May Thingyan Hein, 2007 Knight International Journalism Award Winner

In a country where media have to submit reports weeks in advance to censors, May Thingyan Hein has done extraordinary investigative reports on taboo topics such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, corruption, and more. Her breaking reports on the spread of the bird flu into Burma forced officials to admit the epidemic’s existence.

In February, she lost her job at the Myanma Dana business magazine after covering a rare demonstration. After taking photos and conducting interviews with protesters and onlookers, she was arrested and interrogated for five hours. She refused to reveal who told her about the protest. Hein now works as a freelance journalist for a beauty magazine in Burma and The Irrawaddy Dissident News Agency, an edgy news Web site in Thailand.

Those who nominated her had this to say:

“May Thingyan Hein has proved her bravery time and time again by covering difficult stories that are typically banned by the government. … Aside from her excellent work as a journalist, Maythingyan Hein should be recognized for her indomitable spirit. She is not cowed by Burma’s junta. … She epitomizes all of the characteristics that journalists worldwide hold dear.”
- Joyce Barrett, media trainer

“In the face of a very discouraging situation, in which many journalists give up or write about frivolous things, Maythingyan Hein remains a fighter and a terrific example to muckrakers around the world. At a time when reporters around the world are under pressure to curb their work in the interests of ‘national security,’ she is a worthy recipient of the Knight International Journalism Award.”
- Thomas J.N. Pierce, U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Burma