Myanmar's state newspapers, long mouthpieces of the country's former junta and army hardliners, signalled a historic change yesterday, with a plan to transform into "public service media".
Three state-owned dailies - the English language The New Light of Myanmar, its Burmese edition Myanmar Alin and Kyemon ( The Mirror) - are set for a revamp, with a new governing body, the newspapers reported.
The new committee will "adopt necessary policies and programmes, draw necessary ethics and principles ... to transform [the newspapers] to public service media", said The New Light of Myanmar.
Myanmar's state press has shown scant signs of modernising since the country began its reforms under a quasi-civilian regime last year.
But the information ministry recently indicated a willingness to ease its grip on the government mouthpieces as changes bring new freedoms to the country's private media, which was long muted by heavy censorship.