7 April

All newspapers have their own characteristics. The state-owned newspaper’s main purpose is to be a leading public media platform.

In Myanmar’s transition to become a democratic federal republic, the government owned newspaper serves as an important media in supplementing the public’s knowledge pool, so that they are informed of all aspects of the day’s news.

The state-owned media, including the newspapers, aim to pipe information from the government to the people and to give voice to the people, while serving as a bridge between the government and its people.

The News and Periodicals Enterprise of the Ministry of Information, which publishes the state-owned media, celebrates its 21st anniversary today.

We honoured those who worked for the print media, including journalists, printing experts and staff of the enterprise, along with the history of the NPE.

The state-run media serving the public does not focus on gaining profits. However, it has to carry out reforms, considering its commercial base of operation in the market oriented system so it does not suffer losses.

At the same time, we should seek other ways that can develop the private media industry, which is facing crippling distribution problems, rising costs and decreasing circulation.

The success and failure of a newspaper is directly related to public support. Only a media that people trust and support will continue to thrive.

If public support starts to wane and newspapers start to show a net loss, the respective authorities will review the newspaper’s performance and the paper will struggle to stay in operation. In such times, the national businesses will have to choose a path that is most appropriate for their survival.

The role of state-run media could be seen as the sine qua non in the transition to democracy. The newspapers avoid harmful news and events that can damage the public, while maintaining the ethics and standards of the world of journalism as its responsibility.

In the Rakhine issue, interference by some foreign countries, bias by some international media, and some international media’s ignorance of the true situation were evident. In this situation, state-run media is necessary to provide news for the country and its people.

Lastly, newspapers provide another perspective, to the best of their abilities, for the public to supplement the many news stories that they consume.

Hence, the state-run media, following the rules and procedures of the public service media, will make relentless efforts to ensure that the people have the right of access to information.

GNLM