Economic Environment
Although private ownership in the media sector has expanded in recent years, it remains highly concentrated, and state-affiliated outlets continue to hold a dominant position. Moreover, a number of the private dailies that opened in 2013 closed for financial reasons during 2014, including the English-language Myanma Freedom Daily and the Burmese-language dailies Naing Ganthis and Yangon Times. The largest print outlets are state run. High levels of poverty and illiteracy, along with poor infrastructure and distribution networks, mean that print media are accessible mainly in urban areas. Most Burmese look to broadcast outlets as their main source for news, but the sector remains under government control. Six public television stations are available, with five controlled by the Ministry of Information and one by the armed forces. The eight domestic FM radio channels are controlled by the government or its allies.