The Nation Start New Freesheet Newspaper

[george]

DAILY XPRESS

The Nation creates history

BANGKOK: -- The countdown has begun. Loyal Nation readers will next week be part of another milestone in the country's media history.

The launch of Daily Xpress, Thailand's first-ever freesheet newspaper, to be published in English with a compact form, will take place along with the transformation of The Nation into a paper with a firm focus on in-depth business and political coverage.

The changes, which will start on March 5, are meant to better serve our readers, who we regard as smart, daring, knowledge-able, and tech savvy. Thanks to a thorough survey of media in Thailand we know that our readers are exactly that and we have planned the changes accordingly.

"Our strategy is to rethink The Nation to meet our readers' evolution and needs. But while changes have been made, what have been preserved are the credibility, substance and essential insights that are The Nation's trademark," said Pana Janviroj, president of The Nation/Daily Xpress.

About 100,000 copies of the freesheet will be distributed daily including to all current and future Nation subscribers, making it the largest-circulated English daily newspaper in Thailand.

Tulsathit Taptim will be editor of Daily Xpress. The Nation's managing editor, Thanong Khanthong, will replace Tulsathit as editor of The Nation.

"The younger generation of sophisticated readers is a largely unfufilled or untapped market as far as English language media is concerned. And we hope Daily Xpress, with a focus on lifestyle, human interest news, talk of the town events, entertainment and fun, will help serve their needs for a new kind of media," said Tulsathit.

He said Daily Xpress also aims to promote the concept of citizen journalism and readers' interaction by publishing reader-generated content.

The Nation readers, starting on March 5, will get a double package of news - in broadsheet and compact forms. With Daily Xpress also delivered to present and future Nation subscribers, it means Nation readers are treated to 72 pages of in-depth news, analyses and trendy lifestyle and entertainment reports on most days.

The Nation broadsheet will have more focus on business and political information and we are moving to easier-to-use design and navigation of news items and features. It will be published from Monday through Saturday. Daily Xpress with expanded content and features will continue to be delivered to Nation subscribers on Sunday.

"We aim to segment our content to suit how, when and where people actually use our media," Pana said.

"For example, subscribers can read The Nation in the morning for its focus on immediate business and political information to plan their work lives and then use Daily Xpress at their leisure during the day to plan social and lifestyle activities. And there will be no duplication of content between the two segments so whether you are reading for work or leisure it's always fresh and relevant information."

"We offer the same commitment, professionalism and more content," Thanong said. "All the great features, columns, letters, cartoons, games and sports coverage remain. We are simply presenting them in an adapted way as we and our readers ply the winds of change."

-- The Nation 2008-02-27

[bulmercke]

I'm looking forward to this new publication. I wonder whether it'll have a letters page?

And how long after it's launch will The Post follow suit and introduce a rival freebie?

Not long I suspect!

[Siripon]

The Bangkok Post will come out with a slightly changed format on March 3 whilst The Nation is going for a sea change on March 5. There will be no sports or entertainment news in the new paper, business will dominate the paper with political coverage and analysis reduced to the final pages.

Sports,etc will be in the free express version only available at certain outlets.

Presumably The Nation thinks there are enough Thai and foreign readers interested in business to purchase it.

Personally I think there's plenty of current choices for Thais, are there really enough foreigners interested enough in business to subscribe to it regularly and make it an ongoing concern?

[Ricardo]

This will not be serious competition, for the Bangkok Herald Examiner, one hopes ...

[Plus]

It sounds like a smart decision - they've been struggling to reconcile broadsheet, serious paper format, with demands for tabloid format and style for sports and enterntainment. Sounds like the found the solution - separate them.

Subscribers will get Xpress along with the main paper.

I personally don't have a problem with broadsheet format but other people do.

[WitawatWatawit]

The changes, which will start on March 5, are meant to better serve our readers, who we regard as smart

If they thought their readers were that smart they'd make sure to correct the many schoolboy errors in grammar and punctuation that litter nearly every article.

