The media of Brunei are strictly controlled by the government under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, which has effectively imposed martial law in the country since the Brunei Revolt of 1962. News coverage consists of police-beat reporting, lifestyle features and community events, with little in the way of diverse viewpoints. Reporters Without Borders reports there is "virtually no criticism of the government". The liberal democracy watchdog Freedom House lists Brunei's media as "not free".
Contents
The privately owned press, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, publisher of the Borneo Bulletin, is controlled by the sultan's family. Reporters and editors exercise self-censorship on political and religious matters.
A press law provides prison terms of up to three years for reporting "false news".
Newspapers
There are three local newspapers currently circulating in Brunei:
Meanwhile there was also one defunct newspaper:
Foreign newspapers are also widely circulate in Brunei, including the Borneo Post and New Straits Times from Malaysia, the The Straits Times from Singapore and the International Herald Tribune.
Broadcasting
Domestic radio and television in Brunei comes under the auspices of the national broadcaster, Radio Television Brunei (RTB) and KRISTALfm, the country's only commercial radio station which ended the monopoly of radio in 1999. Foreign programming is also available via a Direct Broadcast Satellite Pay TV service. via the Malaysian satellite TV service, Astro, is currently also available in Brunei under the brand Kristal-Astro.
Internet
There appears to be no restrictions on Internet use in Brunei, although Freedom House reports a local forum, BruneiTalk, was blocked in 2003 after contributors discussed the business dealings of senior officials. As of June 2006, it appeared the site was attempting to move to a different server.