Larry Jagan is currently a freelance correspondent, independent analyst, journalism trainer and media consultant based in Bangkok and Yangon. He has been reporting for radio, television, online services and newspapers on Asian affairs or from Asia for more than four decades. Before that he was the BBC’s news editor for Asia. He is best known for his coverage of Myanmar. He is also the author of two books on Myanmar, numerous academic papers, as well as a book on poverty in the Philippines.  

 

Larry Jagan is a veteran journalist who has had his finger on the pulse of developments in the region and witnessed Asia’s emergence over the last fifty years. He’s been on the ground or reporting on many of the historic and watershed moments during this time – from China’s Cultural Revolution, the end of the Vietnam War, the collapse of the Marcos era in the Philippines, the events leading up to the Paris Accord in Cambodia and its aftermath, and the Hong Kong handover in 1997. But he is best known for his insightful coverage of Myanmar’s continuing transition to democracy, since the student protests and military coup of 1988.  

       

Larry’s life-long commitment to discerning the trends and following developments in Asia, while reporting them accurately, has enable him to make a significant contribution to the appreciation and understanding of Asia’s emergence. A committed observer and witness to this historic change, his reports and analysis have helped inform and enlighten audiences world-wide.  

 

He has interviewed many of the key leaders of the region over in this time: including Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr Mathathir Mohammad, Fidel Ramos, Goh Chock Tong, Kim Dae Jung and Lee Yuan Yew, as well as most of the region’s foreign ministers over the last 30 years. But  Larry’s reporting mixes interviews with political leaders, politicians and government officials, with extensive comments from ordinary people. His reporting offers accurate information, unique insights and thoughtful analysis: while it strives to be balanced, credible and fair;  and at the same time remain interesting and relevant.

  

For the last twenty years he has been a freelancer based in Bangkok. He relies heavily on an extensive network of contacts, sources and friends throughout the region, especially in Myanmar and Thailand. He contributes regularly to many local, regional and international news outlets – including Kamayut Media based in Myanmar. Before returning to the region semi-permanently, he was  for more than ten years the BBC World Service’s Regional News and Current Affairs Editor, and regularly presented the BBC’s specialist regional programs -- South Asia Report and East Asia Today. He has also worked for Radio Australia, Deutsche Welle and Radio Netherlands in the past 25 years.