• Burmese
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °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

More Media Reform Needed to End Govt Control, Says Industry

Moe Myint by Moe Myint
December 14, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
More Media Reform Needed to End Govt Control

 A copy of the state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin. Members of the media industry say that the government should hasten its plans to convert its media assets into independent “public service” media outlets. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

3.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Attendees at a media conference in Rangoon have called for revisions to recently passed media laws, arguing that the government retains undue power over broadcasters and print publishers under the current legislative framework.

The conference, organized by the Myanmar Journalists Association and several freedom of expression advocacy groups, convened over Friday and Saturday and discussed further media reforms needed after three years of seismic changes to the sector.

Attendees said the Broadcasting Law, which was enacted in August and permits the establishment of independent radio and television broadcasters, left the government with a troubling amount of influence over the regulation of licensees.

RelatedPosts

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
701
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
1.2k
We Need Your Support—Your $5 Helps Keep The Irrawaddy’s Mission Alive

We Need Your Support—Your $5 Helps Keep The Irrawaddy’s Mission Alive

March 27, 2025
603

A Broadcast Council to be formed in the coming months will be dominated by government appointees. The Upper and Lower houses of Union Parliament and the president nominate are given power under the law to nominate six members each to the council, while a further nine members will be elected by broadcasters. The council is empowered to issue and revoke broadcasting licenses, and the president is also granted the power to unilaterally dismiss members of the council.

“The structure of this council was formed without considering the suggestions of media organizations and civil society groups,” said Khin Maung Win, the deputy executive director of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). “We asked lawmakers before the law was approved to include civil society members, but our recommendations were ignored.”

Ye Htut, the Information Minister and chief spokesman for President Thein Sein, told the conference on Friday that the Broadcast Council would be formed within the next six months, leaving the matter unclear as to whether the current administration would appoint members before the new parliament was sworn in at the end of January.

The Broadcasting Law is the third major piece of media legislation passed since the Thein Sein government ended the decades-old practice of prepublication censorship in mid-2012. The Printing and Publishing Law and the News Media Law were passed in 2014 to mixed reviews, with the US-based rights organization Article 19 claiming that the laws did not sufficiently guarantee freedom of expression for media workers.

The News Media Law provides for the formation a semi-independent council to uphold professional standards of conduct in the sector and consider ethical complaints directed against publishers. The majority of positions on the News Media Council are appointed by the parliament, president and professional associations.

On Friday, the News Media Council was finally sworn in, replacing the Interim Press Council formed by Thein Sein in 2012. Vice-chairman Pe Myint, one of four people who successfully contested a council seat in October, told that day’s conference session that all enacted media laws needed to be reviewed and amended.

Aspiring broadcasters are also concerned about the legacy presence of the state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) in the sector. Though media houses will no longer have to partner with the broadcaster to be granted a license, plans to convert government-run media enterprises into state-funded “public service” outlets have been criticized for lacking detail and a timetable.

 “I think the state’s broadcasting channels are unnecessary,” said Khin Maung Win. “We just want to see a transformation into a private sector industry. Why do we need to keep these same organizations?”

 Both DVB and fellow exile media outfit Mizzima are planning to court official broadcast licenses under the new regime. Mizzima founder Soe Myint told The Irrawaddy that while the new law had some merits, he was concerned that the lack of transparency around the founding of the Broadcast Council would be a portent of things to come when it began hearing license applications.

 Two days before the conference began, several currently operating broadcasters formed the Myanmar Broadcasting Association to represent the sector. Exile media organizations were not invited to join, said Khin Maung Win.

 In its legal analysis of the Broadcast Law, Article 9 called for an end to government broadcasting services in favor of independent state-funded outlets, guarantees of the Broadcast Council’s independence and powers, an independent and transparent licensing process, and greater access into the sector for foreign investors.

Elsewhere, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on Sunday that representatives of Mizzima, Burma News International and the National League for Democracy’s Information Committee met with Tint Swe, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Information, to discuss means for the ministry to assist with the expansion of ethnic language news media platforms.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaMedia
Moe Myint

Moe Myint

The Irrawaddy

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
103.2k

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
4.5k

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
Court Drops 1 of 2 Defamation Charges in Suit Over Military Insult

Court Drops 1 of 2 Defamation Charges in Suit Over Military Insult

In Idyllic Delta Locale

In Idyllic Delta Locale, Locals Hope Proposed Power Plant Stays Grounded

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

9 hours ago
1k

Most Read

  • Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Abandons Chinese Pipeline Amid Resistance Attacks

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 58 Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Target Civilians in Two Weeks

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Three Japanese Firms Ditch Myanmar Port Project

    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.