The media in Brunei is not so strong like the other neighbouring countries. In fact, the number of media in Brunei is limited and strictly controlled. The government is all in all here. Besides, social media in Brunei is not effective while Brunei TV is also a tool for the government to demonstrate their own issues. At present, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is on the throne and controlling everything including the media.
The span of news and information in Brunei is limited. The media is allowed to publish and broadcast news and other issues of some particular interest. Brunei breaking news mostly covers law enforcing matters, police issues, lifestyle, events related to specific community and similar other issues. But the media censors about issues related to the government. In a word, media in Brunei is not free from the government censorship. Whenever there is an anti-government news or items are found, stern actions are taken.
As a result, there are often fewer chances to exercise liberalism in press and media. The editors are always aware of the issues and have imposed self-censorship on issues like religious issues or any political facts. They consciously avoid the issues to run their activities smoothly and avoid imprisonment.
The number of newspapers in the country is around 12 and they are published in different languages. The Media Permata is the only Malay language newspaper in the country with a remarkable subscription. Further, there are some online newspapers are also available here which provide news and information of varied interests. Moreover, the bi-weekly newspapers are also popular in the country but the circulation number is limited for them. The Borneo Bulletin is the only newspaper that operates seven days in a week.
The broadcasting media in Brunei is also a bit restricted. The Radio Television Brunei started the journey in 1975 and the same year the official transmission began in the country. At present, there are five television channels are under operation. Interestingly, some of them operate for a certain time of the day while some others run their program for 24 hours. Most of the channels have news contents only.
But the use of the internet is unrestricted in the country. The number of internet users is climbing and the online news portal is having a good number of visitors every day. The online newspaper comes up with a wide array of news and information for the users. It is expected that the reader number for this online newspaper will rise more in the upcoming days.