Having identified the specific stations for case study, I decided on specific data collection methods based on my stated research objectives which are:
To identify the stated ideological aims under which community radio functions, and how these are reflected in production practices and community radio content;
To observe the organisational structures that characterise community radio; and
To assess the participation practices taking place in community radio.
28 Observed during field visits in 2014: the station and the CDF offices borrow seats from each other when there is, for example a large group of visitors at either venue.
Station Kangema FM Koch FM Mugambo Jwetu FM
Licensing Community Broadcast language Kikuyu Kiswahili/Sheng Meru
Funding Structures Fully government Sampling Maximum variation Maximum variation Typical case
Social Context Rural Urban Rural
I broke these objectives down into their constituent parts so as to capture each element of information needed, and from these decided on the most appropriate data collection methods.
To start with, in order to identify the specific individuals and organisations to interview, following the pilot study, I compiled a table of the actors in the Kenyan community radio sector (See Figure 2: Actors in the Kenyan community radio sector), and specifically in the three community stations identified for in-depth study. Having identified the relevant actors, I then proceeded to make a data collection plan for each objective. I start with the first one below.
Objective 1a: To identify the stated ideological aims under which community radio functions For this objective, a review of station founding documents and in-depth interviews with station management were conducted. While the founding documents provide a written version of the station’s goals, the interviews provide access to the perspectives of those involved with the stations regarding why they exist. At the station level, for all three stations, the intention was to interview the station’s management as well as members of the founding Community Based Organisation (CBO). However, the structures and personnel on the ground necessitated an amendment of selected respondents. For Koch FM, the station manager is also a member of the station’s founding CBO, and all the other founding members had apparently relocated from Korogocho. Therefore, I interviewed the station manager about the founding CBO’s aims and the setting up of the station, and the programme manager on the day to day running of the station. In addition, I got an opportunity to interview the station’s finance manager, also a member of the founding CBO, although he is now formally employed elsewhere. At Kangema FM, there is no CBO affiliated to the station; rather, the station’s management board consists of the local Member of Parliament and appointed community leaders. For this station, therefore, I interviewed the station manager, who is seconded from the meteorological department, the station administrator who is responsible for the financial management and day to day running of the station, and the programmes officer, who manages the producers. It is only at Mugambo FM that there is an existent and active CBO affiliated to the station, but the station has no programme manager. Therefore, I interviewed the station manager and the chairperson of Mugambo Jwetu Community Based Organisation (CBO) which represents community ownership in the station. In summary, to address this objective at the station level, at Koch FM and Kangema FM I interviewed the station manager and the programme manager, while at Mugambo FM I interviewed the station manager and the CBO chairperson. For each station, although the people interviewed go by different titles, they were all categorised as being part of station management.
Category Role Specific Actors
To gain a broader perspective on the ideas which impact community radio establishment and funding, I interviewed government officials from regulatory organisations, representatives of community radio advocacy organisations, and donors who fund the stations, as outlined in Figure 2 (Actors in the Kenya Community Radio Sector). For legislators and regulators of the community broadcasting sector, I interviewed government officials from the National Communication Secretariat (NCS), which is responsible for drafting broadcast legislation and advising the government on it29, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), which is responsible for regulating the communication sector, including licensing30, and the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), which is responsible for ‘setting of media standards and ensuring compliance with those standards as set out in Article 34(5) of the Constitution’.31 These three institutions play a key role in the licensing and regulation of the broadcast sector, which includes community radio. At each of the institutions I interviewed at least one person.
For donors and training organisations which engage with the community radio sector, I identified and interviewed those specifically involved with the stations studied, for time and resource management reasons. The specific organisations, as outlined in Figure 2, were Norwegian Church Aid, Kenya Meteorological Department, UNESCO, BBC Media Action, and Internews Kenya. For advocacy organisations, I interviewed officials from Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET) and Community Radio Association of Kenya (CRAK). Similar to the government institutions, at these organisations I interviewed at least one person per organisation. These actors were useful to contact not only because they all play a part in the operations of community media, but also because their ideas play a part in influencing funding and policy decisions around community radio in Kenya. In addition, they provided insights into the ideas circulating on the envisioned role of community radio, which complemented the pragmatic perspectives of the managers on the ground.
