Mizzima.com
Mizzima.com
About Mizzima
by Mizzima News
Wednesday, 23 January 2008 20:49
Organisational background
Mizzima News was established in August 1998 by a group of Burmese journalists in exile with the aim of promoting awareness about the ongoing situation in Burma and promoting democracy and freedom of expression in Burma by improving the flow of information in and out of the country and through advocacy and lobbying.
Mizzima started from humble beginnings: An online news service run by three Burmese in exile with a laptop and no telephone.
In the past eight years, Mizzima News Agency has matured into a widely-read and reliable source of news, information and analysis on Burma for readers in and outside the country.
Mizzima has become a window through which the international community can peer into news-starved Burma. We also strive to play an active role in uniting democratic forces working for change in Burma to secure national reconciliation and the restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma.
Over the years, Mizzima has expanded and has, through the use of its websites, email-updates, meetings, discussions, seminars and print and electronic news services, covered more issues for more people.
Mission statement
At Mizzima, we believe an independent and free press is vital to democracy and that the media’s role in the education of Burma’s peoples cannot be underestimated. We are committed to the struggle against censorship and we support and stand in solidarity with Burmese journalists who fight daily for this freedom.
One of Mizzima News Agency’s long-term aims is to establish itself as an institution playing a central and active role in the Burmese democracy and federation movements. We also hope to produce a new generation of Burmese media personnel able to play a part in a post military-ruled Burma.
Activities
Since its creation, Mizzima News Agency has been providing the Burmese and international communities with quality news, information and features on Burma-related issues.
Mizzima’s primary function is the gathering and dissemination of news and information. The main medium of news dissemination is through a daily email service both in English and Burmese.
Mizzima also maintains constantly updated websites www.mizzima.com and www.mizzima.tv, with news and information for both Burmese and English readers.
We work as an independent and non-profit news agency and we rigorously maintain standards of accuracy, balance, fairness and reliability while holding to the belief that democracy and the independent media cannot be separated.
Mizzima offices
Mizzima officesMizzima maintains a head office in Delhi, India and news bureau in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Mizzima has a strong team of more than 30 paid employees including Burmese and foreign journalists reporting from five countries – Bangladesh, Burma, China, India and Thailand.
Mizzima plans to establish a news Bureau in Kolkata, India in near future
Mizzima website and email news services
For the past eight years, Mizzima has used an email news service and our news website to keep activists, politicians, journalists, academics, researchers and scholars informed with up-to-date news on events affecting Burma.
Subscribers include journalists, researchers, students, activists, academics, government officials and policy makers, non-governmental organisations, regional and international media freedom support organisations, funding agencies and supporters, overseas Burmese radio stations and other sections of the Burmese Diaspora.
Mizzima’s original stories are also picked up by other media groups in Asia and other parts of the world.
Mizzima’s monthly journal
Since January 2003, Mizzima has published a 16-page journal (now 24 pages in Burmese and 4 pages in English for each journal) once a month.
Distributed in Burmese communities in a variety of countries, including Burma, the journal is often the only source of print news accessible to Burmese people in exile, particularly along the country’s western border. Our journal includes not only news on what is happening inside Burma, but on events happening around the world that affect the Burmese people.
The various sections, including News, World, Feature, Opinions, Analysis, General Knowledge, Indian Politics, Economy, Entertainment and Sports provide readers with a good selection of news.
The Mizzima journal helps Burmese people feel connected to their community and readers include refugees, migrant workers and activists.
In the past four years, Mizzima has recruited reporters and contributors for our monthly journal from among the Burmese community allowing us to provide them with the training they need to further their careers in journalism.
We have also been able to provide meaningful employment to several Burmese refugees in India. Mizzima currently prints 2,650 copies of our journal each month (Burmese version), which are distributed in several countries including Bangladesh, Burma, China, India and Thailand.
We also publish 1,200 copies of English supplementary copies in India and Bangladesh.
