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The Myanmar Times April 29 - May 5, 2013
Time out
Cartoonists hope for publishing boon
By Zon Pann Pwint and Ei
Ei Thu
SINCE censorship of print
media in Myanmar ended
last year, it has become
increasingly common for
weekly journals to publish
single-panel cartoons
commenting humorously
on politicians, social ills
and current conflicts in the
country.
“Cartoons commenting
controversial issues, such
as the Letpadaung copper
mine conflict and delays in
the distribution of cheap
SIM cards, have recently
appeared in local journals,”
said well-known cartoonist
Soe Thaw Dar. “But the
problem is that the cartoons
are not fresh when the
journals publish them a week
late.”
The situation started
improving on April 1 when
several local newspapers
began publishing daily,
three of which have carried
editorial cartoons.
“I hope more editorial
cartoons will appear in
the newspapers that are
expected to launch daily
editions soon,” Soe Thaw
Dar said.
Cartoonist Shwe Bo also
hoped that the boom in
daily publishing will create
more space for the work of
cartoonists.
“Cartoonists have
gained the freedom of
creation, but they haven’t
had a forum to present
their ideas, opinions and
creations to the public in
a timely way,” he said. “I
expect daily newspapers
will help us convey our
ideas and opinions to the
public without delay.”
Poet, satirist and cartoonist
Saw Wai added: “I hope more
cartoons that comment on
the everyday things that
affect our lives today will
appear in tomorrow’s
newspapers, if emerging
newspapers regularly feature
cartoons.”
Soe Thaw Dar said
compensation for a singlepanel
cartoon is very low,
with one popular journal
paying K12,000 but some
paying as little as K1500.
“Most journals pay
around K4000 for a single
cartoon. On top of that, the
cartoonists can’t collect
their payment when the
editor is out of the office,”
Soe Thaw Dar said.
Shwe Bo said that if more
newspapers print cartoons on
a regular basis, artists will be
able to “earn a comfortable
living”.
Soe Thaw Dar said the use of
editorial cartoon in Myanmar
dates back to before the
1960s, when newspapers
like Hantharwady, Oway, The
New Light of Myanmar and
MMA tracks use of
songs at Thingyan
Cartoon by Soe Thaw Dar
Mirror featured such work
as an expression of editor’s
outlook on the social ills of
the day
He said newspapers
appointed famous
cartoonists such as U Pe
Thein and U Aung Shein, who
also wrote regular columns
for newspaper.
“Editors supplied the
cartoonists with the opinion
they wanted to convey,
usually relating to the events
of the day. The resulting
cartoons were fresh and
reflected the current
situation as well as the views
of the editor,” Soe Thaw Dar
said.
“Today the system is
different: Cartoonists
create their own work that
comments on the failings of
politicians, the government
system and current conflicts,
and then they send their
cartoons to the journals.
The editors select what they
like.”
He said that nowadays
most cartoons are derived
from the feelings and
opinions of the cartoonists
themselves, whose ideas are
driven by current conflicts
and social problems.
“For example, many
cartoons predicting the
outcome of the Letpadaung
copper mine issue popped up
in journals at that time. The
opinions of the cartoonists
were expressed in the
cartoons, many of which
predicted that the copper
mine would be cancelled,”
Soe Thaw Dar said. “It
seemed like a popular
subject for cartoons at that
time, and then the situation
all went wrong.”
He added that if more
cartoons start appearing
in local newspapers,
cartoonists must be careful
to remain faithful to the
accuracy of events.
“Like journalists,
cartoonists shouldn’t show
strong feelings in favour
of, or against, one group
of people or one side in an
argument. Their works should
based on fair judgment,” Soe
Thaw Dar said.
By Nuam Bawi
THE Myanmar Music
Association’s threat to take
action against unauthorised
use of music during Thingyan
water festival has borne
fruit, and MMA officials said
last week that there were
fewer incidents this year
of performers singing songs
from other artists without
permission.
“We received lists of songs
from MRTV-4, Channel-7 and
5-Plus television stations
detailing the songs that
would be used for live
performances during
Thingyan,” Phyu Phyu Kyaw
Thein, the association’s
general secretary, told The
Myanmar Times.
“Sky Net made their own
deals with individual artists,
so there was no problem with
them.”
The association released
an announcement on April
8, less than a week before
the start of Thingyan,
saying that artists must be
notified and compensated if
their songs were broadcast
on television during the
festival.
“This type of
announcement makes it
easier to build trust between
artists and broadcasters,”
said Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein.
“Otherwise, there will
always be doubts when we
work together, and artists
will worry that their songs
will be used without giving
notice.”
However, not everyone
cooperated with the request,
she said.
“There was one pandal
in Mandalay that invited
broadcast media to cover
their performances, and
even though some songs were
broadcast on TV, no deal had
been made beforehand with
the artists whose songs were
performed,” she said.
“We’ve already received
all the documents from
the artists who want us to
solve the problem, so now
we are going to lead the
negotiations.”
A spokesperson from
MRTV-4 and Channel-7 told
The Myanmar Times that
the situation was confusing
because some artists
preferred to deal directly
with the TV stations rather
than go through MMA.
“The MMA announcement
on April 8 was specifically
for Thingyan, and as soon
as we heard it, we sent the
association a list of songs
that we planned to broadcast
during the festival,” said the
spokesperson, Pyae Phyoe
Han.
“It would be useful if MMA
would create a standard
system that everyone in the
music industry can follow
throughout the year. This
will make it more convenient
for us, and it will even help
us estimate the costs of
producing our programs.”