edited by Alastair Carthew and Simon Winkelmann
The growth of new media and how to handle it and closer media relations between Laos and Vietnam were features of Laos media in the first half of 2011.With corruption remaining a chronic problem in Laos, the growth of a new generation of people brought up with new media is seen as one solution to maintain stronger vigilance. There is more English language media covering Laos’s development.
Commented Column Graham, a guest contributor to an Australian National University blog, Newmandala, on “Corruption and media exposure in Laos,” in February, “The recent deluge of Lao related articles all over the Internet are the avenues, the clefts in those cliffs, for the present and future Lao public to take a greater participatory role in governance”.
Greater co-operation between Lao and Vietnamese media was featured at a UNESCO workshop on new media that brought together 22 journalists, including webmasters and reporters who write news articles for websites, from print, radio and television in Vientiane in May.
Opening the workshop, Professor Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara said new media was crucial in improving the media in Laos to achieve a knowledge and information based society. “Twenty years ago accessing the Internet in Laos might be something unusual, but today it is quite easy for students and educated people to use the Internet. Hence media personnel must develop themselves. These days, people have less time to read newspapers or watch television for information. The new media is the tool that is most close to people and brings people to information fastest,” Prof. Dr Bosengkham said.
The Lao Press in Foreign Languages and the Lao Journalists’ Association regularly organise training courses for Lao journalists.
In Laos all newspapers are published by the government, including two foreign language papers, the English daily Vientiane Times and the French weekly Le Rénovateur. The Khao San Pathet Lao official news agency publishes English and French versions. Laos has nine daily newspapers, 90 magazines, 43 radios stations and 32 televisions stations.
As of December, 2009 Laos had 527,000 Internet users, a 7.5% penetration rate and as of March, 2011 it had 53,000 Facebook users, an 0.8% penetration rate.
Laos was 168th on Reporters Without Borders press freedom index 2010.