196: Sofia Akin

Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Sofia Akin, journalist and main anchor at KMTV's Kent Tonight, and (as we learn in the breaking news at the end) who is about to join the BBC as a Broadcast Journalist.
We learn that Sofia, who is from West Sussex, started out as a video journalist, and she talks about how no two days are the same. Sofia gives the example of a current story at the time we recorded the podcast regarding the bombshell defection of Natalie Elphicke MP from the Conservatives to Labour.
Sofia talks about being one’s own worst critic, the role of feedback, and Sofia discusses her upbringing and her educational journey, and we find out how she got into journalism. Originally, she wanted to be a print journalist but Sofia explains why she especially loves telling a story through TV. Sofia also reveals how quickly one needs to learn in such a short amount of time.
We learn that Sofia’s favourite movie is Harry Potter and how she doesn’t get tired of it, and how she also likes to watch films which take her by surprise.
We talk about the ‘Sliding Doors’ and ‘what if’ notion, too, and about the way not having breakfast in the morning can impact in unexpected ways on how one’s day unfolds.
We find out about the teachers who have inspired her, including Rob Bailey at the University of Kent with whom Sofia went on to work at KMTV, and the experience of reporting from the count in Tunbridge Wells at the local elections.
We learn about how Sofia and her peers have been thrown in the deep end due to the quantity of breaking news over recent years, and we discuss the local element to the news in Kent.
Then, at the end of the interview, before finding out whether she is a looking back or a looking forward type of person, we have a big reveal – Sofia announces that she is moving to BBC South East in mid-June.