News / Local
Zimbabwe's Deck Magazine Celebrates ONE
02 Sep 2013 at 13:03hrs | Views
Meet the team behind Deck Magazine, TeamdEck
According to Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, "if you do not like someone else's stories, write your own." A group of friends from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe have done just that. In 2012, they launched a much-needed lifestyle magazine for the youth of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe at large. After meeting at a British Council Initiative in 2004, the individuals discovered they had similar interests and gravitated towards each other. Fast forward some years and the joint venture, Horizon Magazine, was born. After three issues, the group split from Horizon and decided to go at it alone as Deck magazine, an urban lifestyle magazine. "Our primary target is younger people, the unseen and unheard, there is not much about youth in the Zimbabwe media landscape, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with a platform to get our voices heard," (Chris Nqoe)
Although they did not have the funding or journalistic know-how, they were determined to make the magazine happen. They pitched their concept to the management at Horizon Restaurant and Bar, a popular establishment in town. Their idea was to start an in-house youth magazine for Horizon. It was something that had not been done before in Bulawayo but it paid off as 3000 copies of the first issue disappeared within a few weeks. The buzz grew with issues being distributed locally and even internationally to a warm reception. Not everyone was pleased however. Some dismissed the magazine as "too upmarket" with an icy reception from others in the media industry. "The media scene is a big boys club, they have fought things and gone through this and that together so they looked at us, the new kids on the block like 'who do they think they are? 'what do they think they can do?' They are so detached from us as younger people but they were forced to notice us." (Miss Mbo Mahocs) With anything different, there are always mixed reactions. Part of our appeal is that we are different and have a fresh perspective.
The process of establishing Horizon and now Deck brought many challenges. One of the biggest challenges was and continues to be funding. The magazines had to be distributed for free because the group could not afford a media license. "Zimbabwe is unique in a bad way, young people have not broken through to positions of influence. It is a constant process of trying to change perceptions of a society that is steeped in tradition. They do not want to change from reading newspapers and watching television. We are a younger generation and we are more open." (Sonny Jermain) The group is motivated to give a voice to young people. They are relying on their passion and good old-fashioned hard work to make a name for themselves.
The magazine whose tag line is "for the urban trendsetter" aims to keep its readers updated on local and global entertainment, fashion, and emerging talents among other things. One thing you will not find in Deck is politics. "Zim has too much politics, it is saturated with politics, we've let politics define who we are so we are trying to shift away from that and celebrate life outside of politics." (Ntandoyenkosi Moyo) Throughout the relaunching process, Deck has kept a very active online presence & is one of the leading online magazine in Zimbabwe and across the region.
Today the magazine celebrates 1 year of existence, a reality that started off as a dream. TeamdEck is made up of, the Fashionable Actress & Architect Student, who has become Bulawayo's Sweetheart and is constantly in papers for good reasons, 25year old Miss Mbo Mahocs, who is the Fashion Editor. The Editor in Chief is 25 year old Chris Nqoe, a Law Student who is known for his outspoken being on twitter. Ntandoyenkosi Moyo is the Features Editor of the Magazine & also a NAMA Nominated Comedian. Deck Magazine is known for its' step ahead in being informative, one of the highest following of the magazine is towards the entertainment scene and music. Sonny Jermain who is also SABCs 5fm & GoodHope Fm playlisted Electro Dj is the Entertainment Editor. One would not pass the magazine without mentioning 23 year old - Gilmore T. Moyo who has become a household name in the country & across the globe. The Stylish Global Citizen & Social Entrepreneur is the Managing Editor of the magazine; he deals with the essential parts that make Deck what it is.
