The Myanmar Times

The Myanmar Times
Logo of The Myanmar Times, Burmese-language edition
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBerliner
Owner(s)Myanmar Consolidated Media Co. Ltd. (MCM)
Founder(s)
PublisherThein Tun
Founded2000
LanguageEnglish, Burmese
HeadquartersNo. 379/383, Bo Aung Kyaw Street, Kyauktada Township, Yangon, Myanmar
Sister newspapersThe Bangkok Post, The Phnom Penh Post
Websitemmtimes.com
Headquarters of "The Myanmar Times" in Yangon

The Myanmar Times (Burmese: မြန်မာတိုင်း(မ်); MLCTS: mran ma: tuing: [mjànmá táɪn]), founded in 2000, is the oldest privately owned and operated English-language newspaper in Myanmar. A division of Myanmar Consolidated Media Co., Ltd. (MCM), The Myanmar Times published weekly English and Burmese-language news journals until March 2015, when the English edition began publishing daily, five days per week. Its head offices are in Yangon, with additional offices in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. As the announcement shown in the official website of this newspaper, it has stopped nine media services on 21 February 2021 primarily for three months. However, its services are still suspended till now.

History

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Early years

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The Myanmar Times was founded by Ross Dunkley, an Australian, and Sonny Swe (Myat Swe) of Myanmar in 2000, making it the only Burmese newspaper to have foreign investment at the time.[2] The newspaper is privately owned by Myanmar Consolidated Media Co. Ltd. (MCM), which is 51 per cent locally owned and 49 per cent foreign owned. In the past, The Myanmar Times had often been perceived as being close to the government in part because Sonny Swe's father, Brigadier General Thein Swe, was a senior member of the now-disbanded Military Intelligence department.

When it was first established, The Myanmar Times was the only publication in the country to be censored by Military Intelligence, rather than the Press Scrutiny Board. This created some resentment locally, among both the Ministry of Information[3] and other journals. Internationally, the paper had been derided as "sophisticated propaganda" and a public relations tool for more progressive elements in the government, such as General Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's former Prime Minister. It was also forced to print government propaganda, albeit under a "State Opinion" banner.

Arrest of Sonny Swe

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Sonny Swe was arrested on 26 November 2004. In April 2005 he was given a 14-year jail sentence for publishing the papers without approval from the Ministry of Information's Press Scrutiny Board.[4] The charges were imposed retroactively after Military Intelligence was declared an illegal organisation, which in turn meant The Myanmar Times had been effectively publishing uncensored material since its launch.[4] He was released from Taunggyi Prison in Shan State on 23 April 2013 after serving more than eight years of a 14-year sentence.[5]

Swe's arrest and sentencing were generally considered political and linked to his father's senior position in Military Intelligence, a government body that was purged in 2004 after a power struggle within the military. Following Sonny Swe's arrest, his stake in The Myanmar Times was transferred to his wife, Yamin Htin Aung, who continued to hold the local share with another investor, Pyone Maung Maung, for almost a year.[6]

However, she was forced by the Ministry of Information to sell her stake to another local media entrepreneur, Tin Tun Oo, whose company, Thuta Swe Sone, publishes four other journals. Tin Tun Oo was the secretary of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists' Association and was believed at the time to have a close relationship with the Ministry of Information.[7] When Myanmar Consolidated Media's shareholders initially refused to comply with the ministry, rumours circulated that the paper would be shut down. Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer reportedly flew to Yangon to intervene, although his office denied this.[3]

At the time, the newspaper was still widely regarded as semi-official or government-influenced,[8] it being run by a private company. When, on 17 January 2011, the state-owned paper The Mirror implied that Tin Tun Oo had taken over as editor-in-chief of MCM, fueling rumours of a power struggle between Ross Dunkley and Tin Tun Oo, it received a formal complaint from the media group.[4][9] Following Sonny Swe's imprisonment in 2005, another Burmese media entrepreneur, Tin Tun Oo, acquired the locally owned share of MCM in controversial circumstances.

Post-censorship and daily launch

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The reformist Thein Sein government abolished pre-publication censorship in August 2012. Until then, all media in Myanmar including The Myanmar Times was heavily censored by the Ministry of Information's Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, commonly known as the Press Scrutiny Board. According to Dunkley, on average, 20 per cent of the articles submitted to the censorship board were rejected, and the gaps filled were with soft news stories.[10]

After a prolonged power struggle between Australian editor-in-chief Ross Dunkley and Tin Tun Oo, prominent businessman U Thein Tun bought the shares of Tin Tun Oo for an undisclosed sum in February 2013.[11]

The English language edition moved to a daily publishing cycle in March 2015.[12] Dunkley sold his interest in the paper and transferred his responsibilities as CEO to Tony Child on 1 October of that year.[13] In April 2016, Child was succeeded by Malaysian journalist Bill Tegjeu as CEO and Editorial Director.

Since 2007, MCM has also published NOW!, a Burmese-language health, beauty and fashion weekly magazine.

Sister publications

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In late 2007 investors in Myanmar Consolidated Media took a controlling interest in well-regarded English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post, based in Cambodia. The investors were identified as Ross Dunkley and Bill Clough, an Australian mining and oil and gas entrepreneur.[14] Six months after the takeover, The Phnom Penh Post, which was established in 1991, began daily publication, including an article republication agreement with The Myanmar Times. Dunkley ceased his association with The Phnom Penh Post in 2013. The Myanmar Times also engages in a content-sharing association with The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand.

