Friday, 20 January 2012 21:37 Mizzima News
Hosted by two co-anchors, the half-hour program aired via television satellite at 8:30 p.m. local time, and featured news about Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s registration to participate in the country’s upcoming elections and interviews with recently released Burmese political prisoners.
In a recorded statement that aired on the inaugural program, Suu Kyi praised Radio Free Asia (RFA) for its continued excellence in delivering accurate news and information to the Burmese people, according to a statement released by RFA on Thursday.
“It’s a great honor to greet the viewers of Radio Free Asia’s first ever television program in Burma. While I was under house arrest, not only did Radio Free Asia keep me informed about the latest news happening in Burma, it gave me knowledge,” Suu Kyi said.
Nyein Shwe, the director of the Burmese service, said, “With the vastly growing popularity of television in Burma, this is an exciting opportunity for Radio Free Asia to build on the phenomenal success of our radio journalism.”
The program will air seven days a week, with new episodes on weekdays and repeated content on weekends. With content gathered within Burma from videographers and stringers, the nightly program will feature interviews, news, and reports on developments in the country, with an immediate focus on the April 1 elections, according to the statement.
The televised program will supplement the four hours of daily RFA Burmese broadcasts via satellite and shortwave. Television episodes are also available online on the RFA Burmese service’s website at http://www.rfa.org/burmese/.
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
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