`what Is It With The Thai Media

[marsteele]

I just just saw a news story here on Australian Television regarding the death of a 14 yr old farang boy in Pattaya. Apparently the parents raised concern about his whereabouts to locals but it took 30 minutes for them to respond by this time a news crew had arrived ready for them to react. A search was then conducted with the news crew and the body was immeadiately discovered.

Why wait for a news crew to attend? Why did a news crew have to be there?

Apparently then the news crew were trying well were filming the discovery against the wishes of the family who were present. When the father tried to stop the filming of his dead son's body he was apparently arrested and fined 12,000 baht.

Do Thai's not have respect for the deceased or the family? Do they not respect farang culture of not publically broadcasting the images against the wishes of the family. Do they not care of the pain and suffering that this family was going through at the immeadiate time? Why was the family fined for the intrusion of a news crew during thier time of extreem grief. What is it with Thailand? Is there no compassion at all.

When is a feel good story going to come out of Thailand?

"When I finally forced them to do something they went to the pump room, opened a hatch and my son's body came out." A distraught Mr Clark turned on a Thai cameraman filming the body and hit at him.

In a cruel twist, Thai police then ordered the father to pay 12,000 baht ($500) in compensation.

"I was distraught with what had happened — when I saw the intrusive cameramen I lashed out," Mr Clark said.

[Mario2008]

Moved to general section.

Please remind that we already had a topic about this tragic deaths, which has been closed because of the comments about who is to blame for the tragic death. We don't want to cause extra suffering, so keep in mind that the family is reading this.

This topic is about how the media handles the case, not about anything else. No off topic post please

[robbiecia]

I would have reacted the same as the father

If the Thai police then insisted that he pay 12000 baht.............then shame on them.

[marsteele]

Moved to general section.

Please remind that we already had a topic about this tragic deaths, which has been closed because of the comments about who is to blame for the tragic death. We don't want to cause extra suffering, so keep in mind that the family is reading this.

This topic is about how the media handles the case, not about anything else. No off topic post please

Not blaming anyone for the death, that is not what made headlines in Australia. The fact that the family was fined 12,000 baht made the headlines the extortion and intrusion of the media

[waza]

Is this the same news channel thats owned and controlled by a farrang?

[TerryLH]

"In a cruel twist, Thai police then ordered the father to pay 12,000 baht ($500) in compensation."

The word used is 'compensation' which leads me to believe it wasn't a fine, but money to the reporter who the father lashed out at.

If that is the case, shame on the media person who took the money.

[Mario2008]

Moved to general section.

Please remind that we already had a topic about this tragic deaths, which has been closed because of the comments about who is to blame for the tragic death. We don't want to cause extra suffering, so keep in mind that the family is reading this.

This topic is about how the media handles the case, not about anything else. No off topic post please

Not blaming anyone for the death, that is not what made headlines in Australia. The fact that the family was fined 12,000 baht made the headlines the extortion and intrusion of the media

It was a comment in general that we don't want to see a repeat of what happend in the other thread and not directed at you. We just want peopleto stay on topic, that is the media coverage and not the tragic death itself.

[marsteele]

Moved to general section.

Please remind that we already had a topic about this tragic deaths, which has been closed because of the comments about who is to blame for the tragic death. We don't want to cause extra suffering, so keep in mind that the family is reading this.

This topic is about how the media handles the case, not about anything else. No off topic post please

Not blaming anyone for the death, that is not what made headlines in Australia. The fact that the family was fined 12,000 baht made the headlines the extortion and intrusion of the media

It was a comment in general that we don't want to see a repeat of what happend in the other thread and not directed at you. We just want peopleto stay on topic, that is the media coverage and not the tragic death itself.

I agree with you and I am not talking about the death but the intrusion of the media who interfered at a very sensitive time that caused the person to lash out and which actually resulted in a victim being fined. What would have happened if he had not paid the fine would he have been dragged away to a thai jail. Where do thai's show sensitivity and respect to others at a very stressful time.

