"the Chiang Mai Mail"

[JimsKnight]

I just talked to someone at The Chaing Mai Mail and was told that the owner and all managers are Thai now. That the farang who was running it is gone. I wonder if the Pattaya Mail has anything to do with it anymore?

Maybe some of us should club together then and start blasting off some ideas for a 'rival' enterprise

[Ulysses G.]

I have a feeling that the Expat's Club is planning for just such a eventuality.

Edited December 22, 2007 by Ulysses G.

[mcgriffith]

A wee bit off topic....I could tell you guys and gals where I get MY free copies of CityLife reliably every month.

But if I posted it here, they would all be gone, wouldn't they?

Hint: Concierge desk at any major up-market hotel.....

[elephantkungfu]

I recall the last absence of CM Mail and the absolute vacuum that we mostly all found ourselves in.

are you for real?

The Thai papers like blood, guns, car wrecks and tits . . . and that's it!

i disagree.

i am not good enough in thai to read their local newspapers... but thats exactly the sort of paper i want to read. i live here, and want to hear about local thai news, thai sports news, thai celebrity news...

in the chiang mai mail, many stories are newsworthy just because a westerner was involved. i don't care about some robbery near tha pae, just because some farang girl got her bag stolen...

if anyone wants to translate any of the local thai papers, i'd happily buy it!

[Ulysses G.]

One of the first publications in Chiang Mai that was directed towards foreigners was a twice monthly, 5 baht newsletter published by a lawyer called Udom who translated articles directly from the Thai publications into English that he thought were interesting. Mostly guts, gore and true crime with the world's (Thailand's) stupidest criminals.

It was a real hoot!

[mcgriffith]

One of the first publications in Chiang Mai that was directed towards foreigners was a twice monthly, 5 baht newsletter published by a lawyer called Udom who translated articles directly from the Thai publications into English that he thought were interesting. Mostly guts, gore and true crime with the world's (Thailand's) stupidest criminals.

It was a real hoot!

I'd buy something like that in a heartbeat.

Even my friends who are quite conversant in Thai admit that reading the local newspapers can be somewhat problematic.

I'm sorry, but IMHO the CM Mail is a snore. And at 25 THB, an expensive snore......

[okinasan]

I've always enjoyed The Pattaya Mail when I visited there and was happy to purchase it. The local paper is too thin and has too much boring fluff that comes from International News Services.

Bang on the money as usual, U.

I have watched this thing since its inception and through 4 editorships and, basically, they have never got it right.

The first of countless errors they have made (I mean the majority shareholders, the Pattaya Mail) is that Chiang Mai is NOT Pattaya, never will be and most vitally never WANTS to be. They have NEVER captured the local 'feel' and at this rate never will.

I agree totally with the OP too, but unlike him have almost run out of patience. They demand the same cover price as the BP and the Nation, yet overload it with agency copy (some totally irrelevant to Thailand and SE Asia let alone CM!). Their local content is very varied and usually weak, and this will continue as long as they stumble along with low paid, unqualified people. The exception to that remark is their hard working English volunteer (ie free) photographer without whom they would have 4 blank pages a week.

They 'withdrew' from business here for several months and the comeback should have been dramatically good. But it was a whimper, not a bang.

Their ad rates, pro rata, are higher than 'Citylife' and they don't even consistently follow up the ad inquiries they receive.

I would not be Amazed if they 'withdraw' again after the high season and are never seen again.

Yes, CM deserves much, MUCH better!

A good point made in the above post -- Chiang Mai is definitely not Pattaya, and those of us who live here would not wish to live in Pattaya. The expat community here is diverse, and seems to be composed of quite a few small groups -- much like villages! -- so a slight problem for the CM Mail in covering the wants and needs of all. Local hard news is difficult to define and discover, and yes, the local "feel" is also difficult to define, but attempts are being made.

The "Social Scene" props up many expats' lives --- whether the rest of us agree and want that or not, so reportage of it is relevant to readers especially if they are involved. To those who criticise the efforts made by the many people who are now volunteering to help the paper evolve, please, please, write to the Mail and let the editors know what you would like to read. Personally, I think it's essential to have a weekly publication here, if right now it's not exactly what expats need, then let them know in a positive manner rather than just knocking it down!

okinasan

[Sao Jiang Mai]

Don't know if this is kosher, but if you want Citylife's delivery list, please simply pm me. We deliver to hundreds of places. For your information we only deliver to a handful of hotels as our readership is locals, not tourists. But do pm me anytime you want for our delivery list.