The trucks transport the newspapers to airport, railway stations and bus terminals early morning to deliver the dailies to houses.
GNLM editorial section.
During one-year period when the incumbent government took office, State-owned newspapers—the Myanma Alinn, the Kyemon (the Mirror) and joint-venture the Global New Light of Myanmar are operating as a linking machinery between the People and the Government, by making reforms. Especially, form of collecting news, presentation and lay-out forms, quality of a newspaper and economic policies were managed to be changed successfully in one year. Success was achieved due to subscribers’ increasing demands for more copies, because of satisfying designs of the logos and news presentation patterns. People’s voices and breaking news of performances of 3 major panels of the State—administrative, judicial and legislative sectors including the Government have been described on these pages in a new type.
News correspondents, editors, news-room staff and nation-wide reporters were made to develop their abilities by making local and overseas veteran newsmen, legal experts, writers and photographers conduct trainings, for human-resource development. And, some were sent abroad to attend overseas trainings. This resulted in more inclusion of news and information that are worth knowing, articles and news features, news analysis and exciting news.
GNLM Printing machine.
As regards international news, news critics and breaking news had been presented to the public. Exchange of news with foreign news agencies, purchase of news and information from Reuters by making a one-year contract for US $ 19200 for a financial year can make our papers use international breaking news timely. Since the time of taking office of the new government, the government-owned papers opened the new page of the Myanmar newspapers’ history with reformed logos in accord with the current situations. People’s papers are daily striving for their best to give education, information and entertainment for people and for making papers more attractive pages in describing political, economic and social affairs. Simultaneously, they are making effort to expand publication of pages on national ethnics through their branch press-houses in local areas. Presently Mawlamyaing Branch has been publishing news written in Mon, Sakaw Karen, Poe Karen and Pao languages weekly, with Mandalay branch expanding Mandalay pages weekly, describing Mandalay news and articles.
Distribution staffs.
State-owned papers always take care to abide by media ethics and avoid news writing that can cause conflicts and disputes. Accuracy of news, guarantee and simplicity of presentation are the dignity of a newspaper. Compared to privately-owned papers, they can be said to lag behind, in presenting news earliest. But opinions, trust and concepts over the newspapers, of those reading newspapers are found to differ. News and information printed on government-owned newspapers are thought to represent the government. Out of the government-owned enterprises, the successful “News and Periodicals Enterprise of the Ministry of Information,” is void of ultra-opportunism in every phase of the process, found proudly to be paying charges even in the sector of the transportation. It pays fully commercial tax and 25% of the profit as income-tax to the State. In addition, 20% of the profit is given to the finance of the State with 55% of the profit saved for the capital of the enterprise. Now that saved money has amounted to the extent of considerable amount, annual expenditure was no longer disbursed from the State Fund Finance Category.
U Ye Naing, General-Manager of the News and Periodicals Enterprise said, “Our newspaper are describing policies and performances of the government, simultaneously expressing people’s desires, attitudes and experiences. We are striving for our best to be a successful place for serving the benefit of the people and to survive as a fruitful enterprise. And, we are carrying out our operation for the Mirror and the Myanma Alinn to exist as the accurate and prestigious state-owned papers and for the Global New Light of Myanmar published in English language, being circulated as a joint-venture enterprise to stand tall as an English Version Newspaper.”
There are included platforms for people’s opinions, pages for things to be amended transparently, columns for letters to the editor, pages for those who would like to express their grief and woes, difficulties and demands for reforms in the Myanma Alinn and the Mirror dailies. This resulted in direct effectiveness almost every day.
In the Mirror daily, the page, “Platform for new generation,” is being expressed for the emergence of young writers and for the improvement of love for literature. In answer to this, youths and students from different levels are encouraging and influx of scripts is being received almost every day. Sunday cartoon program intended for developing the reading habits for children caused children to speed up their reading, lifting the courage, morality and artistic creation in children. Increasing the number of subscribers, the best-selling dailies and voluminous trust of the readers can attract more advertisements. Depending upon the income from advertisement sector, a copy of the newspaper can be sold at 50 kyats.
The Global New Light of Myanmar Daily that is being published by the News and Periodicals Enterprise was managed to be set up as a joint venture enterprise in a short period of time. It is also being sold at 50 kyats per copy.
During the rule of the new government, the NPE is implementing to spread its papers across the country including remote areas timely.
Extraordinarily, the NPE is striving for its best, for the state-owned papers to post online very soon, for the people to be able to read news and information earliest, with the developing information technology. So, our readers can read the papers in bi-lingual versions.
The papers are presenting news and information in accord with the media ethics to give true news to readers. In the world of Myanmar media which had developed with great momentum, the Myanmar Alinn daily which had existed for over 100 years, the Mirror daily which had lasted for over 60 years and the GNLM which has been presenting in new form are trying to present people’s favorite sectors to readers.