International Journal of Communication 10(2016), 182–199 1932–8036/20160005 Burmese Media in Transition LISA BROOTEN Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA This article offers an assessment of media and their role in the ongoing political transition in Myanmar, and an overview of lessons learned from other countries undergoing transition. It demonstrates how media function in this process as active agents of stability, restraint, change, or all three, and assesses how Myanmar’s experiences reinforce or challenge common assumptions about democratic transition. The discussion draws from interviews over many years with journalists, editors, advocacy groups, and policy makers and participant observation in media offices and at media-related events. The research examines the origins of the recent changes, the importance of history, the role of civil society—including ethnic and formerly exile media—and issues of political economy and media diversity. Keywords: Burma, Myanmar, media reform, transition, journalism, democratization, media policy, ethnic media, media diversity On July 4, 2013, journalists in Myanmar1 were shaken by the unexpected introduction and sameday, unanimous approval of the Ministry of Information’s (MoI’s) new Printers and Publishers Enterprise Act by the lower house of parliament. Just that morning, Kyaw Min Swe, the secretary of the recently formed interim Myanmar Press Council (MPC), had explained to me in detail the council’s efforts, in five meetings (three with senior officials from the Ministry of Information), to suggest changes to the draft bill, which he expected would be introduced before long to parliament. Despite his role as chief editor of a monthly magazine, a weekly, and The Voice, one of the top-selling papers in the newly opened daily newspaper market, Kyaw Min Swe, like other editors and journalists, had not anticipated these events. Journalists decried the newly approved draft as an affront to free speech that ignored the many changes suggested by Myanmar journalist groups and the MPC. As another Myanmar Press Council member told me, the MoI’s unwillingness to incorporate the agreed-upon changes was a breach of the gentleman’s agreement between its officials and journalists. Lisa Brooten: lbrooten@siu.edu Date submitted: 2014–10–13 1 The country’s name has been controversial. It was changed to the Union of Myanmar in 1989 by the military dictatorship without a referendum, an action contested by the political opposition. Since the changes that began in 2010, the name has become less of an issue. I will use both, preferring Burma when I refer to events prior to 2010, and Myanmar when discussing the more recent situation. Copyright © 2016 (Lisa Brooten). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org.