Laos
plans to modernize and upgrade its media to international standards to enable
it to compete with foreign media both in substances, human resources and
technological aspects in order to attract more audience.
Laos Culture Minister Mounkeo Oraboun_Oct08
Recognizing that media plays an important
role in the development of the country as Laos is in the process of integrating
into the world community, Minister ofCulture and Information Mounkeo Olaboun said that Lao media should reach
out to people across the country.But
in order to do so, it needs to be developed in all aspects, he added.
Laos currently has 31 radio stations in all
17 provinces of the country and only one national television. Its radio
stations can cover only up to 80% of the total areas of the country, while its
sole TV station can be seen or
Lao National Radio
watched in only 50% of the country.Officials say that is one of the reasons why
Lao media are having difficulty competing with Thai televisions and radios,
which have the capacity to reach the Lao population throughout the land.
In
addition, the fact that Laos’ media are state-owned, combined with budget
constraints, makes modernization and upgrading of the system difficult if not
impossible, thuspreventing it from
keeping up with the continuously changing world.Therefore, one of the top priorities for Laos is to encourage both
the public and private sectors to join efforts in modernizing Lao media.
Listen to Songrit's report in Lao for more details.