Asia
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Within the seven Commonwealth countries in Asia, there is one of the largest media industries in the world, in India, and one of the smallest, in Brunei.
With a centuries old written tradition, it is not suprising that South Asia in particular has some of the finest and most highly respected newspapers on the planet, as well as some of the largest. Hindi papers such as Danaik Jagran have readerships in excess of 53 million; figures only dreamt of by western newspapers, and generally, the sheer scale of the Indian industry defies belief.
English language papers such as The Hindu, The Times of India and newer papers such as DNA in Mumbai are hugely influential but Malayala Manorama is the widest selling indigenous language paper with a wide circulation outside of its native Kerala.
In Pakistan, Dawn is the country's oldest, and most widely-read English-language newspaper, founded by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is known to be a liberal leaning newspaper that has often supported controversial leftist social agenda. Interestingly, Pakistan has a high level of women journalists and all major papers in Pakistan have, at one point, been edited by women.
Sri Lanka too has a long and distinguished press which continues its reputation for outspokeness and criticism in the face of harsh repression from the government. In the other Asian Commonwealth nations, the press still holds a strong position; although with the advent of independent papers, forthright criticism of governments have resulted in certain Asian countries being extremely hazardous for journalists to work without fear of intimidation.
All the countries also have a strong broadcast tradition with radio playing an on-going important and influential role, particularly in rural communities. State television exists in all the countries but the relaxing of the airwaves has meant an increasing number of private and pay for view television stations coming into existence. The state organs are often seen as being old-fashioned and outdated, particularly by the young, but they are still the key medium for a large sector of the population.
Internet use is expanding rapidly, particularly in the cities of Asia and it has become an integral part of life for the emerging middle classes. Blogging is a new medium for expressing dissatisfaction with governments which is proving hard to control.