Video news
In an effort to further promote awareness of the issues faced by Burmese people, Mizzima launched a video documentary program in 2002. We aim to be able to produce short films suitable for international broadcasting, academic presentations or lobbying campaigns.
From August 2005, we started producing online Mizzima Video News.
Mizzima.tv
In June 2006, we launched www.mizzima.tv, online podcasting on Burma and related issues. Mizzima News also provide news and feature stories to Democratic Voice of Burma Television and other broadcasting agencies.
Mizzima journalism development and internships
As part of our aim to develop the next generation of Burmese journalists and to ensure the continued vitality of our group, Mizzima has conducted internship programs at our Delhi office from 2003 and at our Thai bureau from November 2005.
Our reporters also participate in international internship programs, interacting with journalists from other countries and gaining vital new experience.
Networking
Over the years, Mizzima has been able to establish strong relationships with Indian and other foreign journalists through the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia.
Mizzima News in Burma
As part of a project to strengthen information flows and access in Burma, Mizzima News Group regularly sends copies of our monthly publication into Burma via post, courier and cross-border travellers. We also send copies into Burma on CDs.
Our journal can be found in Kachin, Arakan, Sagaing, Chin, Mon and Karen areas in Burma as well as in areas along the India-Burma border, Thai-Burma border, Bangladesh-Burma border and China-Burma border.
Subscriptions from Overseas Burmese language broad- casting stations
Mizzima is subscribed by overseas Burmese language broadcasting stations and thus its news are from time to time broadcasted into Burma by these stations
Media Alerts from inside Burma to SEAPA
Mizzima has been working on collecting information and sending alerts on press freedom in Burma and restrictions on flow of information into and out of the country. We monitor violations of freedom of expression, freedom of information and media freedom and send alerts to the South East Asian Press Alliance whenever such infractions are committed.
These alerts are sent on to various regional and international institutions, organisations, NGOS and INGOs and individuals via SEAPA and IFEX networks.
Cooperation with other Burma media groups
Mizzima actively works to bring Burmese media organisations together through a common working relationship. As a result, Burma News International, a network of Burmese media groups, was established in 2003.
Mizzima News is a founding member of Burma News International
Forums on India's Responses to Burmese Democracy Movement
Lobbying Burma's neighbouring countries such as India is vital as it compliments the efforts of the European Union, United States and United Nations for the restoration of democracy.
India's crucial role is reflected in the fact that around the time SPDC's leader senior general Than Shwe was visiting India, the UN Secretary General's special envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, also visited Delhi and met with India's then Foreign Minister to plead the case of pro-democracy forces in Burma.
In order to focus political theorising and to mobilise solidarity between the Indian government, civil society and the Burmese democracy movement, Mizzima organises roundtable meetings between Indian political leaders, intellectuals, professionals, civil servants, and Burmese democracy activists.
Other Mizzima activities in the past eight years have included:
1. Holding conferences on democracy and the media with Asian media personnel
2. Supporting an English-language training school for Burmese refugees in India
3. Providing print, photographic and broadcast journalism training to Burmese in exile
4. Organising conferences and seminars in various parts of India on India-Burma relations
5. Publishing information on drug production and trafficking in India-Burma border areas
6. Supporting programs for the education of Burmese refugee children in India
7. Holding talks and film screenings on Burma in India
8. Cooperating with regional and international media freedom organisations such as SEAPA, IMS, CPJ and IFEX
In 2006, Mizzima News received, with thanks, financial assistance from the following donors.
1. The National Endowment for Democracy (US)
2. International Media Support (Denmark)
3. Internews (Thailand)
4. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance, SEAPA
5. The Open Society Institute Development Foundation, (US)
6. The Euro-Burma Office, (Belgium)
7. The Burma Relief Center (Thailand)
8. Free Voice, (The Netherlands)
9. The Netherlands Embassy in India (Fund directly go into Indian NGO)
Mizzima also generates income through subscriptions, sales, and contracts.
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