New Burma TV shows "Myanmar mosaic"

The new channel takes its sport seriously

Burmese TV has launched a new international channel - MRTV-3 - broadcasting one hour of reports in English each day on life in the country. Viewers will be able to "feast their eyes on the Myanmar mosaic", the government-run newspaper said.

Efforts are required for Myanmar's objective conditions to be effectively distributed to the global community

Khin Nyunt

The new channel was first mooted in September 2000 when the Burmese military government's third-in-command Khin Nyunt said that "efforts are required... for Myanmar's objective conditions and correct news reports" to be made available to the rest of the world.

MRTV-3 is meant to mirror the style, content and presentation of other international broadcasters. Its brief is "to respond to what is often whimsical or fanciful coverage...and to show the world community the real Myanmar".

The Burmese authorities say the TV can be viewed via satellite in around 120 countries, including India, Russia, Pakistan, Israel, Germany and South Africa.

Traditional crafts feature strongly

The item mix within the hour-long broadcast so far is fairly predictable, even if the channel maintains that "all the wonders" viewers might want "are packed into each schedule".

A typical hour starts with a welcome and a traditional Burmese song of greeting, after which viewers are treated to a five-minute feature on a royal throne.

Ready, steady, cook

The news headlines are followed by that evergreen staple of TV broadcasters - the cookery programme.

Our good chefs will prepare savoury samples

"Delicious dishes, Myanmar's culinary delights, will be there on screen at your bidding, not difficult to prepare anywhere in the world, yet suiting your palate", the programme-makers say. "Our good chefs will prepare savoury samples".

A five-minute news bulletin deals with domestic events. The channel tries to add some vibrancy by using on-the-scene dispatches from correspondents. But these struggle to enliven the preponderance of reports on inspection tours of various facilities by Burmese government ministers.

The TV wants to whet tourists' appetite

Nature and wildlife films feature strongly after the news. "Wild geese... will be there to see and study, plus stints of bird-watching and other attractions of the eco-tours".

"Myanmar abounds in flora and fauna... and viewers will find it a treat to have some of them visit their homes".

Aids, drugs and pickled tea

The Burmese military is keen to show it is cracking down on the drugs trade.

So "harder" items, such as a report on Aids or an interview with a senior anti-narcotics official, are also on the news agenda.

But the questioning is very deferential, with the interviewee given free rein to talk at length about the government's policies.

Cultural items take up much of the remaining broadcast time. Music, folklore, "costumes, chants and dances", Burmese silversmiths, lacquerware and pickled tea production are all offered to the eager viewer.

The hour rounds off with the weather, financial news and a goodbye.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.