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Sri Lanka's media divide along language and ethnic lines, with the state and privateoperators offering services.Media outletsare divided along ethnic lines

Many of the main outlets are state-owned, including two major TV stations, radio networksoperated by the Sri LankaBroadcasting Corporation(SLBC), and newspapers in Sinhala, Tamil

and English.There are more than a dozen private radios, and a handful of privately-run TV stations. SriLanka's privately-owned press and broadcasters often engage in political debate, and criticisegovernment policies.

DangerousAt the height of the civil war Sri Lanka was described as one of the most dangerous places inthe world for journalists.

The state of emergency imposed at the beginning of the conflict was lifted in 2011, butReporters Without Borders says that murders, threats and censorship continue, with top officials

"directly implicated" in serious press freedom violations.

The government is particularly sensitive to accusations of human rights abusesin the closingphases of the civil war and subsequently. In 2012, a minister said "mudslinging" would not betolerated.In April 2013, Amnesty International said that Sri Lanka was still violently suppressing dissentand that journalists were among the targets of "government-sanctioned abuse".

BBC World Serviceis carried by the SLBC under an agreement between the broadcasters.There were more than 3.2 million internet usersby June 2012 (Internetworldstats.com). Theweb is a popular and growing medium for news.

The government has stepped up online censorship, blocking access to some independentnewswebsites, reports US-based Freedom House.Press

Daily News- state-owned, English-language daily

The Island- private, English-language daily

Daily Mirror- private, English-language daily

Dinamina- state-owned, Sinhala daily

Lankadeepa- private, Sinhala daily

Lakbima- private, Sinhala daily

Uthayan- private, Jaffna-based Tamil daily

Virakesari- private, Tamil daily

Television

Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation(SLRC)- state-owned, operates Rupavahini in Sinhala,Channel Eye in English and Nethra in Tamil

http://www.dailynews.lk/http://www.dailynews.lk/http://www.island.lk/http://www.island.lk/http://www.dailymirror.lk/http://www.dailymirror.lk/http://www.dinamina.lk/http://www.dinamina.lk/http://www.lankadeepa.lk/http://www.lankadeepa.lk/http://www.lakbima.lk/http://www.lakbima.lk/http://euthayan.com/http://euthayan.com/http://www.virakesari.lk/http://www.virakesari.lk/http://www.rupavahini.lk/http://www.rupavahini.lk/http://www.rupavahini.lk/http://www.virakesari.lk/http://euthayan.com/http://www.lakbima.lk/http://www.lankadeepa.lk/http://www.dinamina.lk/http://www.dailymirror.lk/http://www.island.lk/http://www.dailynews.lk/

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Independent Television Network(ITN) - state-run, Sri Lanka's first TV station

Sirasa TV- private, Sinhala

MTV Sports- private, English-language

TNL- private, English-language

ART TV- private

ETV- private, English-language

Swarnavahini- private, Sinhala

Shakthi TV- private, Tamil

Radio

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC)- state-owned, operates domestic servicesinSinhala, Tamil and English, including widely-listened-to Commercial Service

TNL Radio- private, English-language

Sun FM- private, English-language

Yes FM- private, English-language

Sirasa FM- private, Sinhala

Shree FM- private, Sinhala

Sooriyan FM- private, Tamil

Shakthi FM- private, Tamil

News agencies/internet

Lankapuvath- state-owned

TamilNet- US-based Tamil news site, widely described as pro-Tamil Tiger

Sri Lanka profile Full name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Population: 21.2 million (UN, 2012) Capital: Colombo (commercial), Sri Jayawardenepura (administrative)

Largest city: Colombo

Area: 65,610 sq km (25,332 sq miles)

Major languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English Major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: Sri Lankan rupee

Main exports: Clothing and textiles, tea, gems, rubber, coconuts

http://www.itn.lk/http://www.itn.lk/http://www.sirasa.com/http://www.sirasa.com/http://www.webtv.lk/http://www.webtv.lk/http://www.tnltvisira.com/http://www.tnltvisira.com/http://www.arttv.lk/http://www.arttv.lk/http://www.etv.lk/http://www.etv.lk/http://www.swarnavahini.lk/http://www.swarnavahini.lk/http://www.shakthitv.lk/http://www.shakthitv.lk/http://www.slbc.lk/http://www.slbc.lk/http://www.tnlradio.com/http://www.tnlradio.com/http://www.sunfm.lk/http://www.sunfm.lk/http://www.yesfmonline.com/http://www.yesfmonline.com/http://www.sirasa.com/http://www.sirasa.com/http://shree.fm/http://shree.fm/http://www.sooriyanfm.lk/http://www.sooriyanfm.lk/http://www.shakthifm.com/http://www.shakthifm.com/http://www.lankapuvath.lk/http://www.lankapuvath.lk/http://www.tamilnet.com/http://www.tamilnet.com/http://www.tamilnet.com/http://www.lankapuvath.lk/http://www.shakthifm.com/http://www.sooriyanfm.lk/http://shree.fm/http://www.sirasa.com/http://www.yesfmonline.com/http://www.sunfm.lk/http://www.tnlradio.com/http://www.slbc.lk/http://www.shakthitv.lk/http://www.swarnavahini.lk/http://www.etv.lk/http://www.arttv.lk/http://www.tnltvisira.com/http://www.webtv.lk/http://www.sirasa.com/http://www.itn.lk/