If I can proof read my posts on internet forums and use a spellchecker, surely it is not too much to ask a major English language newspaper to do the same?

It's so easy to criticise, isn't it, especially from a position of extreme ignorance. My friends at The Nation work for crap money, which means it's impossible to attract experienced staff. They turn over 4-5 times the amount of copy they would do on a normal newspaper yet have to work to ridiculously tight deadlines, all the while wrestling with sometimes near unintelligible English (I've seen samples, and it's enough to make a grown man cry). They also have to deal with writers of whom many are poorly trained and sadly deficient in their knowledge. What this means is that they are reduced to cutting corners however they can just to try and get the paper out. From what I've seen, theirs is a tough and thankless job -- thankless because they do the best they can under very trying conditions and then have to put up with ignorant criticism from people like you who have all the time in the world to edit their own copy. Sorry, pal, but my sympathies lie with my friends at The Nation, not with the likes of smart-alecks like you. In my opinion they do a great job in a difficult situation. So try to be a little bit more understanding. Like me, you should spend an evening in their newsroom and watch them work -- work miracles, actually -- and you'll not be so quick to judge.

Witawat

[popshirt]

Sounds like a winner to me. I care nothing about sports and get my entertainment information elsewhere. What I want is solid news. Great idea!

[jonniebkk]

Yes, I have been reading the past couple days about the Nation writing about their upcoming format changes. Sounds like to me they are basically cutting back on the paper...eliminating most current events and politics to concentrate on business reports. And then, of course, their freebie handout...geared to the ladies fashion and style crowd and tourists (stuffed with related ads for fancy spas, hotels, restos, and handbags).

Sad really to see another paper feel the economic pinch and see no other way to make ends meat than to basically cut back on the product and expect people to continue to pay the same price. I don't read The Nation as much as the Post but is is always better to have a choice than none at all. I guess the basic question is is there room for 2 English language newspapers in Thailand.

[thaigene2]

"Our strategy is to rethink The Nation to meet our readers' evolution and needs. But while changes have been made, what have been preserved are the credibility, substance and essential insights that are The Nation's trademark," said Pana Janviroj, president of The Nation/Daily Xpress.

About 100,000 copies of the freesheet will be distributed daily including to all current and future Nation subscribers, making it the largest-circulated English daily newspaper in Thailand.

I guess they need to do something to prop up their sagging readership - much lower than the Bangkok Post. Perhaps this is a way for them to try to influence a larger audience (new eyeballs) for their predicatble, anti-populist, pro-establishment and feudalistic editorial drivel.

[yoshiwara]

I am not convinced that it is a good move to separate out the ents from the business/political but lets see how it turns out. When I buy the Nation it is for its editorial content and that is needed more than ever as the TRT/PPP gets its nose back in the trough.

[BigSnake]

Way to Nation, Can't way, bring it on.

[Maestro]

...Personally I think there's plenty of current choices for Thais, are there really enough foreigners interested enough in business to subscribe to it regularly and make it an ongoing concern?

I don’t think you can subscribe to this free newspaper and get it delivered to your doorstep every morning. You have to get out and pick it up from one of the places where it is made available, and you have to get there early before all copies are gone.

--

Maestro

[Plus]

Nation Group is doing ok, but when the family of Suriya, then a transport mininster in TRT government tried to buy huge stake in it they were forced to restructure the company so that English paper division was forced to become a separate entity, even though they probably share the same content and reporters as their profitable Thai papers.

It appears they sell all they print anyway, by lunch time all the copies are usually gone from the newsstands. Difficult to say which sells better, BP or Nation, they disappear simultaneously.

[Deke]

It appears they sell all they print anyway, by lunch time all the copies are usually gone from the newsstands. Difficult to say which sells better, BP or Nation, they disappear simultaneously.

According to Wikipedia, the circulation of the Bangkok Post and the Nation is almost the same at about 75,000 although, as they caution, these numbers are not audited.

I would have guessed that the Bangkok Post has a much larger circulation.

[chownah]

About 100,000 copies of the freesheet will be distributed daily including to all current and future Nation subscribers, making it the largest-circulated English daily newspaper in Thailand.

The nice thing about a free news circular is that you can conjure up just about any circulation number that you want.....to be polite though you really should at least print up as many copies as you say get circulated.....how would we even know how many they printed?...trust them?....sure!!!!!!

Chownah

[bulmercke]

Yes, I have been reading the past couple days about the Nation writing about their upcoming format changes. Sounds like to me they are basically cutting back on the paper...eliminating most current events and politics to concentrate on business reports. And then, of course, their freebie handout...geared to the ladies fashion and style crowd and tourists (stuffed with related ads for fancy spas, hotels, restos, and handbags).

Sad really to see another paper feel the economic pinch and see no other way to make ends meat than to basically cut back on the product and expect people to continue to pay the same price. I don't read The Nation as much as the Post but is is always better to have a choice than none at all. I guess the basic question is is there room for 2 English language newspapers in Thailand.

Up until about 1996/97 there used to be three. Don't forget Thailand Times that I used to buy.

[seonai]

Ha Bulmercke I used to work for the Thailand Times as a Features then Medical sub/rewriter/writer

[Buzby]

You have to get out and pick it up from one of the places where it is made available, and you have to get there early before all copies are gone.

--

Maestro

Hello all... Does anybody know where the paper is available to pick up in the Silom or Sathorn areas???

thanks

[bulmercke]

I am not convinced that it is a good move to separate out the ents from the business/political but lets see how it turns out. When I buy the Nation it is for its editorial content and that is needed more than ever as the TRT/PPP gets its nose back in the trough.

Me too. I'm a subscriber.

But disappointed to see that The Nation now longer appears on a Sunday (the Saturday and Sunday editions are now merged) and that Stepph appears to have been removed from The Nation.

Stepph's daily cartoon now appears on the opinion page of Xpress but is only 42% of it's former size.

The Nation now carries Arun's cartoons as a replacement for Stepph's cartoons. No size reduction.

Stepph is a more critical observer of political events here than Arun and IMHO a better political satirist and cartoonist than Arun. Political pressure?

[A_Traveller]

Hello all... Does anybody know where the paper is available to pick up in the Silom or Sathorn areas???

thanks

Have seen it at Bookazine in Silom Complex, and Asia Books {I know same operation now} over in Thaniya.

Regards

[bulmercke]

Ha Bulmercke I used to work for the Thailand Times as a Features then Medical sub/rewriter/writer

seonai - wow - no doubt read some of your copy -

I liked Thailand Times even though there wasn't too much content. I liked the lengthy syndicated stories that they would print in full that most other dailies would avoid - particularly remember a full two page broadsheet spread on Richard Pryor -

Bought a few copies of the last edition for keepsake but unfortunately lost them in the intervening years. Oh well!

[kash]

It's so easy to criticise, isn't it, especially from a position of extreme ignorance. My friends at The Nation work for crap money, which means it's impossible to attract experienced staff. They turn over 4-5 times the amount of copy they would do on a normal newspaper yet have to work to ridiculously tight deadlines, all the while wrestling with sometimes near unintelligible English (I've seen samples, and it's enough to make a grown man cry). They also have to deal with writers of whom many are poorly trained and sadly deficient in their knowledge. What this means is that they are reduced to cutting corners however they can just to try and get the paper out. From what I've seen, theirs is a tough and thankless job -- thankless because they do the best they can under very trying conditions and then have to put up with ignorant criticism from people like you who have all the time in the world to edit their own copy. Sorry, pal, but my sympathies lie with my friends at The Nation, not with the likes of smart-alecks like you. In my opinion they do a great job in a difficult situation. So try to be a little bit more understanding. Like me, you should spend an evening in their newsroom and watch them work -- work miracles, actually -- and you'll not be so quick to judge.

Witawat

Yes, it is easy to criticise, especially when the paper is so bad it often has basic spelling errors in leading articles on the front page.

As a paying customer, I expect better. You see, far from being ignorant, that's how business works. I could care less if the staff are overworked and underpaid. That isn't my problem. Besides, aren't the owners of Nation Multimedia exceedingly rich? Perhaps your concerns about staff should be levelled at them?

Do you honestly believe paying customers should put up with a substandard product out of sympathy for the people that help make it?

Erm, time for a reality check.

dude - your posts suck even more here than those on thornthree, impressive.

[onethailand]

Up until about 1996/97 there used to be three. Don't forget Thailand Times that I used to buy.

Yuck. You actually PAID for TT?

From 1994-95 I worked for that rag - starting as a rewriter, promoted to sub-editor after a month, promoted to Business editor after two months. The people there were mostly hopeless, except for some of the rewriters and the news editor. It was so bad that they could never make a 9 pm deadline, usually getting done around 1 am.

I ended up doing the rewriting, captions, photo selection, editing, and layout myself because it was so frustrating - but on the other hand, it meant I always hit my deadline and went home hours before anyone else

Needless to say, I didn't think much of that paper and quit when they couldn't even manage a 5000 baht raise after a year's service.

By the way, though, there were actually 4 dailies at the time - Business Day started up a few months after I started working at Thailand Times, and that turned out to be another mess, about half of the TT staff eventually defected to BD. One managed to get a position with the Post, and a couple with the Nation. Then Asia Times came along just after I left TT, but I can't remember whether Asia Times was weekly or daily - in any case it became "online only" not long after.

And the reason TT printed long syndicated articles should be plenty obvious

Witawat - while I sympathize with your friends at the Nation, having "been there, done that" myself, it is still no excuse for poor grammar, spelling and punctuation. Emperor Tud is entirely correct.

Seonai? You must've come on board after I left... LOL... talk about a small world

Edited March 11, 2008 by onethailand

[bulmercke]

Up until about 1996/97 there used to be three. Don't forget Thailand Times that I used to buy.

Yuck. You actually PAID for TT?

From 1994-95 I worked for that rag - starting as a rewriter, promoted to sub-editor after a month, promoted to Business editor after two months. The people there were mostly hopeless, except for some of the rewriters and the news editor. It was so bad that they could never make a 9 pm deadline, usually getting done around 1 am.

I ended up doing the rewriting, captions, photo selection, editing, and layout myself because it was so frustrating - but on the other hand, it meant I always hit my deadline and went home hours before anyone else

Needless to say, I didn't think much of that paper and quit when they couldn't even manage a 5000 baht raise after a year's service.

By the way, though, there were actually 4 dailies at the time - Business Day started up a few months after I started working at Thailand Times, and that turned out to be another mess, about half of the TT staff eventually defected to BD. One managed to get a position with the Post, and a couple with the Nation. Then Asia Times came along just after I left TT, but I can't remember whether Asia Times was weekly or daily - in any case it became "online only" not long after.

And the reason TT printed long syndicated articles should be plenty obvious

Witawat - while I sympathize with your friends at the Nation, having "been there, done that" myself, it is still no excuse for poor grammar, spelling and punctuation. Emperor Tud is entirely correct.

Seonai? You must've come on board after I left... LOL... talk about a small world

onethailand - thanks for the info.

I probably bought off the news stands (BKK) more than a hundred or so copies of TT in it's time ( I wasn't a subscriber).

I wish I still had just one copy - whatever it's state - now for memories sake. Can't find anything on google image.

[onethailand]

onethailand - thanks for the info.

I probably bought off the news stands (BKK) more than a hundred or so copies of TT in it's time ( I wasn't a subscriber).

I wish I still had just one copy - whatever it's state - now for memories sake. Can't find anything on google image.

Boy, you must've really liked it! In a funny sort of way, it's nice to know that someone actually appreciated it!

I have to admit, I did have fun working there. I still have a few old friends from TT. But one could only take so much pain... LOL...

I know I stored away one copy from the day my eldest was born... but I haven't the foggiest clue where it is. Probably destined to be found by my daughter in the attic, long after I have departed.

The best place to look, perhaps, is the Wattachak building on Boromratchachonee Rd in Taling Chan - that was where we worked, and who knows if they kept a few copies for keepsakes...

[bulmercke]

onethailand - thanks for the info.

I probably bought off the news stands (BKK) more than a hundred or so copies of TT in it's time ( I wasn't a subscriber).

I wish I still had just one copy - whatever it's state - now for memories sake. Can't find anything on google image.

Boy, you must've really liked it! In a funny sort of way, it's nice to know that someone actually appreciated it!

I have to admit, I did have fun working there. I still have a few old friends from TT. But one could only take so much pain... LOL...

I know I stored away one copy from the day my eldest was born... but I haven't the foggiest clue where it is. Probably destined to be found by my daughter in the attic, long after I have departed.

The best place to look, perhaps, is the Wattachak building on Boromratchachonee Rd in Taling Chan - that was where we worked, and who knows if they kept a few copies for keepsakes...

TT - part of Thailand's english language media history. Nothing much left now. Smooth FM (105) and 95.5 FMX have both gone now as well as Metropolis 107. Nothing much left apart from Richie Walker - Jim Davisson - Julie Kaufman - and the other guy who does the Sunday 19.30-21.00 spot.

With the demise of the Sunday edition of The Nation - gotta a feelin' we'll soon be left with only The Post and Xpress!

[thaigene2]

Yes - super unimpressed. Totally boring paper - and I do like business news - and follow it. This is just a double-size of the old Business Day.

A mistake I think (but guess we'll need to wait a year or so - I'm sure they've planned to take losses for that long). Ironically, while I hated the 'old' paper's pro-elite establishment editorial bent, they did cover the news as well (if not better) than the Post at times.

Edited March 13, 2008 by thaigene2

[sungod]

I 've been a loyal reader of the Nation from the Taksin era when they were not scared to print what they wanted, had some great editorials. I just found the Bangkok Post lacking of balls in those days, but it has got better since.

Unfortunately I am less than impressed with the new style Nation, tried it for a while but have now gone back to the Bangkok Post. Where some people may find it more to their taste now, I personally think it is a great mistake on their behalf.

[onethailand]

I had a brief look at a discarded copy yesterday and today - actually, I kind of prefer tabloid-size papers.

I think they've done a decent job for a free paper - but, as is usually the case, way too much advertising, way too little real news.

I think it's worth watching for a while, perhaps it will get better after some time. Haven't looked at the new Nation yet.

[yeti]

Trees Gather in Lumpini Park To Protest Unnecessary Loss of Life Caused by 'Daily XPress'

Silent protest to continue until ‘Nation’ editors express remorse for senseless printing

BANGKOK – A group of trees have gathered in Lumpini Park and refused to leave until Nationmultimedia stops printing the ‘Daily Xpress.’

The trees formed a small grove in the southwest corner of the park and disrupted passerby by shaking their leaves. A 29-year-old orange tree was said to be particularly distraught and shedding its bark.

Park regulars say the trees were upset that ‘The Nation’ editors had belittled the sacrifices of trees around the world by printing such nonsense on them.

“When the constitution was sent to every household in the country last year, for the sake of the country, I persuaded the trees to let it go,” commented a 57-year-old tuk tuk driver who eats lunch every day in their shade. “But 100,000 copies of this thing every day for 365 days, they think it’s genocide.”

Some environmental activists have already joined the trees and have been seen bringing them water. “I totally see their point,” said one. “This is the biggest waste of paper since Jake Needham’s last novel.”

The trees will reportedly protest silently in the park for the indefinite future.

From Not The Nation