{{short description|Burmese multimedia news organisation}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox magazine | title = Mizzima | image_file = | editor = Soe Myint | editor_title = | category = Online news | company = | publisher = | founder = Soe Myint<br>Thin Thin Aung | founded = {{Start date and age|1998}} | country = Yangon, Myanmar | based = Pazundaung Township, Yangon | language = English, Burmese | website = {{URL|http://www.mizzima.com}} | issn = }} {{Democracy movements in Burma}} '''Mizzima News''' ({{langx|my|မဇ္ဈိမသတင်း|Ma.jjhi.ma.}}) is a Burmese multimedia news organisation. A member of the Burma News International coalition, Mizzima was founded in exile in 1998 amid the pro-democracy movement. The outlet later established a bureau inside Myanmar in the 2010s as the country's military regime transitioned toward semi-democratic governance. Having spent years operating from abroad, Mizzima returned home during the reform era but was once again driven underground after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, continuing its work despite renewed repression.<ref>{{Cite web |title=An uneasy homecoming for Burma's exile media |url=https://cpj.org/reports/2013/06/an-uneasy-homecoming-for-burmas-exile-media/ |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Committee to Protect Journalists |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Organisation== It produces a daily digital Mizzima newspaper in Burmese language, a weekly Mizzima business magazine, weekly television programs – aired by Myanma Radio & Television (MRTV) – and websites in both the Burmese and English language.
== History == Mizzima News was established in August 1998 in New Delhi, India, by a group of Burmese journalists living in exile. Its co-founders, Soe Myint and Thin Thin Aung, were veterans of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising who had fled the subsequent military crackdown. The name "Mizzima" is derived from the Pali word for "middle" or "moderate". For nearly 15 years, Mizzima operated from exile, with offices in India and later a liaison office in Chiang Mai, Thailand, becoming a vital link for information flowing out of the otherwise isolated nation.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jeremy Wagstaff |date=2010 |title=Southeast Asian Media: Patterns of Production and Consumption |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/production-consumption-20100212.pdf |access-date=9 May 2016 |work=Open Society |page=19}}</ref>
After political and economic reforms, ''Mizzima'' became the first exiled media organization to officially register and open an office in Yangon. During this period of semi-democratic rule, the outlet expanded significantly, launching a daily digital newspaper in Burmese, a weekly business magazine in English, and producing television programs broadcast on the state-run MRTV.<ref>{{cite web |title=Independent news company Mizzima Media pivots to reflect reader, political realities |url=https://www.inma.org/blogs/conference/post.cfm/independent-news-company-mizzima-media-pivots-to-reflect-reader-political-realities |website=International News Media Association (INMA)}}</ref>
After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, military junta revoked the operating licenses of Mizzima, and four other media outlets, namely ''Myanmar Now'', ''Democratic Voice of Burma'' (DVB), ''Khit Thit Media'', and ''7Day News'', amidst the ongoing protests. The organization's offices in Yangon were raided, and some of its staff were arrested.<ref>{{cite web |title=Myanmar: military revokes licences of five media outlets in blow to press freedom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/08/myanmar-un-chief-urges-release-of-trapped-protesters |access-date=9 March 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> The co-founder Thin Thin Aung was arrested on 8 April 2021. The junta charged her under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code for "causing fear" and "spreading false news," charges widely regarded as politically motivated to silence dissent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amnesty calls for the release of human rights defender Thin Thin Aung who is facing 3 years in prison |url=https://mizzima.com/article/amnesty-calls-release-human-rights-defender-thin-thin-aung-who-facing-3-years-prison |work=Mizzima}}</ref>
Mizzima had to stop working in public, so it went back to being an underground and exile-based media outlet. The organization's leaders, including Soe Myint, showed amazing strength by leaving Yangon and setting up shop again in border areas and outside the country.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tzabiras |first1=Marianna |title=Mizzima News: Surviving the junta and reporting Myanmar's "Spring Revolution" |url=https://ifex.org/mizzima-news-surviving-the-junta-and-reporting-myanmars-spring-revolution/ |work=IFEX |date=12 May 2025}}</ref>
== Awards == The International Press Institute awarded Mizzima News its Free Media Pioneer award in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IPI (International Press Institute)<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/award.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235454/http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/award.html |archive-date=2007-09-26 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * {{official|http://www.mizzima.com/}}
== Further reading ==
* Jessica Mudditt, ''Our Home in Myanmar: Four years in Yangon'', Hembury Books, 2021. Memoirs of a Mizzima employee while they operated in Yangon.
Category:1998 establishments in Myanmar Category:Politics of Myanmar Category:Mass media in Myanmar Category:News magazines published in Asia Category:Online magazines published in India Category:Magazines established in 1998 Category:Magazines published in Delhi Category:Burmese news websites