[Behind the BBC Story] Milton Nkosi

Back in 1991, World Service Television (known as BBC World News today) launches with its first half-hour bulletin across Europe. Just a few months later, new deals made the channel available across Asia. I chatted to Milton Nkosi who joined the BBC in the late 1980s, and has previously served as its South Asia bureaux editor based in Delhi, India, about some of the most significant news stories he’s covered in his BBC career and his daily on-the-job stresses…

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

Nkosi: In this picture I was interviewing former US president Bill Clinton while he was the hinterland of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, in 2012. He had been there to wish Nelson Mandela happy birthday. On that day I had the opportunity to meet and chat to his daughter Chelsea, who had accompanied him. What was interesting for me was that Mr Clinton remembered me from an earlier meeting.

We had met at a private residence of my friend who hosted a dinner in his honour a few years prior. Later, I also met secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in Cape Town and, when I told her that Bill and I had met at our mutual friend's home, she was elated and said she’d heard about that dinner!

Nkosi with Hillary Clinton

2. Quite the scoop! Give us a brief overview of your personal story – your studies and career highlights package so far.

Nkosi: I joined the BBC as a fixer in the late 1980s, when the anti-apartheid story was at its peak and just before the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990. I then went on to train at what is now called the BBC College of Journalism in London. I worked in Television Centre in London, too. I then worked as an assistant producer, and gradually moved up the ladder, eventually becoming Africa producer. It was in the year 2000 that I applied for the Africa Bureau Chief job.

There was a vigorous selection process, after which I became the first African to be head of the Africa Bureau for BBC News. I will not bore you with the many stories we covered during my time – wars, coups, outbreak of epidemics, revolutions... Many of the stories I worked on were recognised in awards, and I was fortunate enough to become the very first recipient of the ONE BBC Awards, where I won the Global Ambassador award. There is no greater joy than having your work recognised by those who know the trade more than you do - your colleagues.

After heading up the Africa bureau for seven years, I became the BBC News South Asia bureaux editor. I covered many stories in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Now I'm back in Africa working as an analyst and correspondent in new media online. I enjoy writing. It is therapeutic!

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

Nkosi: I enjoy telling the African story. Africa is a changing continent and it’s very different from when I started working here over 25 years ago. Democracy is spreading, in spite of all the drama we still see such as Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, the attacks in Burkina Faso and lately in Cote Ivoire and South Sudan.

It is most fulfilling to write stories about a continent that is changing for the better. I find great joy in explaining to our audiences all over the world that Africa is not just about war, famine, disease and destruction. There is a lot more to this beautiful continent than the clichéd stories of the past. That is what inspires me.

The most stressful aspect of the job is covering stories that make it sound like Africa is a dark continent, such as stories of corrupt leaders. I get a kick out of deadlines, but my goodness do they also cause stress!

4. Deadlines are more intense than ever before, especially as media's one of the fastest-changing industries thanks to the fast-pace of technological change that disrupts the news flow and traditional methods of reporting. Elaborate on the specific journalism/media trends you're most looking forward to in the industry this year.

Nkosi: I hate sounding like an old geezer, but reporting has changed so much since my days as a young journalist, running around with tonnes of TV equipment just to do a short three-minute package. Nowadays, we can film in high definition and do live crossings from a mobile phone, and no one can tell the difference. Some of us remember a time when it used to take about five people to film a story but, in 2016, we can do one-man bands. So I'm looking forward to interacting more with audiences. It’s pretty cool to be answering individual questions from members of the public whilst I'm tweeting from inside a court case, such as the Pistorius murder trial we covered in Pretoria two years ago.

You can get in on the action by following Nkosi on Twitter, or you can click here for more on BBC World News, visit their website and follow their Twitter feed.