Myanmar profile - Media
- Published
Strict media restrictions were eased after 2011 under former president, Thein Sein.
But media freedom has not been a priority for the democratically elected government that took office in 2016, says Reporters Without Borders.
The group says self-censorship is applied when reporting about officials and the military, and the authorities still exert pressure on the media, even intervening to change editorial policies.
The state controls the main broadcasters and publications and has a monopoly on telecommunications.
Media coverage of violence in Rakhine State is tightly controlled by the military and the government, says Freedom House.
Former exiled outlets Democratic Voice of Burma and Mizzima were selected in 2017 to operate digital TV channels under the auspices of state broadcaster MRTV.
Foreign broadcasters serving audiences in Myanmar include the BBC, Voice of America, and US-backed Radio Free Asia.
There were 1.3 million internet users by 2016 (InternetLiveStats.com). Users have taken to social media, with Facebook and Viber being popular destinations.
Freedom House says there has been a sharp rise in the number of defamation cases filed against people who have criticised the government online.
Press
- Kyehmon - (The Mirror), state-run daily
- Myanmar Alin - organ of State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
- New Light of Myanmar - English-language organ of SPDC
- Myanmar Times - state-run English-language weekly
- 7 Day Daily - privately-owned
- The Messenger - privately-owned
- Myanmar Radio and TV (MRTV) - broadcasts in Bamar, Arakanese (Rakhine), Shan, Karen, Kachin, Kayah, Chin, Mon and English
- Myanmar International TV - state-run, in English
- Myawaddy TV - army-run network
- TV5 - state-private joint pay-TV venture
- Myanmar Radio - state-run, operated by MRTV
- City FM - run by Rangoon City Development Committee
- Shwe FM - commercial
- Cherry FM - commercial
- Myanmar News Agency (MNA) - state-run
- Eleven Myanmar - website of privately-owned Eleven Media Group
- The Irrawaddy - Thailand-based website, in English and Burmese
- Mizzima - news website of privately-owned Mizzima media group
- Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) - privately-owned news website