The traditional media outlets in East Timor is formed with the newspapers, television channels, and radio. The access to the internet is limited to a portion of the society. In fact, this is considered as the luxury for many. But among all the media outlets, radio is the best one. The radio broadcast is available across the nation. And the radio contents are also interesting and enjoyable for everyone.
This is a country where poverty has stretched its wings. As a result, the newspapers have become unable to bloom here. The number of readerships is lower here as people are economically insolvent. They are unable to afford the newspapers. Moreover, the rate of literacy is lower here for many reasons. All the things have contributed to the low readership of the newspapers.
The newspapers are published based on the daily and weekly basis. And they try to cover all the happenings around. But sometimes, they are unable to get all the news and information they require for their publications. Often they are barred to get the news from the source. Besides, there are some strategic issues in the country that does not allow this particular media outlet to publish all the things they need. Some censorships are imposed on the media outlets although it was not prevailing in the past days. In fact, the media outlets of the country were one of the most liberal ones. And they had the options to publish news and information of varied interests. But with the changes in political climates, the media outlets had to bring change in their strategy for survival.
Besides, there is some financial crisis is also available on the radios. In fact, the community radios often experience the fund crisis. So, when they get the funds from the international sources, they can resume their operation. This is a great cause for the radio to get behind in the race of communication.
The freedom of the press was available in the country but in some limited extents. And after the change in ruling regimes, the media outlets had to follow some rules and orders for their survival. Following the government order, they had to start criticizing the anti-government policies. But in reality, this was a great trouble for the press indeed. They did not have the idea that it would affect their liberty. And now, they are suffering from the liberty issues. They do not have the right to go out of the decision from the government. If they disobey the orders, they are fined and in cases penalized too.