This document summarizes a presentation on guerrilla reporting in Burma. It discusses the Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent media organization, and the challenges they faced reporting under a repressive military regime. It also touches on the historical political context in Burma and lessons learned about media development. Key points mentioned include the importance of independent media in a non-democratic state and how assumptions that media development inevitably leads to democracy can be debated.

1. MID Symposium: Mainstreaming media in international development
School of International Development, University of East Anglia, 1st April 2014 Ricardo D'Aguiar

2. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
INTRODUCTION
- The Democratic Voice of Burma
Based on my interview with Aye Chan Naing, executive
director and chief editor of the DVB, 2014
- Historical/Political Context
Based on M. Charney's A Hostory of Modern Burma, 2009
- Media Development Lessons
Based on M. Chowdhury's The Role of the Internet on
Burma's Saffron Revolution, 2008 & G. Berger's
Problematizing 'media development' as a bandwagon gets
rolling, 2010

3. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL CONTEXT

4. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL CONTEXT

5. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL CONTEXT

6. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL CONTEXT

7. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL CONTEXT

8. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
The democratic voice of burma - dvb

9. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
The democratic voice of burma - dvb

10. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
The democratic voice of burma - dvb

11. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
The democratic voice of burma - dvb

12. As indicated earlier, much thinking around ‘media development’ operates with a broadly western-style democratic
agenda. This may be distinct from a development agenda, but both vantage points (democracy and development) may
serve as rationales for media mobilization, and they may often share similar assumptions about media effects. (Berger
2010, 557).
Notwithstanding this, the mere existence of a diverse and plural media is no guarantee of an effective antidote to corrupt
or despotic state actions. The point is that assumptions that ‘media development’ will inevitably contribute to democracy
are open to debate and question (Berger 2010, 558).
Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
The democratic voice of burma - dvb

13. Media Development: Guerrilla Reporting in Burma
MEDIA DEVELOPMENT LESSONS

14. REFERENCES
Adorno, T. & Horkheimer, M. (1972) The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.
In Dialectic of Enlightenment. John Cumming. New York: Continuum
British Broadcast Corporation, BBC (2007) Web, 28 September 2007. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7017636.stm
Berger, G. (2010) Problematizing ‘Media Development’ as a Bandwagon Gets Rolling,
International Communication Gazette November 2010 72: 547-565
Chowdhury, M. (2008) The Role of the Internet in Burma’s Saffron Revolution. Berkman Center Research Publication
No.2008-8. Available: <http://ssrn.com/abstract=1537703 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1537703>.
Knutsen, C.H. (2010) Investigating the Lee Thesis: How Bad Is Democracy for Asian Economies?,
European Political Science Review 2.03: 451-73. Print.
Iyer, V. (1999 ) Acts of Oppression: Censorship and the Law in Burma. Rep. no. ISBN 1 902598 04 0. London: Article 19.
Lines, K. (2009) Governance and the Media: A survey of policy opinion. BBC World Service Trust. Available:
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/pdf/governance_media_survey_April09.pdf>.
Myers, M. (2012) Support to media where media freedoms and rights are constrained: What Works and Why? Global
Synthesis Report. BBC Media Action. Available: <http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/pdf/globalsynth.pdf>.
Naing, A.C. VOIP interview. 15 March 2014.
Nelson, M. & Susman-Peña, T. (2012) Rethinking Media Development: A Report on the Media Mapping Project.
Internews, World Bank.
Available: <http://www.mediamapresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Rethinking-Media- Dev.web_1.pdf>.
Noreen, Naw (2014) Unity Journalists' Trial Begins in Pakokku. DVB Multimedia Group. N.p., 18 Mar. 2014.
Available: <http://www.dvb.no/dvb-video/unity-journalists-trial-begins-in-pakokku-burma-myanmar/38607>.
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW (2005) Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction. Rep. The Hague.
Available: <http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/download-the-cwc/>.
Reporters Without Boarders (2014) Four Journalists Facing Possible 14-year Jail Terms on State Secrets Charge.
N.p., 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Available at: <http://en.rsf.org/burma-four-journalists-facing-possible-04-02-2014%2C45825.html>.
Sen, A.K. (1999) Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford UP. Print.
Scott, M. (Forthcoming) Media Development.