To access these institutions, I relied on snowball sampling. Snowball or chain sampling “yields a study sample through referrals made among people who share or know of others who possess some characteristics that are of research interest”(Biernacki & Waldorf 1981, 141). For some of the organisations, I made initial connections during a media industry event which happened to take place at the early phases of my research. The contacts made with those present at the
29 See http://ncs.go.ke/
30 See http://www.ca.go.ke/index.php/what-we-do
31 See http://www.mediacouncil.or.ke/en/mck/index.php/about-us/who-we-are
event directed me to other relevant informants. I also made use of personal associates from prior work experience. For all the institutions and individuals, government and non-governmental, access was relatively straightforward once I displayed my research permit and explained the purpose of my research.
Objective 1b: To identify content production practices at community radio stations
For this objective, in-depth interviews and observation were conducted at the stations. These interviews were conducted with programme producers focusing on how they go about their work, their choice of some types of content over others, and their intentions for it. Observation of typical workdays at the studio and sitting in at production meetings were also employed as a means to gather information. This was an attempt to distinguish between ‘espoused theories’
(what people say they do) and ‘theory-in-use’ (what people actually do) (Patton 1990). Among key strengths of participant observation in media production is that it makes the invisible visible, and it provides evidence for the dynamic as well as embedded nature of cultural production. It can however fail to grasp extra-organisational forces that also have an impact on news production (Cottle 2009). Therefore, the in-depth interviews were partly a strategy to mitigate this, through asking specific questions about external influences on production processes, such as official guidelines provided by the CA and the MCK on programme content.
Another shortcoming of the ethnographic approach in studying media production is that while it makes it possible to be personally involved with the subjects studied, thus providing in-depth knowledge, the short observation periods may obscure some information, and the presence of the researcher may cause distortion in the environment (Franquet 2014). For instance, the people being observed may change behaviour because they know they are under observation.
This distortion lessens as the ethnographer becomes more integrated into the environment over time (Barbara B. Kawulich, 2005; Evans, 2012), and, as some researchers argue, is not necessarily negative as it may generate valuable field data (Monahan and Fisher 2010).
However, in a media production context, the distortion is partly mitigated by the presence of pre-existing work schedules. Considering that I was observing producers engaging in their daily work routines, it can be surmised that my presence would not significantly alter the usual work flow. Nevertheless, to further reduce such distortion, I sought to allow a comfortable relationship to develop between the staff and myself by spending several days at each station and carrying out repeat visits to the stations. The repeated visits provided a general idea of a day’s ‘typical’ work flow. At each station, I introduced myself and the purpose of my research
in as much detail as possible to each of the producers I observed, informing them that I would be taking notes or recording information as they worked. I invited them to ask clarificatory questions at any point of our engagement, as well as allow me to ask questions on points that I needed more information on. Eventually, my engagement with the producers consisted of some moments of them continuing with their duties as if I was not there (that is, not engaging with me directly), and other moments where they verbally walked me through every step they were taking as they worked, sometimes on their own initiative and sometimes as a result of my questions. Apart from studio observations, mealtimes and other social activities were shared during the workday. Observation as a research method provided the possibility to compare the actual practice at the stations with the information provided during the formal interviews.
Objective 1c: To identify the genres of community radio content: For this objective, a thematic content analysis of the aired programmes was carried out. In addition to tuning in to the specific radio stations while in the stations’ broadcast areas, programme samples and programme schedules were collected. To complement the live broadcasts listened to, from each station, I collected one full day of programme recordings for further analysis. There were however challenges with this method. At the time of the research, only Kangema FM kept audio records of its programmes. At both Koch FM and Mugambo FM, there was no dedicated computer to record the programmes, with the available ones being used during live transmission in the studio, and one at the reception area where the producers and interns typed news stories collected from the field. To get programme recordings from these two stations therefore, I made use of an audio recorder to record the transmissions as they were aired.
Initially, the idea was to get programme records for the same day at each of the stations;
however, this did not work, given the above-mentioned circumstances. Nevertheless, the recorded programmes, the programme schedules and tuning in to the three stations provided a composite picture of the content aired by the stations.
Objective 2: To describe organisational structures that characterise community radio For this objective, a review of station organograms and interviews with management and staff were carried out. Observation of displayed documents at the station reception areas also provided valuable additional information, as these documents provided hints of the organisational culture and values.
Objective 3: To assess the listenership trends and participation practices taking place in community radio
For this objective, both quantitative and qualitative methodology was used. The following section details the quantitative and qualitative audience research procedures undertaken.