Paper short abstract:

Kangema FM, a community-run, parastatal-funded radio station, aims to meet both community information needs and State-set goals. The station’s organisational structures, work routines and content are impacted by the personal and institutional relationships between the radio and the State.

Paper long abstract:

Kangema FM is a Kenyan community radio station started by the Kenya Meteorological Department in 2008. Its stated goal is to provide the surrounding community with weather information and to warn them about possible weather-related disasters in the area, chiefly mudslides. Apart from weather information, the station operates as a 'regular' community radio station, providing news and entertainment. The station's staff - community journalists - are community members who have undergone journalistic training. Although the station seeks to operate as a non-partisan community media institution, the impact of its ownership by a State parastatal is apparent in its organizational structures and the daily work routines of the journalists. Relationships - both personal and institutional - with local leaders also have an impact on the operations and content of the station, and funding restrictions in the Kenyan community media legislation determine the station's engagement with advertisers and other funding sources. On the other hand, community expectations of the station to serve their information needs are clear. Consequently, both the station management and the journalists are constantly negotiating ways of meeting both State requirements and community expectations, while upholding the institution's credibility as a media institution. Through examining Kangema FM's organisational structures, work routines and the factors that impact on them, this paper seeks to highlight the dynamic nature of the personal and institutional relationships between the radio station and the other players, and these relationships' impact on the eventual output of the station.