40 Brooten, McElhone and Venkiteswaran or peaceful assembly and association laws, and the Committee to Protect Journalists included Myanmar in its 2015 list of the world’s ten most censored countries (CPJ 2015). Chapters in this volume on the legal framework and media in the ethnic states highlight the risks journalists face from the military, as demonstrated by the killing of freelance reporter Aung Kyaw Naing (also known as Par Gyi) while in military custody in 2014. That same year, the CEO and four journalists from the weekly Unity Journal were convicted under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a military facility. They were subsequently pardoned in a political prisoner amnesty when the NLD formed the government in April 2016. NLD-led Government Despite the change in government, private media continue to struggle to survive in the market. Many outlets have closed down due in part to competition from highly subsidized state media, as well as inexperience and a lack of access to capital. The situation is particularly dire in the ethnic states and regions (MDIF 2018). More advertisers are moving to state media in search of larger audiences and closer ties with the NLD government. The rush to set up new dailies following the country’s political opening has been dampened by the harsh realities of sustaining media businesses (Downing 2015). By the end of 2016, the number of dailies had shrunk to six, and a seventh daily was launched in early 2017. Digital freedom has suffered, with Section 66(d) of the Tele­ communications Law being used to silence critics of the government and the military, while threats against journalists have increased. The media community and observers were shocked when a journalist was murdered in December 2016, despite the NLD being in power. Soe Moe Tun, who worked for Daily Eleven News in Monywa, Sagaing Region, was killed while reporting on illegal logging (ARTICLE 19 2016). Access to conflict zones has been restricted, preventing independent coverage of the humanitarian crisis in northern Rakhine State and limiting coverage of the growing conflicts in Kachin and Shan States. Selfcensorship remains entrenched. In this volume, journalist Lawi Weng writes about his experiences reporting from the conflict areas, while journalism trainer Ye Naing Moe shares his observations with 01 ch1-MyanmarMediaIT-5P.indd 40 8/4/19 10:29 am