While the Myanmar’s regime attempts to suppress the protests taking place, citizen journalists are playing a key role in delivery of the news to the rest of the world.
Citizen Journalists Report On Myanmar
Citizen journalists are using cell phone cameras, text messaging and the Internet to report on the Myanmar government’s effort to control media coverage and downplay the protests.
Sein Win, managing editor of Missima News, an India-based news group run by exiled dissidents told CNN, “The technology is making a huge difference. Now everyone in the world can know what is happening in Burma (Myanmar) via the Internet, It is a reality of globalization. Whether the junta likes it or not, the government cannot isolate itself from the international community.”
The AP, Reuters and other media outlets have published photos given to them by exile media organizations including Mizzima, Irrawaddy, and the Democratic Voice of Burma. Talking about his correspondents, Aung Zaw, editor of Irrawaddy, told the Wall Street Journal, “They are doing their job on the ground, and nobody is even giving them the assignment. It is our job to check again with our sources, to see how close to the truth it is.”
Reporters Without Borders ranks Myanmar 164 out of 168 for being one of the most repressed media in the world. Despite the regime’s efforts to censor media, Myanmarese bloggers have been able to get around firewalls set up to stop the flow of information in and out of the country.
Irrawaddy’s Aung Zaw sums up the situation saying, “The more they try to suppress information, the more will come out.”
