To: Samui Express, Local Newspaper

[SamuiBond]

First goodies: Thanks for bringing in local news to Samui. News that you've brought have kept locals in some kind of light what's going on this piece of land which is important part of Thailand. You've brought into light many compelling stories that even the most local of us wouldn't know about.

You've done a series of good and great interviews and revelations of the important figures around the island and community surely appreciates these stories. You keep telling us where to go to party or eat. You tell us about community happenings which are important to especially family members.

You've dug out crime stories that most of us would not necessary know nothing about unless you we're there to reveal them. You've warned people about dangers around us.

Then the useless or negatives: You've brought us sport results that are useless filling of the paper (unless local). You've brought us 4 to 6 pages copies of U.S mother political and geographical propaganda which doesn't fit Samui' local newspaper format in any way. Something that we would read from some online publication should we be interested but reading this stuff from Samui Express? – Really?.

Suggestions: ThaiVisa.Com has occasional bright stuff. Why don't you make a deal and publish some of the stuff from this site (or from your site opinion pages) in your paper? Instead of just filling 4-6 pages with U.S writers' politics, take few local Samui writers per month to write you "Local Views and Opinions". You'll surely get many writable stories per week. That should fill in few pages.

How to fill in the rest of the useless Samui Express pages I leave for the ThaiVisa.Com readers to tell their own opinions;

What do you miss in Samui Express, What should be there be and what should not be there?

- If man wasn't reading in toilet, newspaper would be history -

[koheesti]

Agreed, too much foreign news/opinion which I doubt is of interest to most Samui-based readers. For example, "Ireland's Property Boom" (Samui Express Nov 2-16). Who cares?

If you want foreign news, how about stories from neighboring countries? Penang is a popular place to get a visa, I'd be interested in reading something from there.

How much would it cost to do a reprint deal with other English language publications from around Thailand? I'd rather read news reprinted from around Thailand (Bangkok Post, The Nation, Phuket Gazette, etc) than an article from The Christian Science Monitor (a fine publication).

Another thing that I don't care for is 1 and 1/2 pages of Astrology Advice. That's overkill. Sure, it's for two weeks but it's still overkill.

Edited December 5, 2007 by koheesti

[mattias33]

And again agreed. Keep bying the paper since it is the only local Samui "newspaper" but i have to say for every issue i more and more wonder why i bother getting it. The interressting things are done in 5 minuites nowadays. Too much diningtips, same places over and over again (my own suspicion is that its the places who give the freelancers most food for free) and too little real news. We have been having problems on this island for a long time with some roads, dirty beaches, the way garbage is handled in some areas and houses flooded. All this stuff is lighted up in Samui express. But how? A picture of the ghostroad. 50 by 40 mm in a corner of a page. No story, only the pic with the text "ghostroad, taken by.....". Similar with Banrak beach and so on. A small picture in the corner but no story to highlight the problems. The dining-guide on the other hand gets 4-5 fullpages. I think to get a better magazine they need to stop working with the freelance "journalists". Hire some more educated real journalists that dont need to eat for free in order to survive, and that have the jounalist desire to make a change. Of course they would need a salary and the price of the magazine goes up. But i for one would not mind paying a 100 baht instead of 20 the 2 times /month, if it was a magazine with news and articles about Samui. Also Thai-news i dont see the point off since local papers in Thailand come out everyday. Samui-express should and could be a good little magazine about local problems and goods. And as the only Englich-speaking magazine on the island they do have a responsibility towards expats that i dont feel the hobby journalists live up to. Or even care about.

The idea with somekind of co-operation between for instans Thaivisa sounds like a winner. Most of the "news" i hear about samui nowadays, or Thailand for that matter, i read first in the expatforums. There is offcoure alot off expats, with strong oppinions and good ideas, that dont have a computer. Samui-express could fill that whole with a Thaivisa page in every issue for instans. And to be honest, not everyday i give thaivisa moderators good credit, but maybe even a moderator from thaivisa to keep them ON TOPIC . Like said before Irelands property boom and U.s politics does not realy belong in this paper.

