Conflict Sensitive Journalism: Special Edition Myanmar

Myanmar has a short history of a free media. Until august 2012 all publications were censored and journalists had to work within boundaries that were defined by the government. Therefore, it is not surprising that many journalists in Myanmar do not have experience working in a free media environment. The absence of a free media also means there are few journalists with the necessary skills and knowledge of journalism to make an independent media flourish.

International Media Support (IMS) has been working to facilitate improvements in Myanmar’s media environment for many years. In January 2012, it began implementing a comprehensive media development programme, entailing a wide range of activities including working to support policy reforms, capacity building of media and journalists.

As a part of this initiative, between November 2012 and June 2013, IMS in collaboration with the Myanmar Peace Centre, implemented 20 conflict sensitive journalism (CSJ) training workshops in Yangon and in media hubs in different parts of the country. The training introduced the concepts of conflict sensitive journalism to over 400 participants at three-day workshops. Mizzima provided the logistical support, while IMS provided the requisite trainers and resources.

This handbook is designed to serve as a practical, everyday guide for Myanmar journalists covering conflict. It is an adaptation of similar country-specific handbooks published by IMS for different countries. The content is based on Conflict Sensitive Journalism, a handbook by Ross Howard, published by IMS in 2003. This Myanmar handbook follows the original structure of the 2003 handbook, using local examples where appropriate.

This publication is produced with the generous support of the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.