[Behind the BBC Story] Lerato Mbele

Back in 1991, World Service Television (known as BBC World News today) launches with its first half-hour bulletin across Europe. The original news team comprised six journalists from the World Service team and six from television news. Today, BBC World News has access to the expertise of thousands of journalists based in over a hundred cities and state-of-the-art studios across the world. One of these is Lerato Mbele, Johannesburg-based presenter of the Africa Business Report show on BBC World News. I chatted to her about one of the most significant news stories she’s covered in her BBC career and her daily on-the-job stresses…

1. Tell us more about the specific story featured in these images.

Mbele: I couldn't choose between two pictures. The first picture is of me, the cameraman and producer shortly before we went underground at a Tanzanite mine in northern Tanzania. That story really sensitised me to the risks taken by mineworkers when doing their job. Below ground it’s dark, humid, the ground is bumpy, the pulley is a basic metal container and the workers still use shovels and spades. After that experience in Tanzania, I have a newfound sympathy for mineworkers.

The second picture is myself with the other crew from Africa Business Report. We took the picture after an interview with the Emir of Kano. He is arguably Nigeria's most powerful man outside of politics and business. Previously he was the governor of the central bank of Nigeria, and by blood he's also royalty. He has used his title as king to lobby the government to do better in managing the economy and improving the security situation undermined by Boko Haram. Besides what he represents, he is clearly a sight to behold in his royal robes. On this day he was wearing all his regalia, plus gold sandals with sequins... fabulocity!

2. That’s for sure. Give us a brief overview of your personal story – your studies and career highlights package so far.

Mbele: My academic background is in development studies, with majors in politics and economics. As a student I was particularly interested in issues that affected Africa and the emerging markets. I wanted to know why this part of the world was poorer, less developed and susceptible to conflict. After my studies at SOAS, University of London, I worked in the research and policy space. However, I felt a strong pull towards journalism. From where I stood, it seemed to me like the media were asking our leaders all the tough questions. Also through their lens, the media were capturing the suffering and hardship that ordinary people endured. I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to have conversations that raised important issues that challenged authority, to give a voice to those who couldn’t speak for themselves. In later years, as Africa started picking itself up and economies began growing, I wanted to be part of the solution. I wanted to be part of a generation of Africans rewriting our history by showcasing the growth innovation, alongside the horrible stuff. In essence, to bring out good with the bad.

3. What else do you enjoy most about your daily duties, and which aspects cause you the most stress?

Mbele: The travel – it's both amazing and stressful. As the presenter of Africa Business Report and correspondent responsible for analysing the economies of 54 countries, there are lots of travel demands. The beauty is that is that you get to see first-hand the changes unfolding in modern-day Africa.

However, the difficulty is that we are a small team of five, and being able to cover the regions of east, west, south and central Africa regularly is difficult. It has created a gruelling travel schedule. We spend a lot of time in hotels and airplanes. We miss a lot of family birthdays and christenings. We eat a lot of exotic foods that don’t agree with our tummies.

Yet in it all, our appreciation of Africa has deepened; our knowledge has widened and our stereotypes have been completely challenged. That has been the best part.

4. Little wonder the continent’s definitely first and foremost for business development. Elaborate on the specific journalism/media trends you're most looking forward to in the industry this year.

Mbele: The analysis of big economic stories that I've done through blogs on BBC online and Africa Live has spurred good debate about markets.

I'd like to do more vlogging so that our packages can give the visual sense of where we are and what we are doing. My colleagues use Periscope, which enables them to bring audiences closer to their daily workspace. I experienced that in Kenya during President Obama's visit; we could feel the audience around us and with us all the time. More importantly, I simply love the relationship I'm building with ordinary people through Twitter. They support me and they challenge me in equal measure, through those 140-character discussions, I see different viewpoints and learn something new every day.

You can join in the discussion by following Mbele’s Twitter feed. Also
click here for more of Mbele’s back story and click here for more on BBC World News, or visit their website and follow their @Twitter feed.