36 Brooten, McElhone and Venkiteswaran most respected journalism outfits in Myanmar, with a reputation for tackling taboo topics. Sonny says people still think of him as the son of a general, but that the military has always hated him “for pushing boundaries and revealing the truth”.17 Shwe Than Lwin owns SkyNet and Democracy Today. The publisher for Democracy Today is listed as Ko Ko, who is chairman of the Yangon Media Group and also publisher of the Yangon Times (Burrett 2017). Meanwhile, a construction company — Three Friends Construction — is a newcomer to the media business, publishing The Standard Times (Sandar Lwin 2013). There are also hundreds of other weekly and monthly journals and magazines. The owner of Popular Journal and Popular News Journal, Nan Kalayar Win, is the daughter of former Secretary 3 of the SLORC, Lt-Gen Win Myint. The owners of Snapshot Journal (Myat Khaing) and Envoy Journal (Maung Maung) were close allies of the former Minister of Information and Culture from the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan (Aung Din 2011). In the broadcast sector, two private companies — Forever Group and Skynet — have well-established joint ventures with the state and, along with state-run broadcasting, dominate the sector. The private broadcast company DVB Multimedia Co Ltd, referenced earlier, con­ tinues to broadcast via satellite from Thailand, and is considered the country’s only independent news broadcaster. This status, however, may change, as the DVB Multimedia Group is one of five entities to have been awarded digital broadcasting contracts in 2017. These companies’ permits will need to be renewed in two years or once the by-laws for the Broadcasting Law have been approved and implemented. The concern is that this partnership may jeopardize DVB’s editorial independence. A unique aspect of Myanmar’s media landscape is the presence of formerly exiled media entities that have returned to the country to continue their work. One of the most prominent is the DVB Multimedia Group, along with The Irrawaddy and Mizzima. Supported, historically, and in some cases currently, by institutional donors, these media are now tackling the challenges of sustainability in a competitive playing field with other private media that had already been established inside the country, and where state, military and crony media have significant advantages. 01 ch1-MyanmarMediaIT-5P.indd 36 8/4/19 10:29 am