No region in the world has more diverse conditions for media than Southeast Asia. With a political spectrum that straddles vibrant free markets and one-party monopolies, encompassing many business models, varieties of ownership, stages of technological development, and degrees of media freedom, the region can offer a bewildering spectacle.
Lack of comparative study has made it hard to form a comprehensive picture of the region’s media. To fill this gap, the Open Society Foundations commissioned analyst Jeremy Wagstaff to report on patterns of news media production and consumption across the region. Likely the first survey of this kind, the report includes coverage of television, radio, print, and online journalism in Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.