So, after all winding, ok i keep bying it, some good stories in there, and its 20 baht, still worth it. But changes needed. It used to be better.

Edited December 5, 2007 by mattias33

[Samuian]

bi-monthly issues, so "Express" and "News" is an Oxymoron!

Keep trying!

Except a very few issues on local events and happenings, this paper is like many other high gloss publications not worth the paper it is printed on - a money spinner for some, but filling up the garbage piles - when will we see a genuine paper printed on recycled paper - no hi-so high - gloss issues?

Edited December 5, 2007 by Samuian

[ClaudeFeller]

This newspaper is 70 % american trash.

The advert prices are exorbitant.

If we want to have an influent newspaper it must be printed in english and in thai.

[Mark Wolfe]

I am a journalist and was a newspaper man for years in Taiwan, so I think I know of what I speak.

The paper in question is an amateur production that's poorly copy edited. I do like the idea of translated articles from the Thai papers, but the editing is done either by a non-native speaker or by someone who hasn't a clue how to copy edit.

I assume it is run on a shoestring budget, but nevertheless, some investigative reporting might be worthwhile. There are many stories waiting to be written (Why are the street lights not turned on 90 percent of the time? for example).

The layout is boring and unprofessional (besides breaking some basic rules).

And why on earth would they print this on such heavy stock paper? That stuff is expensive and completely unnecessary.

Having said that, it has the potential to be a good, local paper. It only needs some money behind it, a savvy editor in chief and a good designer to make it fly.

[ThaiPauly]

Would it not be the case that digging for REAL news on Samui could be bad for a reporters health?

[koheesti]

This newspaper is 70 % american trash.

I agree it's trash. I think 70% is too high though. I skip past plenty of articles about the UK and other places (but who cares one way or the other?). I think the sad fact is that American anything will get a reaction both positive and negative (scanning Thaivisa shows this) while most countries would get no reaction at all (which is not what the media wants). But Samui Express shouldn't go down that path, IMO. They should stick to things about Samui, Thailand and related issues.

If we want to have an influent newspaper it must be printed in english and in thai.

There is/used to be a dual language newspaper in Moscow called "Echo". On one side it was in English and the same stories were on the opposite side in Russian. It wasn't that successful and Russians wouldn't be influenced by what expats thought anyway. Would Thais here on Samui be influenced by being preached to by foreigners?

[sbk]

I think if it reported real and local news the Thais would be interested in reading that seeing as how there doesn't appear to be any local news reported in Thai. However, if it were the usual touristic oriented fluff pieces, then no. I wouldn't bother with having it in Thai as well.

[koheesti]

I think if it reported real and local news the Thais would be interested in reading that seeing as how there doesn't appear to be any local news reported in Thai. However, if it were the usual touristic oriented fluff pieces, then no. I wouldn't bother with having it in Thai as well.

The entire paper doesn't need to be in two langauges. Maybe it could have 1-2 pages with the articles that might be interesting to local Thais translated into Thai? Would that be worth 20 baht to them?

[Samuian]

...It only needs some money behind it, a savvy editor in chief and a good designer to make it fly.

... + out of the common, bright Ideas and some "cripsy" journalism!

The "News", from the UK and the US, I have read several days before the "latest" isue arrives ion the market - on the Internet anyway!

Local (Samui, Surat, KPG, Ko Tao, some general Thai Stuff) News, Events, happenings, Meetings...

[sbk]

Well, like I said, if it had real news from local happenings, then yes I am sure some Thai people would buy it.

But, most of what I have seen in Samui passes for tourist fluff and is completely worthless to me.

[mssabai]

Well its not dire. I tend to buy every issue...granted there isn't much choice but I still find it quite a good source of local knowledge. Comapred to local rags back home it wins hands down I have to say.

I get very annoyed though at one particular non native speaker journalist though, who granted has excellent english but still makes mistakes and it makes for bad reading. Also too many advitorials pretending they aren't. And why oh why has that godawful Coulter woman got her column in it??? In my opinion she is a racist bigot...a strange choice for a local news paper I feel..

[Mark Wolfe]

"Godawful" Coulter's column is offset by an opposing political view each issue.

