Launched in 1994 as a weekly, the Vientiane Times is an English language newspaper published by Lao Press Foreign Languages, a government agency controlled by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. During its history, it appeared twice a week for some periods of time. Le Rénovateur has been the sole publication in French ever distributed weekly in Laos. The newspaper is also operated by Lao Press in Foreign Languages. Le Rénovateur was launched in 1998 as the communist government in Laos was embarking on a policy aimed at opening the country to the world. In the early 2010s, the newspaper stopped its print edition and continued only online. The decision to end its publication in print was prompted by a decline in readership and revenues. When it shut down, the publication had a circulation of only 2,000 copies, distributed mainly in hotels in Laos and other countries from the former French Indochina.
Media assets
Publishing: Vientiane Times, Le Rénovateur
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The management of all the publications run by Lao Press in Foreign Languages is secured by the agency. All employees of Vientiane Times and Le Rénovateur are on the payroll of the ministry of information.
Source of funding and budget
Lao Press in Foreign Languages agency doesn’t publish any reports documenting its activity. The agency subsidizes all the publications that it is running, but also expects them to generate funding on their own (mainly through advertising). None of the publications run by Lao Press in Foreign Languages is, however, able to survive without government aid, according to information from local journalists and experts.
Editorial independence
Vientiane Times is known as a party and state media outlet, never trying, in fact, to hide its ideological mission. The publication on its website states that it “consistently adheres” to “its vision to be the voice of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.” The publication mainly covers the government policies and disseminates information about the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, including reports about newly adopted laws, government plans in the field of economy and regulations introduced by the government.
In spite of the support from various cultural institutions from France, Le Rénovateur is known as a pro-government propaganda newspaper. The content published by the newspaper is in line with the censorship requirements in Laos. Any attempts in the past to publish content without the agreement of the ministry were suppressed, according to local journalists and experts.
No statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the publications run by Lao Press in Foreign Languages have been identified.
October 2023