CAMBODIA: Opposition Paper Closes

By Sam Rith

A prominent opposition-aligned newspaper has folded due to 'bankruptcy', its editor said yesterday, prompting concern from some observers that the national media landscape would continue to be dominated by outlets that support the ruling party.

'Khmer Machas Srok' newspaper stopped publishing last Monday in response to a recent decline in sales, editor Chum Sophal said.

“We have stopped publishing the newspaper ... due to bankruptcy. We do not know when we will start republishing,” he said.

Chum Sophal said the newspaper had traditionally generated most of its revenue from daily sales, and that these had plummeted after publisher Hang Chakra was jailed for disinformation in June 2009 for running stories about alleged government corruption.

Since March, the newspaper sold between 20 and 30 percent of the 800 to 1,000 copies printed daily, he said. Before that, the newspaper routinely sold 70 percent of printed copies.

For the full story, visit 'The Phnom Penh Post'.