Private Newspapers return to Myanmar after 50 Years

The privately run daily newspapers returned to Myanmar for the first time in 50 years. It can be called the rebirth of the private newspapers in the country while the print industry is declining in rest of the world in an era of internet.

The media was restricted in the country when the late dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly on the daily press in the 1960s. Since then, the journalists had been waiting for this day. It is like second freedom for the media people.

The newspaper renaissance is part of the reform brought by President Thein Sein, who was serving as prime minister in the previous military regime. He brought relief for the working journalists, who were struggling for their identities. The restriction was lifted on private dailies as political and economic liberation were at the top of his agenda.

The move is another step by the ruler in its march towards democracy. After the decision came into effect, around 80,000 copies of Golden Fresh Land, one of four dailies in the country, were sold on Monday. It shows that people were waiting for the private dailies since a long time.