I created a monster

In case you’ve been under a rock, I created a digital magazine called NBO.

NBO stands for None But Ourselves (can free our minds). It is a fledgling digital magazine, built on the principle of free, honest & robust media for all. Based in Zimbabwe, the aim is to give a voice to views shut out of mainstream media whilst providing engaging and entertaining content.

I always moan about Zimbabwe’s mainstream media, and the stories they cover. Followers of mytwitter feed know how I violently rail against our newspapers and how stories are presented.

I especially take offence at stories in the State-owned media, and have been known to swear at government “propagandists” on occasion.

In late 2014, I spoke to a few young journalism students and advised them that nowadays, you can build your own media entities with a few short clicks. Nobody needs to make coffee for three years in a major newsroom, waiting to get assigned a story because there’s nobody more senior available.

I have decided to take my own advice. There is no value in whining about the media we have, if we are not willing to create the media we want. The only solution is for me to actually create the type of content I want to consume, instead of complaining all the time about what is available.

This project is going to be my major focus for a while, and I probably will not have time to blog for the near to mid term future. NBO is going to bleed me of all my time and energy, and I’ll make every effort to ensure that it is worthwhile.

Read it here, or download the 79 Mb PDF of the launch issue.

https://issuu.com/joeblack63/docs/nbo-magazine-q1-2016