Another thing comes to mind, and I have some personal experience with this as founding member of the desk of the Taipei Times. These articles from wire services, like Coulter's, are costly to run. Unless they are printing them without permission, which I doubt but which wouldn't shock me to death, are not cheap. Even the cartoons aren't given away by the syndicates.

There is a lot of money being spent on rights to publish that could be freed up for local reporting.

... + out of the common, bright Ideas and some "cripsy" journalism!

Indeed!

[SamuiBond]

I think if it reported real and local news the Thais would be interested in reading that seeing as how there doesn't appear to be any local news reported in Thai. However, if it were the usual touristic oriented fluff pieces, then no. I wouldn't bother with having it in Thai as well.

Not too long time ago there used to be Samui News newspaper which was doing this - they are not in business anymore. They had thicker paper and some 5-8 pages both in Thai And English. That should answer the thought.

Another thing comes to mind, and I have some personal experience with this as founding member of the desk of the Taipei Times. These articles from wire services, like Coulter's, are costly to run. Unless they are printing them without permission, which I doubt but which wouldn't shock me to death, are not cheap.

Samui Express seems to have license so I bet this silly stuff they print is included in their syndication deal. Still they should make an effort to pages with more local stuff.

They do have a website too> http://www.samuiexpress.net which with quick look seems to be ok. I do bet they could use some thaivisa forum help writing in their stories...

Edited December 6, 2007 by SamuiBond

[SamuiBond]

This is a link to their "Letters to the editor" page. First story there sums up fairly well thoughts here:

http://samuiexpress.net/node/795

[Tony121]

They should copy the same style as the old community newspaper, that i didn't mind paying twenty baht for.

what's worth reading in the express takes 5 mins

[koheesti]

This is a link to their "Letters to the editor" page. First story there sums up fairly well thoughts here:

http://samuiexpress.net/node/795

I'm glad you posted that link to this letter because it does sum up nicely what I was writing about above. Here it is, you have someone who starts out his letter, "AS a long-time resident on Samui, I am fed up to the back teeth with the heavy emphasis in Samui Express (which I get from time to time to look for improvements), with things American."

Then he proceeds to to give us a 30+ line poem WHICH HE WROTE HIMSELF about AMERICA. I'm sure the irony of his letter is completely lost on him.

Edited December 7, 2007 by koheesti

[mattias33]

This is a link to their "Letters to the editor" page. First story there sums up fairly well thoughts here:

http://samuiexpress.net/node/795

I'm glad you posted that link to this letter because it does sum up nicely what I was writing about above. Here it is, you have someone who starts out his letter, "AS a long-time resident on Samui, I am fed up to the back teeth with the heavy emphasis in Samui Express (which I get from time to time to look for improvements), with things American."

Then he proceeds to to give us a 30+ line poem WHICH HE WROTE HIMSELF about AMERICA. I'm sure the irony of his letter is completely lost on him.

I agree on this fact and had the same thoughts myself. Maybe this op have 2 states. The solber one where he thinks and reads through links that he posts, and the other one ???

Another thing that hit me when i read his link is that Samui-express done alot of stories i got reminded of. For instans the one with taximeters on Samui. Whatever happened to that one?? Anybody EVER seen a metered taxi on Samui?? EVER?? Please let us know.

And the story they did that Taxis now carry a pricelist on the back of the front seat for passengers to see? I meet alot of tourists through my job and i keep asking them if they seen it, since samui-ex. stated its now "law". So far nobody of my "clients" seen it.

For me the samui-express keep being the "bull-express". Im sorry. There is no other way for me to see it.

And yes, Samuibonds links just prove the op facts one more time, stay the heck out of Us politics, the ones that are interessted in this already read it somewhere else when your magazine comes out!! Cant imagine how a freelance person that is not even a real journalist thinks when he/she writes for a island "newspaper" and think they have to tell us about "news" that we seen a week ago?? Its patetic!!

Edited December 7, 2007 by mattias33

[SamuiBond]

For me the samui-express keep being the "bull-express". Im sorry. There is no other way for me to see it.

There will be soon a respond to honest opinion...