Brunei Darussalam is a small country located on the northwest corner of Borneo's island. There is little freedom in Brunei's media and press system as the government, led since 1967 by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, is strict and censors news and information sharing. The administration loosened control somewhat in the early twenty-first century. Religious leaders have expressed their concern over less censorship because they believe society will fall into moral failure. Brunei's press is somehow described as a "socially responsible Press," although Western standards are not recognized free by considering the individual's rights.
Brunei produced their second newspaper on November 7, 1953, which is today's Borneo Bulletin, as a weekly community newspaper for emigrants working in Kuala Belait District. The authors of Borneo Bulletin sold the press and newspaper to Singapore's Straits Times in 1959. They published their first Bulletins with different covers for Brunei, Sabah, and Sarawak's three other editions and sold them for only 20 cents. Most of its news focused on news in Borneo at first, with particular stress on Brunei. Their first publication was the largest in Borneo, about 3,500 copies, then rose about 10,000 by 1957. Sarawak and Sabah incorporated in Malaysia, which caused the reduction of the publications to about 6,000 in 1970. By 1983, production had increased again to about 30,000 before constantly decreasing to about 10,000 in 1997.
In 1985, Brunei Darussalam's first public listed company, QAF, took over Brunei Press Sdn Bhd's shares from the Straits Times. In September 1990, the Borneo Bulletin became a daily newspaper when QAF acquired full ownership of the newspaper. The Borneo Bulletin is the primary source of information on local, regional, and foreign affairs and business news. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur's complete stock market reports and restricted stocks carried Bruneian business people and investors' exchanges. In addition to the more serious information, the newspaper takes sports, lifestyle, and leisure pages. The newspaper remains the primary source of information for its readers, providing extensive coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. It targeted an outcast community in the Belait District's oil towns.
The Borneo Bulletin is the most trusted, most influential, and the leading print media in the Sultanate today, with a steady growing loyal readership. Moreover, some of the world's best services include Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Agence France Presse (AFP), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Los Angeles Times news services, and many more provides their global coverage. This content-rich newspaper has the most compelling product attributes that could deliver a regular reach and reliable demographics to its promoters.
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