Mizzima Media Group

Mizzima Media Group, commonly known through its Mizzima News identity, is a Burmese multimedia news organization focused on Myanmar affairs. It was established in August 1998 in New Delhi, India, by Burmese journalists living in exile after the military crackdown that followed the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Its co-founders, Soe Myint and Thin Thin Aung, were among the journalists and activists who left Myanmar and sought to continue reporting from outside the country. The name Mizzima is derived from a Pali term associated with the middle or a moderate position. During its years in exile, the organization operated from India and later maintained a liaison presence in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Its work provided Burmese and international audiences with news and political information that was difficult to obtain from inside Myanmar while the country remained under restrictive military rule. Mizzima became part of Burma News International, a coalition of media organizations covering Myanmar. Following Myanmar's political and economic reforms in the early 2010s, Mizzima became the first exiled Myanmar media organization to officially register and establish an office in Yangon. Its return marked a major transition from an entirely external operation to a domestic multimedia publisher. During the reform period, it broadened its output beyond web reporting. Its activities included a daily Burmese-language digital newspaper, a weekly business magazine in English, bilingual websites, and weekly television programs broadcast through Myanma Radio and Television. The organization’s return to Myanmar was reversed after the military coup of February 2021. The junta revoked Mizzima’s operating license alongside those of several other independent media outlets. Its Yangon offices were raided, and members of its staff faced arrest and prosecution. Co-founder Thin Thin Aung was arrested on 8 April 2021 and charged under Section 505(a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code, a provision used by the military authorities against critics and journalists. The charges were widely characterized by press-freedom observers as politically motivated. After the coup, Mizzima resumed an underground and exile-based operating model, with its leadership and journalists working from border areas and locations outside Myanmar. It has continued publishing news despite censorship, legal threats, raids, arrests, and the loss of its formal domestic license. Its current public identity is therefore both a news brand and a symbol of independent Burmese journalism operating under severe political repression. Mizzima received the International Press Institute’s Free Media Pioneer award in 2007.

Mizzima News was founded in August 1998 in New Delhi by Burmese journalists who had gone into exile after the military repression that followed the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Soe Myint and Thin Thin Aung, both associated with the democratic movement, established the organization to continue reporting on Myanmar at a time when independent domestic journalism faced severe restrictions. The organization adopted the name Mizzima, derived from a Pali word connected with the idea of the middle or moderation. For approximately fifteen years, Mizzima operated primarily from outside Myanmar. Its work was conducted from India and, later, through a liaison presence in Chiang Mai, Thailand. From these locations it supplied information about Myanmar to Burmese readers and international observers. The organization became part of Burma News International, a coalition of media groups reporting on the country, and developed a reputation as an important source of independent news about political developments, civil society, ethnic affairs, and the effects of military rule. Myanmar’s reform period in the early 2010s created an opportunity for Mizzima to return to the country. It became the first exiled Myanmar media organization to officially register and open an office in Yangon. This change allowed it to develop a broader domestic media operation rather than functioning solely as an external broadcaster or publisher. Its output expanded to include a daily digital newspaper in Burmese, websites in Burmese and English, a weekly English-language business magazine, and weekly television programs carried by Myanma Radio and Television. The Yangon period represented a significant institutional and editorial expansion for the organization. The political opening ended with the military coup of February 2021. In the aftermath, the junta revoked Mizzima’s operating license together with those of several other media outlets. Its offices in Yangon were raided, and members of its staff were detained. Co-founder Thin Thin Aung was arrested on 8 April 2021 and prosecuted under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, which the military authorities used against people accused of spreading fear or false news. Press-freedom advocates and observers regarded the proceedings as politically motivated. Mizzima responded by abandoning its public domestic operating model and returning to an underground and exile-based structure. Its leaders, including Soe Myint, left Yangon and re-established operations from border regions and locations outside Myanmar. The organization continued to publish despite the loss of its license, state pressure, arrests, and the broader suppression of independent media after the coup. Its history therefore spans three distinct phases: exile-based journalism from 1998, a formal domestic expansion during the reform era, and renewed underground and cross-border journalism after 2021. The organization’s international recognition includes the International Press Institute’s Free Media Pioneer award in 2007. Mizzima remains associated with independent Burmese reporting and with the broader struggle to preserve access to news in Myanmar under military rule.

• 2021

  Returns to underground and exile-based operations

  [1]Mizzima Newsen.wikipedia.org

  After the military coup, license revocation, office raids, and staff arrests, Mizzima relocates much of its work to border areas and locations outside Myanmar.

• 2007

  Receives the Free Media Pioneer award

  [1]Mizzima Newsen.wikipedia.org

  The International Press Institute honors Mizzima News for its contribution to independent media.

• 1998

  Mizzima is founded in New Delhi

  [1]Mizzima Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Soe Myint, Thin Thin Aung, and other Burmese journalists in exile establish Mizzima News in New Delhi after the repression of Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

• Opens an official Yangon office

  [1]Mizzima Newsen.wikipedia.org

  During Myanmar’s reform period, Mizzima becomes the first exiled Myanmar media organization to officially register and establish an office in Yangon.

Independent Burmese multimedia journalism serving audiences in Myanmar and abroad, with a particular emphasis on political, civic, economic, and current-affairs reporting.

• Digital news

  Mizzima Burmese digital newspaper

  A daily Burmese-language digital news service covering Myanmar’s politics, society, economy, and current affairs. It forms one of the organization’s principal channels for reaching Burmese-speaking audiences and has continued as part of Mizzima’s broader online publishing operation.

• Digital news

  Mizzima English website

  An English-language web publication intended for international readers, policymakers, researchers, and members of the Myanmar diaspora. It provides reporting and context on events in Myanmar and complements the organization’s Burmese-language output.

• Business media

  Mizzima Business magazine

  A weekly English-language business magazine developed during Mizzima’s Yangon expansion. The publication broadened the organization’s coverage beyond politics and general news to include business and economic reporting.

• Television programming

  Mizzima television programs

  Weekly television programs produced by Mizzima and aired through Myanma Radio and Television during the period when the organization operated openly in Yangon. The programs extended its reporting into broadcast media.

• 2021

  Shift back to underground and exile-based journalismStrategy

  Background

  The 2021 military coup was followed by the revocation of Mizzima’s operating license, a raid on its Yangon office, and arrests affecting its staff and leadership.

  Action taken

  Mizzima moved its operations away from a publicly registered Yangon office and re-established work from border areas and locations outside Myanmar.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued publishing as an underground and exile-based media outlet despite renewed repression and the loss of its formal domestic license.

  Source

1. 1Mizzima Newsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Mizzima official websitemizzima.com