Executive summary

The freedom by which the media can investigate, access, and publish information, particularly that which is critical, is one of the best ways to measure the level of democracy in a country.

Journalists know best how much freedom the media has, and can compare their current experiences to the past to identify the direction that media freedom is heading.

This survey, carried out nationwide by a coalition of organisations between December 2017 and April 2018, measures journalists’ opinions on a range of issues that are critical to media freedom.

The results are discouraging.

Journalists conclude that media freedom is declining in Myanmar, and that the government, including the military, is the main cause of this.

Worryingly, journalists believe that legal, physical, and psychological violence towards them has increased, and that there is little evidence that the government or courts are trying to address either violence or the decline in media freedom.

Journalists also conclude that their freedom to report in conflict areas has declined, and that media pluralism and diversity are unchanged, partly due to the continued domination of the state media.

Download full report in both English and Burmese HERE.

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