Thai immigration withdraw tourist visas of two CNN reporters

[hotchilli]

All in the name of the latest scoop... 

[PETERTHEEATER]

6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Who said anything about them being on tourist visa's ?

The topic headline.

[vandeventer]

7 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Bet this story wont be shown on a politically biased CNN

CNN= Big balls, no brains.

[Thingamabob]

6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Who said anything about them being on tourist visa's ?

It was headlined as such. 

[choff56]

3 hours ago, J Branche said:

From my brief review of responses.  CNN can be biased, has low moral and ethical standards, use the human flaw in our brain that we seek and remember more negative and extreme events.  CNN will only broadcast limited events that are positive and/or of something that benefits the community or society. 

 

We all make our own choses.  I chose to seek and watch news that can benefit me or add value to my life.

Which is?

[PETERTHEEATER]

If CNN, reacting to the Thai massacre, dispatched two reporters from USA to Thailand to cover the story they would have entered Visa Exempt on US passports and not applied for Tourist Visas. Whatever the truth, 'work' is forbidden.

Whether they entered the scene with permission or not their conduct in doing so is reprehensible.

[brewsterbudgen]

1 minute ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

If CNN, reacting to the Thai massacre, dispatched two reporters from USA to Thailand to cover the story they would have entered Visa Exempt on US passports and not applied for Tourist Visas. Whatever the truth, 'work' is forbidden.

Whether they entered the scene with permission or not their conduct in doing so is reprehensible.

Nonsense, it's just a deflection by the Thai authorities and a pretty shameful one at that.  I would imagine that the journalists in question, if not based in Bangkok, were Asia based, and were just doing their job.  

[sqwakvfr]

11 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

CNN has a bureau in Hong Kong and often sends reporters out in the field in Asia.  The only time Fox had it's people in Asia was to cover the Trump-Kim Summits in Singapore and Hanoi.  Based upon it's business model Fox News really does not care about Global Events with few exceptions (namely Ukraine).  When I had access to CNN International I saw some of Anna Coren's work.  She looked like a capable reporter (notice I did not use the word journalist) and has reported in many parts of Asia.  

 

With Breaking News it is rare that any reporter will obtain the proper visa in order to cover a story in a foreign country.  As long the reporter(s) does not cause an incident then "no fuss, no muss".  This time she got caught in the middle and probably never cover a stary in LOS again.  I wonder if Jeff Zuker (the CEO of CNN) will have to come to LOS and offer his apologies?  CNN or it's parent company could make amends by making a large donation to the families. 

 

Now back to a "real" news channel: Al Jazeera(they have reporter based out of Bangkok-Tony Cheng). 
.   

[worldexpress]

8 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Bet this story wont be shown on a politically biased CNN

Show me one channel that isn't.

[worldexpress]

How do they withdraw something that isn't? They entered on visa exemptions. 

[scorecard]

4 minutes ago, worldexpress said:

Show me one channel that isn't.

Their video report on this, including footage inside the main rooms of the pre-school and some interviews has already been shown on the CNN INternational news several times, several days ago. 

[Andycoops]

Total and utter lack of respect from arrogant CNN reporters.

I hope the Thais press full charges upon the pair of s c u m.

[BTB1977]

Yes it's a crime scene.  But come on. What crime does the thai police have to solve?? I think it basically solved its self. I hope they can figure that out sometime in the near future.  We can rule out break failure, micro sleep and suicide. Guessing thai reporters got jealous because they can't report the news as it happens.  

[brewsterbudgen]

19 minutes ago, Andycoops said:

Total and utter lack of respect from arrogant CNN reporters.

I hope the Thais press full charges upon the pair of s c u m.

Read the reports.  It's all over now.

[tandor]

Shame on you CNN.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

7 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I wonder if Jeff Zuker (the CEO of CNN) will have to come to LOS and offer his apologies?  CNN or it's parent company could make amends by making a large donation to the families. .   

 

New CEO is Chris Licht and I think he's probably going to change CNN's approach to reporting/journalism. We'll see if it is an improvement.

[tandor]

25 minutes ago, BTB1977 said:

Yes it's a crime scene.  But come on. What crime does the thai police have to solve?? I think it basically solved its self. I hope they can figure that out sometime in the near future.  We can rule out break failure, micro sleep and suicide. Guessing thai reporters got jealous because they can't report the news as it happens.  

...Geez!...every crime has to be fully investigated regardless of what you think. I can't accept your crass and insensitive remarks. No doubt you would feel a lot different if one of the young children was yours! RIP.

