Hours every week spent hunting opportunities for journalists

Each week, Kairũ Karega spends many hours researching and curating opportunities: jobs, grants, fellowships, scholarships, trainings, awards, conferences, funding. He shares them through Journalism and Media Opportunities, a global community he is building for journalists, media professionals, storytellers, communicators and film professionals.

It began as sharing opportunities with friends. It has grown, he says, into the largest journalism-focused community on LinkedIn, reaching over 250,000 professionals through LinkedIn, a newsletter with more than 150,000 subscribers, WhatsApp groups and other platforms.

“You rise by lifting others up”

Kairũ Karega

"This work is personal," he says. "I know how easy it is to miss life-changing opportunities simply because you never hear about them." He created the community to help close that information gap.

Community members regularly share stories of securing scholarships, fellowships, jobs, internships, grants or international opportunities, he says. Despite its growth, the community remains largely volunteer-driven. He manages most aspects of the platform himself, alongside a postgraduate programme at the University of Cape Town.

"My mission is simple: democratize access to opportunities for media, Comms and film professionals," he says. Over the next five years, he envisions the community becoming a trusted career development ecosystem for those professionals worldwide.

Part of that vision is an AI-powered website that brings all opportunities together in one place. Right now, he finds and shares each opening by hand. "I spend a lot of time manually looking for opportunities, and sometimes it's hard to stay consistent," he says. "A platform that gathers everything in one place would save time and make sure people never miss out."

He also wants to host more workshops and webinars, build partnerships with media organisations, and create more original content for the community. "I want to make a bigger difference and a bigger impact," he says.

"Every opportunity shared and every success story reinforces why this work matters."