By Isaac Akugizibwe,
KAMPALA
The Managing Director and Founder of Parrots Media, Leonard Kamugisha Akida, has urged journalism students to leverage their smartphones to promote their skills and generate income.
Kamugisha shared his insights with online journalism students at Kampala International University on Tuesday. Drawing from his personal experience in establishing Parrots Media, he highlighted the vast opportunities created by digital technology.
“Every time I see someone with a good smartphone, I see wealth. It’s this smartphone that has made Parrots Media what it is today. This device can work wonders, especially for you online journalism students,” he emphasized.
Kamugisha encouraged students to utilize their phones to create blogs and websites, sharing multimedia content and practicing their craft.
“Why waste your 1GB of data watching someone else’s content when you can create better content yourself? Use your data to establish blogs, vlogs, and other sites,” he advised.
The online journalist who also doubles as a media trainer at Team University and other journalism training institutions in Uganda highlighted the flexibility of online media, noting that it has no time or space constraints, unlike traditional media.
He further emphasized the importance of developing a positive attitude toward learning, given the evolving trends in journalism.
“The media workspace nowadays demands a one-man army journalist, someone who can multitask as companies focus on profit maximization,” Kamugisha said.
Kamugisha’s visit to his alma mater coincided with Parrots Media’s seventh anniversary. From humble beginnings as a discussion group at KIU, Parrots Media has grown into one of the most trusted online news sites.
In a surprising revelation, Kamugisha disclosed that he started his blog without owning a smartphone. Instead, he would use the university computer lab to blog after lectures.
“That’s how I began the Parrots journey,” he shared.
This is not the first time Kamugisha visited KIU to facilitate journalism students. Last year, he visited the mass communication students and facilitated them on Multimedia where a number of students created their first blogs, podcasts, YouTube Channels and were introduced to different basics of contemporary new media.
