Government of Sa. Leone appoints Kabs Kanu Editor-In-Chief of revived Sierra Leone Daily Mail

Minister Plenipotentiary Wilfred Leeroy Kabs-Kanu has been appointed the Editor-In-Chief of the revived Sierra Leone Daily Mail print newspaper.

The appointment is effective from July 1, 2016.

The appointment is an additional responsibility to the Minister’s other commitments and activities at the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN . He maintains his present position in the Mission.

According to the appointment letter, the Editor-In-Chief shall have an international presence and the U.S.  will be the point of duty station. He will report to the Minister of Information and Communications through the Permanent Secretary.

According to letter of appointment ,  Kabs Kanu will also  “provide administrative and professional guidance in the management of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail . He will also work to design and develop policies and strategies that can lead to stimulate and enhance sustainability of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail . He shall be in charge of  editorial boards and overseeing all department editors. He will also design communications strategies to address public relations issues. ”

 

The Editor-In-Chief will also be responsible for editing the content of every publication, including spelling, grammar, writing style , page design and photos. He will lay out the paper and transmit the dummy to Freetown electronically.

Responding to the additional duties, Minister Kabs-Kanu said that he has accepted the challenge and will work with the Managing Director and other members of the editorial staff to make the Daily Mail the most informative, educative and entertaining and the most widely read newspaper.

Minister Kabs-Kanu thanked President Ernest Koroma and the Minister of Information , Mr. Mohamed Bangura , for the additional responsibilities and vowed to justify the confidence reposed in him. He said that it was a dream come true , as he had nursed the determination to always become an Editor-In-Chief of the Government -owned DAILY MAIL, an iconic and legendary newspaper he fell in love with since he was 9 years old. He also worked as sports correspondent of the paper from Bo in the 1970s.

Four years ago, Kabs Kanu and NEWSTIME AFRICA Publisher, Mr. Ahmed M. Kamara , revived the DAILY MAIL  online . Mr. Kamara is now the International Media Adviser to President Ernest Koroma. On July 23, 2010, NEWS TIME AFRICA ,  under the title , “Sierra Leone Daily Mail revived”, wrote  : “The idea to reinvent the Daily Mail was borne out of the spitit of true patriotism by some of the country’s finest News Media Editors who have placed the love for country above everything else in the selfless amazing work they are doing to help promote their country’s image around the world. Wilfred Kabs-Kanu the Publisher of Cocorioko Newspapers who is also an outstanding diplomat representing his country as Minister Plenipotentiary in our country’s mission at the UN, along with Ahmed M Kamara who is the Publisher of Newstime Africa Magazine based in London together with David Tam-Baryoh the Director of Citizen Radio and Publisher of the Punch Newspaper in Freetown, saw the need as a team of professionals to once more relight the fire of true and effective journalism that will lay the foundation for another press and media era in our beloved country. ”

 

THE NEW DAILY MAIL

THE OLD DAILY MAIL 

One of his first projects,  in consultations with the management and other staff,  is to restore some of the features that made the Daily Mail a big hit during its heydays , like the unique and comprehensive style of reporting, coverage of community events in addition to socio-political news , Letters to the Editor on multitudinous  matters affecting the nation , viewpoints from the opposition ( As long as the writers keep it clean, decent, and free from name-calling, defamation and unsubstantiated allegations ), the one-time gossip column produced by the late Babs Kassim, FEMAIL ( the column on female empowerment and issues once written by Eve Langba ) , the monthly supplements featuring different enterprises and institutions , the Weekend Meditation by all faiths,  the foreign commentary, once written by Royston Wright ) and coverage of local sporting events , instead of copying the internet as most papers in Sierra Leone do. The Daily Mail will also revive the thought-provoking editorials of the Clarence Labor era that dealt with matters of profound national interest.

“We will give opportunities for divergent views in the newspaper since it is a national newspaper . Publishing a national newspaper is different from publishing a pro- or anti- government newspaper”, Kabs-Kanu said .

In a technological stage, the Daily Mail will  also engage in CONVERGENT JOURNALISM, i.e. publishing across  different media platforms like print, video, audio and an online publication.

Mr. Emmanuel Stafford, a Mass Communications expert in the UK,  was also appointed Managing Editor .

 

 UPDATE ON THE DAILY MAIL  ( Culled from Facebook )

“I am officially starting my responsibilities as Editor-In- Chief tomorrow.”

“The Managing Editor, Mr. Emmanuel Stafford and I have just had a fruitful teleconference and pledged to work together with shared goals and shared ideals to restore the old glory of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail and to make the paper one of the best in the nation and across the world.”