Radio is a dynamic and unique medium where your ability to paint pictures with words to capture the imagination of your audience determines your success on the platform.
A lively radio presenter who is captivating and inspiring to their listeners is what everyone looks forward to every time they tune in to a particular station.
However, you will agree, there is only a small batch of such presenters on Kikuyu radio and other stations that broadcast in other languages in Kenya.
Here we focus on one such presenter on Kikuyu radio whose career spurns for decades.
Many know her by on-air name PM² (squared) which is basically the initials of her formal name, Peninah Muthoni Mbugua (PM²)
For starters, PM² was on radio long before the liberalisation of Kenyan radio airwaves in the late 90s which gave birth to FM radio broadcasts.
Before then, PM² was one of the main presenters working for the hourly KBC Kikuyu Service before the State broadcaster opened a 24-hour Gikuyu station, Coro FM in late 1999.
But by then PM² had already moved to the first ever 24-hour private Gikuyu station, Kameme FM, where she was the presenter of the station's drive show, 'Humuka'. She still presents the show today though she had decamped to Inooro FM in 2006 to present a similar show 'Cuacua' before returning to Kameme in 2010.
But the big question is, how has PM² managed to stay relevant for all this long in an industry where many have come and left after their 'expiry date' came calling so soon?
Here are some few observations.
1. PM² understands her Gikuyu audience. There is an old adage that goes 'walk a mile in my shoes,' meaning if you want to fully understand someone, you need to do what they do. This is what PM² has basically been doing to be able to relate with her audience.
She is a drive show presenter, a prime show that requires energy and vigour which she delivers quite well. But when it comes to presenting funeral announcements later after the show, you will hear and feel in her voice that she is able to relate well with the feelings of the families of the departed ones.
2. She is passionate about the stuff she presents on air. PM² will always have something to tell her audience and do it in the right tone. You won't mistake her jokes for a serious matter and vice versa.
3. She is dynamic. Since her old days at KBC, so many things have changed. From technology to the advent of social media, she has managed to evolve with all of them. Even her audience is no longer the same. But she has managed to evolve with the changing needs of her listeners to claim the title, 'Gikuyu Queen of Radio of all Times'.
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