"Deck Magazine is a Brand that you can never get past, and the team is made up of Brands in our own respective areas. If you talk about online media, that's us in full force. We are excited to be Relaunching our NEW website as we celebrate ONE. Thank you to every person that has supported us from the day we were born. You are urban trendsetters and you make us the leading online magazine in this planet." (Gilmore T. Moyo)
#NewOndEck:
www.soundcloud.com/dEckMagazine
www.issuu.com/dEckMagazine
www.instagram.com/deckmag
#StillOndEck:
www.twitter.com/dEckMagazine
www.facebook.com/DeckMag
wwwyoutube.com/dEckMagazine
According to Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, "if you do not like someone else's stories, write your own." A group of friends from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe have done just that. In 2012, they launched a much-needed lifestyle magazine for the youth of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe at large. After meeting at a British Council Initiative in 2004, the individuals discovered they had similar interests and gravitated towards each other. Fast forward some years and the joint venture, Horizon Magazine, was born. After three issues, the group split from Horizon and decided to go at it alone as Deck magazine, an urban lifestyle magazine. "Our primary target is younger people, the unseen and unheard, there is not much about youth in the Zimbabwe media landscape, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with a platform to get our voices heard," (Chris Nqoe)
Although they did not have the funding or journalistic know-how, they were determined to make the magazine happen. They pitched their concept to the management at Horizon Restaurant and Bar, a popular establishment in town. Their idea was to start an in-house youth magazine for Horizon. It was something that had not been done before in Bulawayo but it paid off as 3000 copies of the first issue disappeared within a few weeks. The buzz grew with issues being distributed locally and even internationally to a warm reception. Not everyone was pleased however. Some dismissed the magazine as "too upmarket" with an icy reception from others in the media industry. "The media scene is a big boys club, they have fought things and gone through this and that together so they looked at us, the new kids on the block like 'who do they think they are? 'what do they think they can do?' They are so detached from us as younger people but they were forced to notice us." (Miss Mbo Mahocs) With anything different, there are always mixed reactions. Part of our appeal is that we are different and have a fresh perspective.
The process of establishing Horizon and now Deck brought many challenges. One of the biggest challenges was and continues to be funding. The magazines had to be distributed for free because the group could not afford a media license. "Zimbabwe is unique in a bad way, young people have not broken through to positions of influence. It is a constant process of trying to change perceptions of a society that is steeped in tradition. They do not want to change from reading newspapers and watching television. We are a younger generation and we are more open." (Sonny Jermain) The group is motivated to give a voice to young people. They are relying on their passion and good old-fashioned hard work to make a name for themselves.
The magazine whose tag line is "for the urban trendsetter" aims to keep its readers updated on local and global entertainment, fashion, and emerging talents among other things. One thing you will not find in Deck is politics. "Zim has too much politics, it is saturated with politics, we've let politics define who we are so we are trying to shift away from that and celebrate life outside of politics." (Ntandoyenkosi Moyo) Throughout the relaunching process, Deck has kept a very active online presence & is one of the leading online magazine in Zimbabwe and across the region.
Today the magazine celebrates 1 year of existence, a reality that started off as a dream. TeamdEck is made up of, the Fashionable Actress & Architect Student, who has become Bulawayo's Sweetheart and is constantly in papers for good reasons, 25year old Miss Mbo Mahocs, who is the Fashion Editor. The Editor in Chief is 25 year old Chris Nqoe, a Law Student who is known for his outspoken being on twitter. Ntandoyenkosi Moyo is the Features Editor of the Magazine & also a NAMA Nominated Comedian. Deck Magazine is known for its' step ahead in being informative, one of the highest following of the magazine is towards the entertainment scene and music. Sonny Jermain who is also SABCs 5fm & GoodHope Fm playlisted Electro Dj is the Entertainment Editor. One would not pass the magazine without mentioning 23 year old - Gilmore T. Moyo who has become a household name in the country & across the globe. The Stylish Global Citizen & Social Entrepreneur is the Managing Editor of the magazine; he deals with the essential parts that make Deck what it is.
"Deck Magazine is a Brand that you can never get past, and the team is made up of Brands in our own respective areas. If you talk about online media, that's us in full force. We are excited to be Relaunching our NEW website as we celebrate ONE. Thank you to every person that has supported us from the day we were born. You are urban trendsetters and you make us the leading online magazine in this planet." (Gilmore T. Moyo)
#NewOndEck:
www.soundcloud.com/dEckMagazine
www.issuu.com/dEckMagazine
www.instagram.com/deckmag
#StillOndEck:
www.twitter.com/dEckMagazine
www.facebook.com/DeckMag
wwwyoutube.com/dEckMagazine
Source - isthisafrica.com
