Reporting on Myanmar’s media

Big stories such as the death of Ko Par Gyi and the jailing of the Unity Journalists understandably dominate the headlines; but using UNESCO’s ‘Media Development Indicators’, International Media Support hopes to take a wide angle lense of the media landscape in Myanmar.

The indicator set that IMS will use in their assessment has been developed by UNESCO and delivered across the world. The guidelines that accompany the measurement framework require the study to be what they term as “pro-poor” in that it attempts to document the impact of media on rural and marginal communities.

Mr Swanson explained that they are reviewing their methodology to implement in the context of Myanmar. “With our series of enquiries including focus group discussions, we are hoping to get up into remote areas such as Chin, Kachin; with the marginal, vulnerable and disenfranchised.”

In such environments where views can be so deeply entrenched and education is underdeveloped, Mizzima asked Mr Swanson whether the IMS’s measurement mechanisms can in examples of reporting events such as communal violence; identify the difference between genuine self-censorship and bias and (mis)understandings and perceptions that have become culturally institutionalised.

“With good research, we should be able to unpack some of those questions,” said Mr Swanson, “some of it goes back to fundamentals, not all of these are professional journalists, they are self-taught and not all are aware of the fishbowl they live in, not aware how they exist within a narrow discourse and perhaps some lack objective criteria when they are writing. I don’t think it’s an agenda ofextremism or even an ethno-centric view, it’s just within a narrow context. It’s naive writing, wherein some people lack the exposure and capacity to unpack these issues and subsequently become part of problem.”

Mr Swanson hopes that their indicators on pluralism and diversity will help draw attention to these points and IMS intends to include all forms of media in their research, including those that exist outside of official frameworks and operate within non-government controlled areas.

The media expert is happy to admit that he is unsure of what the results of this research will be. This only further demonstrates the importance of the work being undertaken.

“About 19 of these MDI assessment reports have been produced around the world, using the same indicators but looking back at past reports there has never been a second round of follow up investigation,” says Mr Swanson. “Take the case of technological outreach. As we look at smartphone penetration, we might find that if half of what Ooredoo and Telenor say is going to happen.”

Mr Swanson envisages the establishment of a Myanmar secretariat responsible for transposing the indicator set into an objective tool that can be tracked, updated regularly and reviewed on a quarterly basis. Groups will adopt responsibility for indicators of particular concern to them, such as a group of lawyers that keep an eye on the persecution of journalists.

Mr Swanson has met with Minister of Information U Ye Htut and received positive response and backing for the project. However, he says that whatever the response, he hopes the report will be challenging and uncover new focal ground.

“We will be putting pressure on our research team for suggested actions to deliver our recommendations, so that we can encourage the agenda and stimulate change. You can for example possibly read the report and may say I agree with that recommendation but I’m challenged by that action and that we would say that would be great.”

“We want to suggest actions and stimulate response, people may say no, no, no, that is not the best recommendation but then they must come up with an alternative that we hope can help move the development of media in Myanmar forward.”

“We know that in the media sector itself, as well as in the government there well be people who question the report but we hope that stimulates constructive dialogue and stimulates the changes underway” says Mr Swanson. “I could see a follow up in a year and a half, [questioning] is the new administration taking seriously the political and legal framework, are they promoting or manipulating the press?”