media and conflict in myanmar: opportunities for media to advance peace coverage map,9 radio coverage by the nine main FM stations is concentrated in the central (and most populated) areas. Media consumers in cities and towns in ethnic areas also have radio coverage, such as Pyinsawaddy in Sittwe, but far less choice.10 According to interviewees, the new FM stations are mandated to carry centralized Burmese news. They are oriented toward entertainment programming and do not carry nonstate news. As with the print media, ethnic radios are still heavily influenced by ethnic military groups, and almost no community radio stations truly represent the interests of their communities. In Karen State, for example, no local media were allowed until very recently.11 International broadcasters have ethnic language radio programming, but it is somewhat limited. VOA features a weekly program called “News from Ethnic Frontiers.” Although it is in the Burmese language, the program presents stories on ethnic issues by ethnic reporters. Radio Free Asia (RFA) does produce weekly television and radio programs in seven ethnic languages—about ten minutes for each language. Of the Burmese stations, only the state-run radio channel—MRTV, the ethnic language service—broadcasts in ethnic languages. Meanwhile, television is beginning to outpace radio in terms of appealing to urban audiences.12 According to Gallup data, almost half of Burmese tune in to television news at least weekly (44.7 percent). Television viewership is far more common in urban areas (41.6 percent watching news daily and 67.8 percent at least weekly). The vast majority of urban households (84 percent) have a working television set. Yet only 10 percent of Burmese television owners indicate their sets receive satellite signals. By virtue of the concentration of television in urban areas, generally the more affluent members of society are television watchers. Due to the lack of local broadcasting in ethnic languages, television viewers are also largely Burmese speakers. However, state-run Myanmar International TV does air in English, and Myanmar National TV also offers some English programming. MRTV recently announced plans to launch an ethnic language channel that would include programs in eight ethnic languages. International broadcasters offer ethniclanguage programming (such as the programming by RFA) in addition to Burmese-language news and information, but ethnic-language television content is extremely limited overall. Although state channels such as MRTV are still operated by the MoI, the ministry announced plans to transition it to a public broadcasting service. Additionally, since 2011, a new trend has begun in which channels have been forming joint ventures. For example, two channels, MRTV-4 and Channel 7, are nominally public-private partnerships between the MoI and the Forever Group. Meanwhile, according to interviewees, SkyNet is a privately run channel operated by a wealthy businessman aligned with the government. Television content is heavily balanced toward entertainment, and any television news programming largely toes the government line. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that according to Gallup research, few viewers trust any television channel “a great deal,” though a high percentage of viewers trust “somewhat.” The international broadcasters have marginally higher trust levels than state television does. These data stand somewhat in contrast to the perceptions of many interviewees, including one highly popular entertainer who simply said, “There is no news that ordinary Burmese can trust.” Internet Mainly well-off, urban people have Internet access, although with the awarding of mobile licenses to international companies Telenor and Ooredoo, the cost of mobile use will drop, allowing more people to purchase Internet-enabled phones. According to Gallup data, only 1.4 USIP.ORG  17 Ethnic radios are still heavily influenced by ethnic military groups, and almost no community radio stations truly represent the interests of their communities.