Professionalism Agency Table 4. Amended features and functions of the media system during liberalization (recommendations for addition are highlighted in blue). Bottom–up Liberalization Top–down Liberalization Externally-Influenced Liberalization Partisanship prioritized over objective and accurate reporting Ritualized rhetoric of the state media replaced by more accessible language Prioritizing of information delegitimizing the regime and rallying popular resistance Content of oppositional media produced by activists rather than journalists Journalists serve the political and economic interests of financial backers rather than the public interest Outsiders often misjudge the domestic reception and interpretation of information they provide Addition: Parallelism Poor understanding of professional norms leading to inaccuracies and bias (intended and unintended): problem exacerbated by prevalence of amateur and anonymous writers (especially on social media) Deliberate bias motivated by ethnic loyalties Close relationship between Journalists alignment with one journalists and the opposition of rival factions within the regime (hard liners or soft Media a tool to build alliances liners) across diverse opposition groups divided by race and Liberalization deepens divisions class within ruling regime between hard and soft liners Domestically available exiled and foreign media sustain opposition resolve by providing a sense of solidarity Copying and distributing transborder media to those who cannot receive it directly expands opposition network Addition: Non-state media divided over accommodation with the ruling regime State grants new freedoms, but State suppression and for their own political purpose, surveillance of independent not as constitutional rights media State determines scope of political debate—some topics remain taboo despite relaxing censorship State Structure * Opposition parties suspicious of unknown journalists, leading to poor communications strategies) State jams international broadcasts and imposes stiff penalties for those consuming and distributing forbidden media Limited access for foreign journalists Markets Addition: State lacks capacity and knowhow to improve communications with the public via the media Pro-democracy opposition State-controlled media persists, Opposition (including media) have their own media despite marketization funded by foreign donors and (including dissident and delivering some pluralism political exiles underground media) that Independent media largely Foreign media available in the challenge state media dependent on intra-regime domestic market narratives factions for economic survival Addition: Tabloidization undermines quality of information and public confidence in the media frequently undermine journalistic professionalism during liberalization. The youth and inexperience of those drawn into journalism as the media expands under liberalization have negative consequences for professional standards and ethics that can in turn impede the liberalization process. These challenges are exacerbated by the accessibility and anonymity afforded by social media. In the presence of civil conflict, ethnic or religious loyalties can further encourage journalists to abdicate their professional responsibilities. Political parallelism was a significant factor influencing the features and functions of the Myanmar media. As expected by Voltmer when societal demands from below are a cause of liberalization, much of the nonstate media in Myanmar was found to support the pro-democracy opposition. Many Myanmar journalists Politics and Governance, 2017, Volume 5, Issue 2, Pages 41–58 55