Controversies

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Killer Than Shwe advertisement

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In July 2007, a Danish group named Surrend placed an advertisement in The Myanmar Times' English edition that contained the concealed messages "freedom" and "killer Than Shwe",[8] a reference to Burma's head of state. The bogus advertisement appeared to be a call for tourists from Scandinavia and contained the word Ewhsnahtrellik, or "killer Than Shwe" in reverse, as well as a supposed "old Danish poem", the acrostic of which read "freedom". The group said it placed the ad to "show that you can find cracks or holes in even the worst regimes".[15] The controversy made that week's edition a "best-seller" and copies were sold for double their face value by local newspaper vendors.[16]

While no serious action was taken against The Myanmar Times for publishing the advertisement, two staff at the Press Scrutiny Board were removed from their positions and copies of the newspaper were pulled from the shelves. The stunt was widely criticised by those in the local media industry but Surrend founder Jan Egesborg defended the group's prank, saying "we are very sorry for the people ... but if [the authorities] do something like that it says something about the regime".[17]

Banned for one week

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In January 2008, The Myanmar Times' Myanmar-language edition was banned from publishing for one week.[18] The ban was imposed by the Press Scrutiny Board after the newspaper's editors published a story on 11 January about satellite licence fees, despite being warned not to do so. The ban was subsequently condemned by Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association.

In the following week's English edition, CEO Ross Dunkley defended the article as "good journalism" and denied that he had been told to sack four editors. However, he did announce an editorial "reshuffle" and the creation of an Editorial Steering Committee to both "safeguard the company from conflict with the authorities" and "plan improvements and expansion".[19]

Arrest of Ross Dunkley

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On 10 February 2011, Ross Dunkley, the founder and editor-in-chief of the weekly, was arrested and charged with breaching immigration law by assaulting a sex worker.[20] On 13 February 2011, after Dunkley's arrest, Tin Tun Oo of Swesone Media and Bill Clough of Far Eastern Consolidated Media (FECM) were appointed as editors-in-chief of the Burmese and English language editions.[21]

Dunkley was released on bail on 29 March from Insein Prison after posting bail and was convicted on 30 June 2011, of assaulting the woman and breaching immigration laws and fined 100,000 kyats (around US$100 at the time).[22]

2021 Myanmar coup d'état

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Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, The Myanmar Times has suspended their all publication since February. The managers of The Myanmar Times have fired 13 journalists, including the editor-in-chief, from the Burmese language daily edition without any prior warning.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Editorial Masthead
  2. ^ Burma: Co-founder of Myanmar Times On Trial Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Centre for Independent Journalism, 8 February 2005.
  3. ^ a b Is Australia's role in the Myanmar Times coming to an end? Crikey, 20 October 2005.
  4. ^ a b c Olszewski, Peter (2006) (paperback). Land of a Thousand Eyes: The Subtle Pleasures of Everyday Life in Myanmar. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-507-4.
  5. ^ Nan Tin Htwe and Jessica Mudditt (25 April 2013). "Prison release bittersweet for Sonny Swe". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  6. ^ Uncertainty Surrounds Myanmar Times Archived 12 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Irrawaddy, 14 September 2005.
  7. ^ Myanmar Times on the Rocks after Share-Holder Pullout Mizzima, 15 September 2005.
  8. ^ a b Myanmar Times Carries "Killer Than Shwe" Ad Archived 10 May 2010 at the Wayback MachineThe Irrawaddy, 24 July 2007.
  9. ^ La Pyae (21 January 2011). "Internal Power Struggle at Myanmar Times?". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  10. ^ Burmese government suspends newspaper The Committee to Protect Journalists, 23 January 2008.
  11. ^ "Tycoon U Thein Tun buys majority share The Myanmar Times". The Myanmar Times. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  12. ^ "'Myanmar Times' to launch daily paper on March 9". The Myanmar Times. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  13. ^ "MCM prepares for expansion as founder hands over to new CEO". The Myanmar Times. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  14. ^ Australians invest in media project in Phnom Penh Archived 16 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Myanmar Times, 7 January 2008.
  15. ^ Surrend ad in Myanmar Times Archived 2 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Surrend. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  16. ^ Booby-trapped Myanmar Times a Best Seller Archived 16 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Irrawaddy, 25 July 2007.
  17. ^ Surrend defends Myanmar Times ad as fallout hits RangoonArchived 12 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine Democratic Voice of Burma, 26 July 2007.
  18. ^ Myanmar Times banned for one week by censors[permanent dead link‍] Democratic Voice of Burma, 17 January 2008.
  19. ^ Comprehensive changes at The Myanmar Times Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Myanmar Times, 21 January 2008.
  20. ^ Wai Moe (24 February 2011). "Dunkley Arrest Rocks Rangoon Media". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Management, editorial changes at Myanmar Consolidated Media". The Myanmar Times. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Dunkley convicted, freed by Burma court". Democratic Voice of Burma. Agence France-Presse. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  23. ^ "Myanmar Times' Burmese Daily Edition Fires Editor-in-Chief, 12 Other Journalists Without Notice". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
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