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GNI per capita: US $2,580 (World Bank, 2011)

Internet domain: .lk International dialling code: +94

Media of Sri Lanka consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio,newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. State and private media operators provide services inthe main languages Sinhala, Tamil and English. The government owns two major TV stations,radio networks operated by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and newspapertitles in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.

After the growth of Sri Lankan economy, many satellite TV channels were introduced.

However, there are over a dozen privately owned radio stations and more than 30 privatelyoperated television stations.They often engage in political debates.

The use of the internet is a growing force within Sri Lanka, many of the newspapers now have

online editions. Because of the limited circulation for the daily and weekly newspapers, they areheavily dependent on advertising. As a result of this it is very rare to see Sri Lankannewspapers engage in investigative journalism or daring exposes of big business.

Freedom of Press

Press freedom is a major concern in Sri Lanka. Both sides in the war make efforts to

silence inconvenient reporters. Around 15 reporters received death threats from one

faction or the other in 2004 The assassinated reporterAiyathurai Nadesan,

correspondent in Batticaloa for several Tamil media stated just prior to his

assassination in 2005:

We are caught between a rock and a hard place. It is very difficult for us to check

reports either with the security forces or the Tamil Tigers. And when a news item on

local events is datelined Colombo, it puts us at risk of reprisals on the ground.

In 2005, the Tamil newspaperThinakkuralwas threatened byKaruna.Copies of the

newspaper were burned in the Eastern provinces.On the other hand, distribution of the

Tamil weeklyThinamurasuis blocked by the LTTE because it is close to another

armed group, theEPDP.

BBC World Servicestopped its broadcast in Sinhalese and Tamil for fear of reprisal

against its reporters.

During theRajapaksaadministration, press freedom in Sri Lanka became the "worst in

any democratic country",according to theReporters without bordersindex, ranking 165th

among 173 countries in the index. On 21 November 2008, a twelve-member group of

masked men, forcibly entered the printing press of Sunday Leader, Morning Leader

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiyathurai_Nadesanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiyathurai_Nadesanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiyathurai_Nadesanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinakkuralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinakkuralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinakkuralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuna_Ammanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuna_Ammanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuna_Ammanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thinamurasu&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thinamurasu&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thinamurasu&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPDPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPDPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPDPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajapaksahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajapaksahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajapaksahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_without_bordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_without_bordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_without_bordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_without_bordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajapaksahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPDPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thinamurasu&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuna_Ammanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinakkuralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiyathurai_Nadesan

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and Irudina Sinhala weekly and set fire damaging printing machines and copies of

newspapers printed ready for distribution. The state jammed transmission of BBC

programs which contained content the government disliked. The main private TV

networkSirasawas repeatedly threatened by ministerMervyn Silva,attacked by a petrol

bomb on 2.1.2009 and raided by gunmen on 6.1.2009, who set on fire the main

control room. This was in response toSLBCcriticizing Sirasa's coverage of thecapture

of Kilinochchi.

According to the head of the company,Chevaan Daniel:"It's either that the citizens of

Sri Lanka are able to drive around attacking institutions armed with weapons and

grenades, or there is a hand behind it."

Lasantha Wickrematunge,the chief editor of the English WeeklySunday Leaderand Sri

Lanka's most influential journalist, was assassinated on the Thursday January 8, 2008

by unknown gunmen. The newspaper and its editor as well as the editor of Morning

Leader have been harassed and threatened continuously during the preceding threeyears. All Leader publications are very critical towards the government and exponents

of opposition political views.According to Reporters without Borders, the Rajapaksa

administration blocks investigations into the murder of journalists.

Defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa threatened to chase Chris Morris, a BBC

journalists, out of the country, if he does not act responsibly.

Local reporters in the country continue to be threatened, as was the case with 54-year-

old M.I. Rahmathulla, who was beaten in April 2009 for reporting on political

corruption in the Batticaloa region of Sri Lanka's Eastern Province.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirasahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirasahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirasahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Silvahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Silvahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Silvahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chevaan_Daniel&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chevaan_Daniel&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chevaan_Daniel&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasantha_Wickrematungehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasantha_Wickrematungehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Leaderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Leaderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Leaderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Leaderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasantha_Wickrematungehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chevaan_Daniel&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilinochchi_(2008%E2%80%932009)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Silvahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirasa