Ochieng’ Ogodo, a prominent figure in African science journalism, died in the early hours of Thursday (17 April). He was a former head of SciDev.Net’s English language Africa edition and served as Africa editor for Mongabay. Colleagues have offered condolences and praised his contribution to the field.
Ogodo began his career in 1996 at The East African Standard and worked on the paper’s investigative desk from September 1999 to October 2003. After leaving the paper he freelanced and contributed to outlets such as SciDev.Net, The Guardian, the BMJ and University World News. He won the Reuters/IUCN Media Awards for Excellence in Environmental Reporting in 2008.
He joined SciDev.Net in 2010 as Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Coordinator and Editor and in 2017 was elected to the Executive Board of the World Federation of Science Journalists. Friends and colleagues recalled his mentoring, his passion for science stories and his final moments watching Arsenal win their Champions League game.
Difficult words
- prominent — well known and important in a field
- investigative — connected with detailed fact-finding work
- freelance — work independently for different employers or mediafreelanced
- contribute — to give work or material to a publicationcontributed
- editor — person who prepares and improves texts or articles
- mentor — experienced person who gives advice and supportmentoring
- award — a prize given for good work or achievementAwards
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Discussion questions
- What difference can mentoring make for a young journalist? Give one or two examples.
- How can awards and roles like editor or board member affect a journalist’s career?
- How do you think colleagues can show respect when a journalist dies? Give simple ideas.
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