14 / Myanmar's media from an audience perspective Below is an overview of the most mentioned topics associated with news by people from both the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in the four regions. Table 2: Overview of topics associated with news according to regions Rahkine Kachin Mandalay Yangon Conflict (in particular related to the Rohingya) Conflict/war Weather/ natural disasters Politics Weather Politics Politics Economy Health Sports Conflict/civil war Weather Politics Crime Economy Education News events Health Culture/ entertainment Culture/ entertainment Health Some people are quite frank about the way that they prioritize and consume news that are relevant to their particular life. As a 36-year-old man from urban Kachin puts it: “I do not watch the news about land grabbing in lower part of Myanmar because it is not relevant to us and not interesting as well.” Differences between rural and urban areas can naturally also be detected in the study. In rural areas for instance, people are far more inclined to follow news about the weather. Bad weather may have serious consequences for their crops, their estates and their abilities to protect their families. In urban Yangon and urban Mandalay, people are more interested in more broad news topics related to politics and the economy as well as culture and entertainment. Particularly the younger research participants in the urban areas place emphasis on these softer news topics and are more inclined to associate stories on celebrities with news than the older participants. In conclusion, local conditions and individual priorities highly frame the perception of news. Local news is clearly preferred over more general national news. It is difficult for people to concern themselves with events happening far from their homeland unless they see a distinct connection to their daily lives. Relevance is the news criterium most important to people when prioritizing information flows and selecting news to engage with.