Laos
Media Environment | News Gathering | Practical Tips
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Media Environment
The media are tightly controlled by the government, which owns all newspapers and broadcast organisations. A draft law enabling private media ownership has yet to be enacted, and freedom of speech is severely constrained. Newspaper circulation and readership is, in any case, extremely low.
Be aware that misrepresenting party policies, spreading false rumours and slandering the state are all considered criminal offences.
Vientiane Times is the state-run English-language newspaper with Western and domestic news sources, while Vientiane Mai is a state-run daily and Pasaxon the Lao People's Revolutionary Party’s monthly publication. The other major newspaper is the state-run French-language Le Rénovateur. KPL (www.kplnet.net) is the official news agency.
Lao National TV (TVNL) is the state broadcaster; Laos Television 3 a joint venture with a Thai company. The main radio station is Lao National Radio.
News Gathering
The regime jumps hard on political dissent but does not harbour the same feelings of paranoia that often guide the military authorities in Cambodia. However, travel to many areas requires special permission.
A journalist visa must be picked up before entering the country if government officials are to be interviewed. Those with real clout rarely talk to the press, however, and information can be hard to get. Try asking the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok to forward interview requests. The NGO community may be a vital source of information, especially since many embassies are thinly staffed and sometimes cautious about what they say concerning the government.
Expect the authorities to take an interest in anyone not behaving like a tourist, but don’t imagine this will prevent contact with anti-government opposition — it only exists in the imagination of US-based exile groups.
Practical Tips
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There are direct flights to Vientiane from Bangkok. Alternatively, take a train to the border and then a taxi or bus to the capital. The borders are opening up rapidly and it is now possible to travel overland from Thailand to China. The Road to the northern capital Luang Prabang, the old royal capital, is poor though and it may be better to fly. Be aware that bandits — including former right-wing insurgents — have been known to rob and kill tourists. Unexploded munitions are hazards throughout Laos, particularly on the Vietnamese border along the Ho Chi Minh trail and in Xieng Khouang province.
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Language can be a problem. Some officials speak French, though its use is declining. The Government, however, is encouraging the use of English, the language of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and it is slowly gaining ground. High school students are required to study either French or English and the Government intends introducing English at primary school level by 2010.
Contributor: Vaughan Yarwood
Latest update September 2008
