Foreign news agencies set up shop

Foreign news agencies set up shop

By Aung Shin   |   Thursday, 22 August 2013

The government plans to allow more foreign news agencies to open bureaus in Myanmar soon, a Ministry of Information official says.

Associated Press (AP), Japan's Kyodo and NHK, and Xinhua and Guang Ming Daily from China have already opened branches here, while at least 10 more organisations have applied for permission.

U Ye Naing, general manager of the ministry's News and Periodicals Enterprise, said they are likely to be given the green light "in the near future".

"We are reviewing their proposals and reporting to the President's Office. Some of them have already been sent to the President's Office … They are likely to be able to open their branches in the near future," he told The Myanmar Times.

International Herald Tribune, Agence France-Presse and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have all applied for permission to open offices, along with Nikkei Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun and Manichi from Japan, CCTV and Mingalar Magazine from China; and The Straits Times and Channel News Asia from Singapore.

U Ye Naing said the government would benefit from the increased presence of foreign media by improved coverage of government and parliamentary activities in international media.

He cited the example of Kyodo, which is cooperating to train journalists from the New Light of Myanmar in Japan. The ministry also has received technical training from AP, he said.

Xinhua and Guang Ming Daily have had offices in Myanmar since 1996, while US-based AP and NHK news agency of Japan were given approval on April 1 to open offices, while Kyodo was approved on April 23.

Staff at the foreign organisations are eligible to join the Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar (FCCM), which is based in Yangon and currently has 39 members.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/foreign-news-agencies-set-up-shop/