When you think of ‘Humans of HumAngle’, your mind likely drifts to reporters—the names behind the bylines seen frequently. However, there are others in the newsroom whose names may not appear, yet their work is essential in ensuring our journalism reaches you.

Let’s start here. During our editorial meetings every Monday, we reflect on the past week by reviewing how our stories have performed. We discuss what worked well and the improvements needed and share commendations.

“My role is fascinating,” said Shade Mary-Ann Olaoye, Audience Engagement Editor. “It puts me at the centre of distribution, engagement, community building, and social media management. While the essence of the work remains the same, the way it is carried out constantly evolves.”

Shade spends most of her workdays brainstorming with editors, reporters, and other team members on how to repurpose existing content or create new material. “Audience engagement at HumAngle is an unending, interactive, and data-driven process,” she said. “There’s always something to refine or innovate.”

In April 2024, HumAngle published a report about Amir, a 13-year-old boy whose parents were detained at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria when he was just three. However, three months after the report and following our advocacy to the Nigerian Army, his mother was released—after 11 years of detention under harsh conditions.

Beyond the bylines 

Sharing a web link to the story and its impact on social media didn’t feel like enough. This thought allowed HumAngle to do something different for audience engagement. The idea expanded to bringing the audience together offline to discuss several issues identified by our coverage, drive community engagement, and allow readers to interact with reporters. What began as a conversation about Amir and his mother’s story soon expanded to include other stories, ultimately leading to the team, including Shade, delivering the HumAngle Showcase in November 2024.

It gathered journalists, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss accountability and transparency in journalism, as well as HumAngle’s innovative, tech-driven storytelling techniques and products.

Curating user’s web experience

Roles in the newsroom are deeply interdependent. While one person focuses on audience engagement, another ensures that our audience has a seamless and interactive web experience across all our products, including the website. That’s where Damilola Lawal, HumAngle’s Creative Advisor, and the IT and Design teams come in.

“A typical day in my role revolves around design and collaboration,” she said. “I work closely with the multimedia and IT teams, reviewing visuals, creating motion graphics, and developing marketing materials. I also collaborate with the IT team on web page designs.”

Damilola said integrating AI into the HumAngle website’s functionality is one of “the most impactful product decisions that changed how readers engage with our stories”. 

Last year, the IT department took an innovative step by introducing a text-to-speech feature for reports. Rather than using a standard AI-generated voice with a robotic monotone, they opted for a more personalised approach. The team cloned the voice of one of HumAngle’s reporters, creating a custom speech feature that made listening to reports feel more natural—almost like tuning into a podcast. This enhancement not only improved accessibility but also provided readers with a more immersive and engaging way to consume the stories.

“At HumAngle, accessibility isn’t an afterthought; it’s a key part of how we tell stories, especially since we focus on marginalised communities,” Damilola added. 

“Our drive to enhance the digital experience for our readers has led us to explore interactive content, integrate GIS capabilities, and incorporate advanced virtual reality/extended reality and AI features,” said Attahiru Jibrin, HumAngle’s IT Lead. 

Even before HumAngle officially launched, Attahiru was part of the pioneering team working behind the scenes to make it happen. Over the past five years, he said, the publication has undergone multiple website overhauls, each designed to deliver a more engaging and seamless user experience.

“We are currently working on another major revision, which we believe will be our best yet,” he added. “Moreover, our ongoing investments in VR are already yielding promising results, and we expect even greater advancements in the near future.”

As Attahiru and the rest of the IT team develop HumAngle’s digital infrastructure, they do so with a keen awareness of the organisation’s cyber well-being, ensuring the security of its staff and audience. “We take cybersecurity seriously,” he noted. From staff training to regular software updates, the IT team has implemented multiple security frameworks to safeguard the platform.

Carving images out of words

In October 2024, HumAngle published ‘The Price of Pleasure’, an audio documentary exploring the lives of sex workers in Nigerian brothels. For Akila Jibrin, Senior Illustrator, it was the most challenging illustration project he had worked on since joining the publication. 

“The difficulty lay in finding the right balance, making sure the illustration was neither too explicit nor so understated that it could be mistaken for a fashion model or a trendy outfit,” he explained. The challenge was to create an image that clearly represented a sex worker without being overly graphic or offensive, allowing the illustration to speak for itself.

This careful approach defines the ideation and execution process behind many of HumAngle’s illustrations, including the cover image for this article. Conflict reporting, in particular, presents unique challenges for visual storytelling, often evoking strong emotions that can test a designer’s creative instincts. 

“It is essential to channel those emotions into accurately interpreting and conveying the story,” Akila noted. “As a creative artist, one must also be mindful of the emotions and trauma associated with conflict, ensuring that the artwork does not exaggerate or misinform.”

‘Humans of HumAngle’

Just as compelling visuals and seamless digital experiences enhance storytelling, the people who bring these stories to life—or support the organisation’s administration, whether in the field or behind the scenes—are at the heart of HumAngle’s work. Ensuring this diverse talent pool thrives and that the organisation operates smoothly falls to Khadijat Ibrahim, HumAngle’s Head of HR and Admin.

“We hire with precision, manage with purpose, and retain through growth,” she said. “By selecting the right talent, fostering a culture of learning, and nurturing commitment, we build a team that thrives on excellence, collaboration, and impact.”

With over 30 employees across HumAngle Media and the HumAngle Foundation, Khadijat emphasised the organisation’s commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration: “We achieve this by creating cross-functional teams, enhancing communication through open channels, and designing workspaces that encourage interaction.”

“Trust, respect, and autonomy empower our team to take ownership of their work, while knowledge-sharing sessions ensure continuous learning and collective growth,” she added.

Covering conflict and humanitarian issues comes with unique challenges, particularly for journalists who report on trauma. According to the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, between 4 per cent and 59 per cent of journalists experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depending on their beats or work locations. For newsrooms like HumAngle, prioritising employee well-being is not just essential—it’s imperative.

“The management has adopted an empathetic approach to developing and implementing welfare policies that enhance employee well-being,” she said.

In the last five years, HumAngle has provided in-house psychologists for confidential counselling and therapy, offered flexible work arrangements to help employees maintain work-life balance, ensured competitive salaries and compensation, and delivered training on digital safety and managing online harassment.

“Looking ahead, our priority is to cultivate a resilient, adaptable workforce that drives impact, embraces change, and shapes the future of storytelling,” Khadijat added.