Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, 29, is a freelance journalist and founder of Catch 22 (C22), a dynamic social enterprise comprising a magazine journalism-training academy and a youth culture magazine and website. Catch 22 magazine was launched on March 5th this year and showcases the talent of young creative professionals. Marsha Blake caught up with the talented social entrepreneur.

March 2007

Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa

What makes Catch 22 magazine stand out from the competition?

The heartbeat of C22 is its magazine training academy. C22 focuses on the process as well as the output. None of our direct competitors have a structured training programme; we’re the only ones who are doing that. That’s probably our biggest unique factor.  

What inspired you to start the magazine?

I’ve worked in youth development for 10 years. Young adults like to see an end product to their work. Providing that opportunity within a professional capacity is a big motivation for them. It is very different to, say, writing an article for your university project. Our magazine presents a challenge: have you got what it takes to make it in the professional world?

What is your role and describe a typical day?

I have a few roles! I’m the director of the social enterprise, I edit the magazine and I also deal with the publishing side of things. My average day involves anything from trying to negotiate prices with the printers, securing sponsors for our students to meeting with editorial contributors and discussing editorial ideas.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far during the start-up stages?

The ‘F’ word - finance basically! Getting the financial support has been a huge challenge, particularly through the traditional grants system as they prefer you to conform to a certain stereotype. It’s been a battle for us to achieve that kind of financial support while at the same time keeping the integrity of what we’re trying to do, which is to provide support for young adults.

What other difficulties do you foresee in the future and how will you prepare yourself?

Generating finance will probably still be the biggest challenge. Being a small outfit that produces a magazine four times a year will be tough. We will have to go that extra mile to get people to buy into the concept, which is much more than a magazine. The way for us to overcome this challenge is to develop alliances with related organisations. To date we’ve developed a partnership with The Big Issue and Time Out magazine.  

What keeps you motivated and interested?

What motivates me is the creative factor, being able to establish something new and fresh with some substance and seeing the concept work and make an impact. Also seeing young adults who may have been questioning their ability and lack confidence get to the point where they are producing some excellent work.

If Catch 22 was a well known personality, who would it be and why?

Jamie Oliver. What he’s been able to do is take his passion for cooking and his love of food one step further where he’s actually providing support for young people to develop their skills in that field through his Fifteen Foundation. That really epitomises what Catch 22 is about.

Writers are the voice of a magazine and often set the tone for the readers. With that in mind, what type of writers are you looking for and how do you select them?

They usually come to us. We spread the word via newsletters, through word of mouth and online such as MySpace. We try to find writers who are prepared to step out of the norm rather than just focus on the same run-of-the-mill, mundane stuff that you find in most magazines. We like to encourage writers to be free with their writing and to try and expand their comfort zone. The market is filled to the brim with magazines so if you are launching a new title you’ve got to have a unique quality.

What advice would you give to aspiring feature writers who want to get their work published in magazines?

My key advice is to just keep writing. Don’t try and ‘cherry pick’ the big titles, write for any and every title you can. The process of writing is good practice. If you get [published] in a wide spectrum of publications, such as local papers to sports magazines, it will help you to develop your own style. At the moment there’s a particular segment of this generation of young adults who want to pick glamour-related elements to work in and don’t appreciate that there’s a lot more to journalism that that.

What advice would you give to other young people who want to launch their own magazine?

Make sure you research the market down to the minutest detail. A good idea doesn’t necessarily make good business. You’ve got to make sure that your idea is viable. Also separate yourself emotionally from your project because being too close can cloud your vision. In the creative industry a lot of people tend to be quite emotive because they’re working from the heart. At the end of the day this is the business world. You could have the best idea, but it won’t go anywhere if your cash flow isn’t right.

Catch 22 magazine is available free in outlets across London. For more information on the publication or to get in touch with Tokunbo, email info@catch22mag.com or call 020 7587 3664.

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