Los medios comunitarios han sido alabados por la oportunidad que brindan para mejorar la participación ciudadana y, por lo tanto, la cultura democrática. En Kenya, un número creciente de estaciones de radio comunitarias se han fundado en parte bajo esta lógica desde 2004. A partir de 2017, había alrededor de veinticinco estaciones de radio comunitarias operativas. Sin embargo, en qué consiste la participación o a qué cuellos de botella se enfrenta la participación no se establece de manera exhaustiva ni en la legislación del país ni en las mejores prácticas de las estaciones. Este documento explora las interacciones diarias de una «comunidad de radios comunitarias» de Kenya con los programas de una estación de radio en medio de ellos. Examina los rituales de los medios de comunicación en diferentes momentos del día por varias secciones de la comunidad en relación con el...

Community media have been lauded for the opportunity they provide to enhance participation and therefore democratic culture. In Kenya, a growing number of community radio stations have been founded partly under this logic since 2004. As of 2017, there were about 25 operational community radio stations. However, but exactly what participation consists of or what bottlenecks participation faces is not extensively laid out in either the country’s legislation or the stations’ best practices. This paper explores the daily interactions of a Kenyan ‘community radio community’ with the programmes of a radio station in their midst. It examines the media rituals at different times of the day by various sections of the community in relation to the content of the station, Mugambo Jwetu FM. Through this, the social norms that determine partici...

Community media have been lauded for the opportunity they provide to enhance participation and therefore democratic culture. In Kenya, a growing number of community radio stations have been founded partly under this logic since 2004. As of 2017, there were about 25 operational community radio stations. However, but exactly what participation consists of or what bottlenecks participation faces is not extensively laid out in either the country’s legislation or the stations’ best practices. This paper explores the daily interactions of a Kenyan ‘community radio community’ with the programmes of a radio station in their midst. It examines the media rituals at different times of the day by various sections of the community in relation to the content of the station, Mugambo Jwetu FM. Through this, the social norms that determine partici...