JABIR IDRISSA YUNUS, a 44 years old journalist working with Hali Halisi Publishers Limited (HHP) as Editor of a weekly tabloid, MwanaHALISI. The company also publishes MSETO, a by-weekly paper which covers sports&culture. I joined the HHP in April 2007 as a correspondent from Zanzibar. In three months, became Asst Editor of MwanaHALISI and was elevated in October 2007 to the post of Editor. I have been in the field since mid 1980’s when I was a ardent penpal fan in the Sunday News. Later on, was sending sports stories to Uhuru, a daily Kiswahili paper published by the then Shirika la Magazeti ya Chama (SMC) which is nowadays Uhuru Publications Ltd (UPL) - this was in tandem with me being a radio announcer of a programme called KILIMO BORA which I was preparing under the Isles' Department of Agriculture. The programme was aired through Sauti ya Tanzania Zanzibar. The UPL employed me in November 1991 after my two year diploma course in journalism at the Tanzania School of Journalism (TSJ) which after expansion is now called Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (IJMC) of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). I started as sports reporter at the headquarters in Dar es Salaam. In March 1992, I was transferred to Zanzibar as company’s Bureau Chief, the post I served until my transfer to Hqtrs in January 1996, immediately after the first General Elections in Tanzania. I quit the job to join Business Times Ltd (BTL), publishers of a string of newspapers incl. daily Majira, afternoon tabloid DarLeo and a weekly English Business Times, a mainly business and economy paper. I worked as senior reporter at Majira, SpotiStarehe and later on as Asst News Editor of Majira and SpotiStarehe, before being transferred to DarLeo as Sports Editor and later as News Editor of the paper. In August 2002, Habari Corporation Ltd (HCL) which was recently renamed as New Habari Group after the proprietors, mainly veteran Tanzanian journalists, sold it to popular businessman and politician Rostam Aziz, employed me as senior reporter and later Asst. Features Editor. HCL retrenched me in July 2006 but I immediately joined a weekly Tathmini newspaper which has ceased production after few months of its establishment. I am creating this blog while the MwanaHALISI is banned for three months starting on 13th October. All in all, I really enjoy this fani!