Legit.ng Human Interest Stories editors speak on delivering over 1.5 million page views monthly
This July, we are shining the torch on our human interest editors, Israel, Joseph and Victor. These award winning journalism heroes specialize in telling human stories in the most distinct ways. The prolific writers who pulled over 1.5 million views on their content individually have attributed their good work to telling human stories in ways that Nigerians embrace and appreciate.
Source: Original
In this interview, the trio helps readers understand the importance of their jobs at Legit.ng, their content direction and inspiration, the influence of technology on their work and journalism, their achievements and wide content reach.
1. Can we meet you?
Israel: My name is Israel Usulor, a passionate communicator who sees journalism as his calling. I am a Human Interest Editor at Legit.ng
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Joseph: I'm Joseph Omotayo, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University. I'm an avid reader and I write for the human interest desk at Legit.
Victor: I'm Victor Duru, a Reuters-trained award-winning journalist with over 4 years of working experience in media. I'm from Imo State. I am a Human Interest and Diaspora Editor at Legit.ng
2. What makes Legit.ng news important to the Nigerian/African media landscape?
Israel: Legit.ng is important because we give voice to the voiceless. We tell stories of ordinary people and stories that other media houses see as less important. We give a voice to ordinary people doing extraordinary things. For us, the young boy frying Akara and hustling by the road side deserves to be heard the same way as the big politician in Abuja.
Joseph: Legit.ng's role is important because we go after stories that always challenge stereotypes. We look at nuances in stories that many think they already know everything about.
Victor: In a country and continent plagued with fake news and misinformation, Legit.ng is the cure with our cutting edge practices and ethics that ensure we deliver accurate news contents to our millions of readers.
3. What inspires your content direction and how sustainable is it?
Israel: The audience is number one inspiration for my content direction. I try to gauge the mood of the audience at the moment so as to know what they would want to see. I put myself in their shoes. There are always stories to be told everyday, so there is no question of sustainability. My content is supported by continuity of stories and will be for decades to come.
Joseph: The need to let people know that no matter what they are going through there is hope, and people in similar systems are already navigating such situations to create a new world of hope for themselves influences my content creation every time. The sustainability of this content strategy holds as long as humans live.
Victor: The willpower and resilience of ordinary Nigerians to day in day out achieve successes inspires me. Its sustainability is however dependent on the trend and innovations of social media platforms.
4. How do you feel about pulling 1.5 million page views each in sending off the month of May?
Israel: Well, as a journalist, I’m happy that people are reading my works. Secondly, I’m happy I’m giving people the ability to be heard.
Joseph: I try to visualize those numbers into people. I see a crowd behind those numbers. And that gives me a high sense of responsibility; that thousands take what I do seriously, and I must always give them what is best devoid of fake news and misinterpretation of events.
Victor: I am happy that my content continues to pull such incredible views. I have had a record-breaking 4.95 million views alone in a week; and over 3 millions views in some previous weeks, and I’m glad to keep up the trend and win with the team.
5. How does technology aid your work and give you the best output?
Israel: Technology is the number one driver of journalism today. It is impossible to do the job without technical tools. Journalism has changed. So, I’m handicapped without my phone, laptop and social media accounts.
Joseph: I've been able to reach people in places that would have been impossible or hard to get to with the power of tech. That alone speaks volume of how it greatly helps me do my work.
Victor: Technology is the mirror through which I see how to pattern my contents. It has also helped in monitoring performance of stories and aids me in identifying non-performing stories and how to improve.
Previously on our Spotlight, Legit Hausa’s Head of Desk, Ishaq Mudathir gave us a better glance at how the vertical is reaching underserved tribes with quality news reported in their vernacular language. In doing so, he shared more on inclusivity in news reporting and why other media houses should imitate Legit.ng. Read up here .
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According to Newswhip Analytics, Legit.ng hit the list of the most engaged international Facebook web publishers. Legit.ng got an award for massive Facebook engagement, this ranked us 2nd on the list of Top 10 global web publishers, coming right behind Daily Mail on the rank table. We came in on the list ahead of A-list media houses like Mirror, Fox News, Daily Wire, CNN.
Source: Legit.ng
