• Burmese
Thursday, July 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Burma’s Private Newspapers Struggle to Stay Afloat

Aye Aye Win by Aye Aye Win
March 14, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Burma’s Private Newspapers Struggle to Stay Afloat

A newspaper vendor sits under pictures of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father

3.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — With tears in his eyes, the chief editor scoured the last-ever edition of his newspaper before sending the proofread copy to the printing press. His once-bustling newsroom was quiet. Some reporters cleared their desks while others tried to cheer up their boss with words of gratitude, or even some homemade pork stew.

Khin Maung Lay is one of many Burmese journalists who last year embraced the chance to produce independent daily newspapers free from censorship for the first time in five decades. It was not the government that shut him down, but economics: His paper and others have been losing money as they struggle to compete with state-owned papers for advertisers and circulation.

“It breaks my heart,” said Khin Maung Lay, who has been part of the country’s ever-shifting media landscape for most of his 82 years and was jailed repeatedly when it was under military rule. “Today is my real last day as a newsman.”

RelatedPosts

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

July 15, 2025
1.2k
Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

May 3, 2025
761
From Resistance to Survival: Myanmar’s Free Press Battles US Aid Cuts

From Resistance to Survival: Myanmar’s Free Press Battles US Aid Cuts

April 28, 2025
1.3k

One year after publishers and editors took advantage of a decision by the country’s nominally civilian government to lift a half-century-old ban on private dailies, the feeling of euphoria is fading.

Khin Maung Lay’s paper, Golden Fresh Land, published its last edition Wednesday. It is the first well-known private daily to fold, but 11 others that are still publishing also appear to be struggling.

“All the daily newspapers except the pro-junta party newspapers are running at a loss,” said an editor-in-chief of one of the most popular private dailies. He asked not to be named because he was not authorized to comment by management.

“We are losing around 3 million kyat ($3,000) every day and many smaller papers are in the red too. Some can barely survive,” he said.

The more popular private dailies sell about 80,000 copies per day, far less than the three state-run newspapers, which all have circulations of more than 320,000.

Though the state-run papers often read like government press releases, with stories like one on a bridge inauguration that named every official in attendance, they have established distribution systems and nationwide printing presses. That allows them to sell papers virtually everywhere in Burma, while the private papers sell mostly in Rangoon and other big cities such as Mandalay and Taunggyi. State-run papers also operate with public money, allowing them to keep the cost of advertisements low.

Tha Tun Oo, chief executive officer of the media conglomerate Today Publishing House, suggested that many of the new publishers did not concentrate enough on making their newspapers profitable. His company publishes weekly and monthly publications but does not own daily papers.

“Too many of the publications just focused on the product, not the market,” Tha Tun Oo said.

He said that in a developing nation of 60 million, “The media market is just too crowded.” He thinks six or seven papers would be about right.

After Burma won independence from Britain in 1948, the country had a vibrant free press. Newsstands fluttered with more than 70 daily dailies in the Burmese, English, Indian and Chinese languages. But in 1964, after Gen. Ne Win seized power and began military rule, private businesses were abruptly nationalized. Once-popular papers were transformed into propaganda sheets.

After generals handed over power to an elected government in 2011, the press became one of the fastest and most visible beneficiaries of sweeping political and economic reforms. Censors put away their red pens, and on April 1, 2013, private dailies began publishing again.

For Khin Maung Lay, it was a “second lease on life.”

He had been a senior newsman at the Burmese-language Mogyo daily before it was driven out of business by government pressure in 1964. He went to jail three times under Ne Win, including a three-year stretch in “protective custody,” a catchall phrase the military regime used to imprison critics.

Khin Maung Lay started Golden Fresh Land with a flock of young reporters, photographers and editors, mostly in the early and late 20s.

He thought he could compete against well-established state-run papers and those operated by powerful political parties by offering reliable, quality news, but now says he underestimated the strong market forces at work.

“The government’s goodwill toward private dailies is minimal,” Khin Maung Lay lamented. “Compared to the well-established state-run papers, we are really handicapped. It’s like having the oars broken while you are rowing.”

“We feel very sorry not just for ourselves, but for uncle [Khin Maung Lay], who put everything he had into this paper in the last year,” senior reporter Kyaw Kyaw Myint said with tremors in this voice. He was the one who tried to cheer his boss up with a bowl of pork stew his wife made.

Khin Maung Lay will continue to run two weekly papers, but he said it won’t be the same without the day-to-day buzz. It is a wistfulness that extended to his last editorial for Golden Fresh Land, titled, “Till we meet again.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Media
Aye Aye Win

Aye Aye Win

The Associated Press

Similar Picks:

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America
World

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America

by Naung Naung
February 10, 2025
7.1k

The billionaire’s call to shut down the US-funded media organizations, which reach hundreds of millions of people globally, follows his...

Read moreDetails
Illustration entitled ‘Rebellious Reporters’ by Harn Lay for The Irrawaddy.
Specials

Our Fight For Press Freedom

by The Irrawaddy
May 3, 2024
103.4k

To mark World Press Freedom Day, The Irrawaddy presents a compendium of its articles on press freedom and the repression...

Read moreDetails
Burma

Myanmar Junta Rages Against E. Timor President After Defection Call

by The Irrawaddy
December 14, 2023
5.2k

The regime’s newspapers were filled with tirades against José Ramos-Horta after he urged junta troops to defect, and its backers...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 20, 2024
4.6k

Also this week, China appeased after Taiwan election, forced recruitment as resistance threatens to decouple main cities, power plea for...

Read moreDetails
Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar
Guest Column

Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar

by Zung Ring
June 18, 2024
2.6k

The media’s increasing obsession with ‘national disintegration’ is playing into the junta’s hands and threatening progress toward peaceful federalism.

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More

by The Irrawaddy
November 25, 2023
2.3k

Also over the past seven days, Min Aung Hlaing failed to boost morale in battered army, while the junta tried...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Journalist Beseeches Brethren: Stop With the Muslim Hate Speech

Journalist Beseeches Brethren: Stop With the Muslim Hate Speech

Burma to Develop National Building Code

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

1 day ago
1.2k
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

6 days ago
782

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Recaptures Nawnghkio After Months-Long Counteroffensive

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rogue Sagaing Resistance Fighters Held Over Robbery Gone Wrong

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.