Citizen TV journalist Dorcas Wangira wins prestigious Michael Elliott Award

Citizen TV’s Dorcas Wangira has been named winner of the 2019 Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.

Her story ‘The App and The Cut’ which ran on KTN News in June last year was selected out of 218 applicants.

“The winning story stood out for its courageous reporting, and its fresh approach on a sensitive topic,” said Emma Oxford, Michael Elliott’s widow.

Dorcas is the third recipient of the Michael Elliot Award following its establishment in 2016.

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Previous winners include BBC Africa’s Mercy Juma, who is based in Nairobi and Abubakar Ibrahim, the news editor of Daily Trust in Abuja, Nigeria.

The award is in honour of Michael Elliott, an outstanding editor and philanthropist whose life was a testament to the power of storytelling to bear witness to and improve the human condition.

It is given in partnership with the International Centre For Journalists (ICFJ); ONE, a campaigning and advocacy organisation and the Elliott family.

The story by Dorcas Wangira delved into the intricate lives of girls forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM).

She highlighted the tale of five high school students who invented an app to help girls who undergo the cut find help.

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A statement on the International Centre For Journalists website said Dorcas will receive the award and a cash prize in New York on May 21, 2019.

“She also will spend time in U.S. newsrooms to learn new skills and share knowledge in an intensive, customised program run by ICFJ. In addition, she will  complete a two-week internship at The Economist’s headquarters in London,” ICFJ said.

Dorcas is currently a features reporter at CitizenTV, the top television station in Kenya, owned by Royal Media Services.  She specialises in social issues, health and science stories.

Other awards she has won in the past include the Mohammed Amin Africa Award for her story on maternal health in Samburu County in 2015 and the 2017 Zimeo Excellence in Media Award.