[jingjai9]

I thought you couldn't work in Thailand with a tourist visa. 
If journalists are an exception to this rule, I would expect they would be given something other than tourist status.

[Knocker33]

I am not condoning what CNN did in anyway. But why was every Tom, Dick and Harry allowed to trample over the crime scene of the murdered backpackers on Koh Tao without any netizen backlash 

[onthedarkside]

A number of posts involving trolling, off-topic political rants and derogatory name calling have been removed, along with ensuing replies.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thai nursery: CNN journalists apologise for entering site of deadly attack

Two journalists from US news outlet CNN have apologised for their coverage of last week's attack on a childcare centre in Thailand that left 37 people, including 23 children, dead.

 

They entered the building where the attack occurred and filmed on site.

They were accused of trespassing and filming a crime scene without permission.

 

Both of them were later cleared of the charges, but fined for working as journalists while on tourist visas.

 

(more)

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63196932

 

----------------------------

 

A convenient local kerfuffle to deflect attention from the individual responsible for this terrible massacre and how it occurred, which should be everyone's main focus of attention so more of the same doesn't occur in the future.

Not to mention, all the institutional wrongs, chiefly by the police, that allowed that responsible individual for years to escape the consequences of his prior wrongdoing.

 

That said, yes, the CNN crew were wrong to have been working as journalists in Thailand on tourist visas instead of the normal news media visa, a requirement that should have been well-known to their organization.

 

As for reporting on a massacre or a mass deaths situation, that's something that journalists sadly have to do all too often these days.

 

And it's always a balancing act between needing to report the story accurately and fairly to the public (which is their job), without crossing the line of going too far, which can be a hard balance to strike in these kinds of situations.

 

I'm not hearing the Thais complaining that the CNN crew's actual reporting was bad, but instead, the more bureacratic issues of their visa status and whether they had or hadn't been given permission to film where they did.

 

From the above BBC report on that:

 

"CNN has issued two statements. In the first response, it said their crew were told by three public health officials that they could film inside. They said the premises had been cordoned off while they were inside, and they needed to climb over the fence to leave.

Police later found that village health volunteers had granted the team entry despite having no authority to do so, according to local news outlet The Nation."

 

The above BBC report also says CNN has stopped broadcasting the report at issue and removed the video from its website.

 

 

[ericthai]

15 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Who said anything about them being on tourist visa's ?

Come on, you've been here long enough! click the link in the article.....

[onthedarkside]

Related thread:

 

 

[scorecard]

15 hours ago, BTB1977 said:

Yes it's a crime scene.  But come on. What crime does the thai police have to solve?? I think it basically solved its self. I hope they can figure that out sometime in the near future.  We can rule out break failure, micro sleep and suicide. Guessing thai reporters got jealous because they can't report the news as it happens.  

Let's be real. The cops are very poorly trained, something happened so the cop troops tape the area off, job done in their minds. They don't know what else to do.

[jacko45k]

17 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

Quite so. However it turns out the cops who gave them permission did not have the authority to do so.

Will they also get prosecuted for exceeding their authority?

Were they perhaps paid?

[kingstonkid]

22 hours ago, monkfish said:

Go search social media there are plenty of photo's and video's inside the building and even of dead bodies so someone was letting reporters in or probably just not stopping them. Also why did they only have Tourist Visas is so difficult to get a Press Visa or maybe it takes too long? Personally I don't think they wanted international press snooping around and so weren't giving out Visas.

There are a lot of authorized journalists in the country or accredited.  CNN and others have found that it is usually easier to have centralized reporters.  The only difference is that CNN either did not have one accredited to Thailand or decided to send someone else.

 

The part to me that says there was a problem is that the Journalist groups here are made up of international and national reporters came out against them.

 

There is always someone that is going to try to make a buck looking at the pics of Kobe Bryant's death.

 

That does not make it right or wrong.

 

The police did what they had to do. They had 2 tourists that were at the crime scene.  That would be the same as you or I walk in there.  

 

People would have been screaming bloody murder if the RTP had just let them walk around.  

The resolution of the issue was perfect in my opinion.

They were charged with something that any of us could be if we work while on a 45-day visa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kingstonkid]

21 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

That is also a proof that the Thai visa system is outdated. A visa should not take too long for journalists who already have a place in Thailand. But we all know how it works.

How do you know these reporters had been here before.

 

Accreditation makes sure that reporters are screened every country does it.  

 

Even if you have to wait 24 hours to get approval, it would be too long.

 

I am sure CNN has people that were accredited but sent a new team.