I have deep respect for Daily Monitor where I have honed my journalism skill, made friends and valuable contacts.
I now begin a new journey that will straddle across journalism and entrepreneurship, as I will become a publisher of a NEWSPAPER in the coming few weeks.
Background work is in the works on this exciting product that will redefine the media landscape in Uganda, addressing issues that resonate with young adults.
We shall aim to impact these people’s lives by addressing their aspirations, things that inspire them, news they can use, explaining things and putting them into context and of course lots of human interest stories and entertainment, which young people love.
We are aware that this is a digital age, so there will be different platforms across which our product can be accessed including a PRINT version and digital platforms.
We aspire to be a largely POSITIVE publication, showing that Africa is on the rise and not going with the stereotype the West portrays of us as a dark and hopeless continent, and that young people are playing their part in this development. We want to mirror Africa and the Pearl of Africa in particular as a place where we can thrive and enjoy our lives, after all East or West, home of best.
As Ugandans, we love to laugh at our failures and even successes, so there will be a dose of humour in the paper, but our aim is not to put people down, so we shall mostly leave the negativity to people who have mastered it. (That does not mean that if you are going astray we shall not point out your flaws. This will still be guided by one of our core values – TRUTH).
Of course we shall thrive on advertising as our revenue source, so if you have anything to sell to young adults in “an exciting youth-targeted publication that is going to redefine the media landscape in Uganda,” give me a call on 0776060481 to pitch exactly what this product is all about. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.
For now, I need your prayers and support because this is a herculean task, but it is something I have dreamt about for a very long time and I feel that NOW is the right time. The biggest weapons I am armed with are; knowledge and expertise of how to put this thing together, a good team, plus hope and courage and that is what most young people have in their different spheres of life. Let’s chase our dreams …
Yours sincerely,
Henry H. Ssali”
Staff Writer