Cambodian Media Outlet to Relaunch From the US

[geovalin]

Phnom Penh — 

One of Cambodia’s last independent media outlets, which was shuttered earlier this year, is set to reopen in Tacoma, Washington, in the Pacific United States.

 

Cambodian authorities revoked the license for Voice of Democracy in February in a move that shocked press freedom advocates and the media outlet’s journalists.

 

But a statement on the news outlet’s Facebook page this month said it will relaunch with half-hour broadcasts aired on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok beginning October 2.

 

Voice of Democracy will operate under Pa Nguon Teang, founder and former executive director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, which managed the outlet before it was closed. He left Cambodia more than five years ago and resigned from the center in August.

 

He told VOA Khmer he decided to resume Voice of Democracy because he saw a need for Cambodians to access accurate information and independent journalism.

 

The relaunch will also help promote press freedom and free expression, he said.

The approach of the media outlet will be the same, but Pa Nguon Teang said the journalists reporting for him will not be in Cambodia.

 

Nop Vy, executive director of the Cambodian Journalists Alliance, or CamboJA, said that broadcasting from overseas presents challenges.

“Although we now have advances in technology, social media, online communication, we cannot guarantee that local people can communicate or use all of them,” he said.

 

Still, Nop Vy said, the relaunch of Voice of Democracy has been applauded by many and is seen as an opportunity for audiences to access information.

 

Founded in 2003, the organization had been a trusted source of information until the Ministry of Information revoked its license on the orders of then-Prime Minister Hun Sen.

 

FILE - Supporters of online media outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) hold placards in front of VOD office in Phnom Penh, Feb. 13, 2023.

 

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