Kyemon (The Mirror) is a state-owned Burmese language

Burmese language

The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...

 daily newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 based in Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. Along with Myanmar Alin

Myanmar Alin

Myanmar Alin is a state-run Burmese language daily newspaper and the longest running newspaper in circulation in Myanmar. The daily is considered to be the official Burmese language mouthpiece of the military government of Myanmar.-History:...

, Kyemon is one of two Burmese language national newspapers in the country. Kyemon tends to carry more human interest stories whereas Myanmar Alin is more geared towards publishing government propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

.

History

Kyemon was founded in 1957 in Yangon by journalist U Thaung during Myanmar's brief experiment with parliamentary democracy and free media between 1948 and 1962. The daily was the best selling newspaper at that time, with a circulation of 90,000. After seizing power in March 1962, the military government of Gen. Ne Win

Ne Win

Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...

 cracked down on media, and nationalized all the daily newspapers, including Kyemon, in 1964. (U Thaung's open criticism of Gen. Ne Win

Ne Win

Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...

 earned him a prison sentence for him in 1964.) Kyemon has survived the current military government

State Peace and Development Council

The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....

's further crackdowns on news media that left the country with only three national newspapers.

Content

The front and back pages of all Burmese newspapers are almost all government related news and propaganda. At any rate, most Burmese read papers not for the news but for advertisements and announcements like weddings and obituaries. In 2006, the base rate for advertising was US$15 per inch per column and US$700 for a half-page advertisement.

External links

• www.myanmar.com/newspaper/kyaymon