THANDO Koti exudes calm and thoughtful authority both on and off the air.
She is editor of the Kids News English bulletin, which is broadcast on SABC1 from Monday to Friday at 6am.
Despite her soothing personality and seeming go-along attitude, she is a driven perfectionist who dedicates herself to her work.
As a young girl growing up in the small town of Queenstown in Eastern Cape, Koti was a world away from the glitz and glamour of TV.
"I grew up wanting to be a missionary and preach the gospel all over Africa and the world. I knew I would have a degree but journalism!" she exclaims.
But fate had other plans for her. After completing matric she did a year of missionary work around Africa and became drawn to the written word.
The 30-year-old later enrolled at Rhodes University where she acquired a bachelor of journalism degree. Since then she has logged hundreds of hours of kids news reporting.
"I've always lived in a small town and TV opened up a whole new world for me. This made me realise the power the media has to influence and shape young minds.
"It's all challenging. Everyday there is something new that you learn.
"I think audio is the hardest thing for me so far. As a non-technical person mastering the controls of my still gear takes about all the brainpower I have. It's a learning process," she says.
Though she loves her job with all her heart, she says working on kids' news is no mean feat.
"Generating story ideas for the 8- to 12-year-olds is not a walk in the park. We have to make sure that we package stories that will speak to our young viewers.
Stories that educate, inform and entertain at their level."
The engaged mother of one says the most challenging part of her job is to get children to be comfortable voicing opinions.
"Most kids we deal with are not used to being heard at home. Most of them have been taught that kids must be seen and not heard.
It's also challenging trying to keep the stories interesting enough for them. Children's attention spans are quite short."
Koti was part of the group that pioneered Kids News (Kids News Room, which was KNR at the time).
She started working as a producer and worked herself up to the position of editor.
Koti says the programme has kept her young at heart.
"We have very intelligent and optimistic children and I really enjoy seeing their innocence."
Using TV to shape young minds in SA
THANDO Koti exudes calm and thoughtful authority both on and off the air.
She is editor of the Kids News English bulletin, which is broadcast on SABC1 from Monday to Friday at 6am.
Despite her soothing personality and seeming go-along attitude, she is a driven perfectionist who dedicates herself to her work.
As a young girl growing up in the small town of Queenstown in Eastern Cape, Koti was a world away from the glitz and glamour of TV.
"I grew up wanting to be a missionary and preach the gospel all over Africa and the world. I knew I would have a degree but journalism!" she exclaims.
But fate had other plans for her. After completing matric she did a year of missionary work around Africa and became drawn to the written word.
The 30-year-old later enrolled at Rhodes University where she acquired a bachelor of journalism degree. Since then she has logged hundreds of hours of kids news reporting.
"I've always lived in a small town and TV opened up a whole new world for me. This made me realise the power the media has to influence and shape young minds.
"It's all challenging. Everyday there is something new that you learn.
"I think audio is the hardest thing for me so far. As a non-technical person mastering the controls of my still gear takes about all the brainpower I have. It's a learning process," she says.
Though she loves her job with all her heart, she says working on kids' news is no mean feat.
"Generating story ideas for the 8- to 12-year-olds is not a walk in the park. We have to make sure that we package stories that will speak to our young viewers.
Stories that educate, inform and entertain at their level."
The engaged mother of one says the most challenging part of her job is to get children to be comfortable voicing opinions.
"Most kids we deal with are not used to being heard at home. Most of them have been taught that kids must be seen and not heard.
It's also challenging trying to keep the stories interesting enough for them. Children's attention spans are quite short."
Koti was part of the group that pioneered Kids News (Kids News Room, which was KNR at the time).
She started working as a producer and worked herself up to the position of editor.
Koti says the programme has kept her young at heart.
"We have very intelligent and optimistic children and I really enjoy seeing their innocence."
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