Interviewees and people profiled on the station come from a wide array of backgrounds and occupations. From the outset, Radio Sagarmatha has worked to present listeners with 'a human package', a combination of issues and entertainment, social discussions and music, as well as being a conduit for the variety of voices and opinion previously unheard on Nepal's radio channels. It is in its programming that the station's difference from the state broadcaster and the growing number of Western-style commercial stations is most evident. Public affairs journalism and broadcasting are at the heart of Radio Sagarmatha's mission and vision for a more responsible press and a more pluralistic society, but with a long and powerful tradition of folk media and a rich musical heritage, cultural programming is also prominent in the station's six hour daily broadcast. Though prohibited at first from broadcasting news, the station is currently airing summaries of daily news stories in a format mixed with music as well as broadcasting daily community news bulletins.
Community access is an important part of programming.
In late 1998, Radio Sagarmatha formed a partnership with the BBC World Service. Thirty minutes of the BBC Nepali service and thirty minutes of world news in English are heard respectively in the evening and morning programme blocks. Radio Sagarmatha has identified self-reliance as a goal, but in the short term, the station is seeking operational funds and monies for equipment and facilities. The first license's restriction on commercial advertising was lifted in October 1998, opening up a potentially significant resource and freeing the station to experiment with different kinds of sponsorship and bartering. Income is being generated from paid public service announcements, acknowledgments of financial support as well as services rendered in-kind.