One of the toughest nuts to crack for any journalist these days is Burma.
The military rulers there have a tight rein on the media - What goes in as well as what goes out.
A media conference session on Burma put the situation in stark perspective.
Panelists Dr. Khin Myint Oo, an academic and freelance journalist working out of Rangoon and Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy magazine operating out of Chiang Mai, told conference delegates reporting under today’s conditions is a matter of subtlety, caution and, at times, subtrefuge.
For instance, Aung Zaw said communication with his stringers and reporters in Burma is always uncertain .”It’s very risky” he said. “We can’t easily make telephone calls to stringers inside the country.”
One of the best sources of shared information - that is, getting information from the rest of the world into Burma and getting the latest out of Burma to the world - is through the Internet.Khin Myint Oo, for instance, reports and blogs from time to time at www.Groundreport. com (type in ‘Burma’ to find her posts. Aung Zaw’s magazine, meanwhile, can be a rich source of information about Burma, including photos, news and reports from in-country.
Their work, while important, can often be lonely, the two said.
“The international community cares, but cannot translate that care into action,:” Aung Zaw said. “There is not sufficient political capital to invest in Burma, there are too many other issues.”
Is it possible to get more consistent international media attention to the situation in Burma, or is this a story no longer worth telling?