Organizational Background Athan, established by Myanmar’s young activists on 15th January 2018, aims to promote freedom of expression on a societal level. Mainly performing research activities, the organization regularly engages in advocacy and capacity building. The organization’s broad scope of works includes: exploring and recording the laws, customs, and traditions, and events that hinders freedom of expression; supporting legislative reforms in line with democratic standards and grounded by conducted researches, and advocating in different stages and sectors for the full enjoyment of freedom of expression. Athan envisions a society that fully enjoys the freedom of expression as part of the democratic value. Research Methodology This report, “Repeated Dark Age of News Media: Analytical Assessment on Challenges Facing Journalists and News Media Agencies”, included the accounts of challenges faced by news media and journalists, repressions on press freedom, and violations of rights of the journalists during the military coup on 1st February until 31st December 2021. The research compiled and categorized information by monitoring news from reliable online media outlets and sourcing the reports on arrested journalists recorded by local and international organizations. The research conducts by communicating to the struggling journalists and media outlets on the ground, surveying 17 news media outlets and 80 journalists, interviewing legal experts, and considering the discussions with responsible persons from news media organizations. The report decided not to mention their names, news agencies, and locations by considering the safety of journalists during this period. Repeated Dark Age of News Media 1

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