New suns on Myanmar’s media horizon

By Sun Xiaobo Source:Global Times Published: 2013-6-26 0:18:01

A street vendor reads a new private daily as he sells newspapers and weekly journals at a roadside stall in Yangon, Myanmar, on April 1, 2013. Myanmar ended a five-decade state monopoly on daily news, when four privately owned newspapers hit the streets. Photo: CFP
A street vendor reads a new private daily as he sells newspapers and weekly journals at a roadside stall in Yangon, Myanmar, on April 1, 2013. Myanmar ended a five-decade state monopoly on daily news, when four privately owned newspapers hit the streets. Photo: CFP



When Nyein Chan, now 34, was in high school in 1996, he and his friends used to discuss international news, but their only source was a single page in the government-run newspaper.

And even the official newspapers came out just once a week in Myanmar as the military junta of dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly over the daily press in 1964, after seizing power in 1962. Getting hold of international newspapers was an impossibility.

Change began taking place in 2011 when the reformist leader Thein Sein was sworn in as a civilian president.

In August 2012, Myanmar ended the 48-year-long media censorship. Four months later, applications were opened to publish privately-run dailies in any language, and 16 new papers received publication approval on April 1 this year. By the end of April, another 10 had received licenses, including two new English papers and a locally printed edition of the International Herald Tribune (IHT).

A Chinese journalist based in Myanmar, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that nowadays foreign newspapers are actually not that hard to find, and the end of Internet censorship has allowed easy access to news for some.

But Chan, today the founder of the One Dollar Fund Myanmar, an NGO devoted to poverty reduction and supporting orphans, said that newspapers still played an important role as in the country only a few of the 48 million people there have access to the Internet. He also felt papers could provide more reliable news, having seen some of his compatriots fall victim to online hoaxes.

He added that in today's world, international news is becoming more important, even for local newspapers.

"Generally speaking, our interest is not just in local affairs but in international news also, especially for the young," he said.

"I personally welcome the Western newspapers," he added.

International newcomer

The permission for the IHT to print a local edition was the latest step in a string of dramatic moves taken by Thein Sein to reform the media industry. The IHT is the first international newspaper in a country once firmly determined to close its doors against the world. 

"This (opening) is a good one," Soe Sandar, a journalist based in Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, told the Global Times.

"We welcome this because different players have different ideas that will bring improvement for the media in Myanmar, and also job opportunities for journalists," she added.

International newspapers can bring their expertise to local media, said Kyaw Thu, a freelance journalist in Myanmar.

But the IHT's arrival may not have a massive impact on the local media industry, Song Qingrun, a research fellow on Myanmar studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

After all, there are already many local newspapers in the Myanmar language and English, and the Myanmar Times was co-founded by an Australian and has its own English version.

"The opening given to the IHT was more likely a signal of kindness sent to the Western countries before Thein Sein visited the US in May," Song said.

"You also have to consider that the market for the International Herald Tribune in Myanmar is going to be very small, at least initially," Thomas Kean, the editor of the English edition of the Myanmar Times, told the Global Times, though he admitted that having the IHT reprinted in Myanmar "certainly sends a positive message."

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure how the company that got the license to reprint the IHT expects to make money from this," he added.

Climbing freedoms

Soon before the IHT was granted the license, the Associated Press opened a bureau in Myanmar, making it the first international news agency to have a bureau there. Japanese broadcaster NHK was also given permission to operate.

Kean said government officials seem to have realized there is nothing to fear from foreign media as more international reports will boost the country's image, so the opening-up process would continue, though it could take some time.

Myanmar currently ranks 151st out of 179 countries in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index for 2013, 18 places higher than it was ranked last year. But permission to print alone is far from enough if the international media wants to make a difference, say journalists.

"If Western (newspapers) come and print or publish online in English, they won't have much place. But if they cooperate with Myanmar newspapers to produce stories in both languages, that would be great," Soe said.

"At the same time, foreign media organizations will have to put in some effort to build trust with the government," Kean said.

"That doesn't mean holding back on reporting but rather taking time to meet with government officials and also showing that they are willing to assist with the development of the industry more broadly," he added.

Song said in the context Chinese media could consider entering Myanmar as he  found on a recent trip that the English editions of some Chinese newspapers do have readers there.

However, just like the Wall Street Journal has an Asian edition, "Chinese media that intend to go into Myanmar have to change the direction of the reports and focus more on news that local people are interested in," he added.



Posted in: Asia in Focus

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