[Time Traveller]

Death is not seen in the same way as it is in western countries. It's quite normal to see dead bodies - from car accidents, murders, etc - on the front page of newspapers and tv programs. Quite similiar to india - that is privacy doesn't really exist. I guess foreign visitors don't understand that, and Thai media don't understand the foreigners respect for privacy. Of course they (media) should have really been a little more considerate to what just happened to the family.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Time Traveller

[simon43]

The lack of understanding by the Thai media about how foreign deaths should be treated is shocking. I lived by Phuket Airport when the OnetToGo plane crashed and was given some horrific video taken by the local news media as they pulled out the bodies.

It's about time the Thai media started to understand that the world does not end at the borders of Thailand. There are many foreigners in Thailand, all with different cultural and religious believes. In many western cultures, filming a death/suicide/murder victim is an absolute no-no.

The actions of the Thai media in this case are just another example of the chasm between Thailand and the 'civilised world'. I would have reacted the same as the distraught father in this case.

Shame on the Thai media for their actions - and shame on the journalist for accepting the 12,000 baht.

Simon

[Mario2008]

Yes, this morning on TV I also saw a cremation. These journalist were surrounding the the family and up in their faces with their cameras. Apperently it is a cultural thing.

Still, it gives me the creeps and in a land where losing face is a big deal one would expect keeping some more distance and respect.

[DP25]

Do they not respect farang culture of not publically broadcasting the images against the wishes of the family.

No, they don't. It's ok to publish horrific pictures of dead bodies in Thailand. Accident, murder, and crime victims are frequently splashed all over newspapers, tv, and magazines.

[Livinginexile]

I just can't believe this is true!

So what is being sugested here is;

1) they knew where the boy was but did not tell the father untill the news arrived

2) When the news arrived they then showed the body to the father and the news crew.

3) When the father reacted to this inhuman treatment they fined him 12,000 bht.

This is lower than anything I have ever read in my life!

I tell you right now, if that was my son I would take matters into my own hands, heads would roll even if it took me years.

I just can't believe this happened.

[Livinginexile]

Death is not seen in the same way as it is in western countries. It's quite normal to see dead bodies - from car accidents, murders, etc - on the front page of newspapers and tv programs. Quite similiar to india - that is privacy doesn't really exist. I guess foreign visitors don't understand that, and Thai media don't understand the foreigners respect for privacy. Of course they (media) should have really been a little more considerate to what just happened to the family.

A LITTLE more considerate?

Would it have been a "little bit" inconsiderate if it was your child?

Some people

[pattaya_girl]

I hope the Cameraman does not enjoy spending his compensation, in fact, I hope he loses his wallet and drops his Camera.

If some Cameraman tried to take pictures of my dead child, I would act exactly the same, and knock his lights out.

My Condolance to the Family.

[Maizefarmer]

Do they not respect farang culture of not publically broadcasting the images against the wishes of the family.

No, they don't. It's ok to publish horrific pictures of dead bodies in Thailand. Accident, murder, and crime victims are frequently splashed all over newspapers, tv, and magazines.

Its accepted media pratcise/reporting all over Asia - in the West folk live a "cotton wool" exsisitance, all wrapped up and isolated from the realities of death.

It had nothing to do with no respect for "farang culture" This incident happend in Asia and the media were catering for an Asian audience.

In Asia death is part of life ... it is not something people are culturaly and socialy brought up to be isolated from as we are in the West - and the poorer Western society is for such attitudes.

I'm sorry ... it may seem a little harsh to folk in the West, but this is Asia and that is how things are in Asia.

As for the Baht 12K Mr Clark had to pay over ...... yes, I am suprized that the media saw fit to pursue that in the manner they did. Does anyone know just which TV station camera crew it was?

[isanb]

I just can't believe this is true!

So what is being sugested here is;

1) they knew where the boy was but did not tell the father untill the news arrived

2) When the news arrived they then showed the body to the father and the news crew.

3) When the father reacted to this inhuman treatment they fined him 12,000 bht.

This is lower than anything I have ever read in my life!

I tell you right now, if that was my son I would take matters into my own hands, heads would roll even if it took me years.

I just can't believe this happened.

So do I

[CosmicSurfer]

When the Foundation is Rotten to the core, sometimes the only answer is to get a Bulldozer and start all over!

Feels like The Buffalos have all escaped and taken over... Animal Farm.. Thai style!

TIT

CS

[citizen33]

When the Foundation is Rotten to the core, sometimes the only answer is to get a Bulldozer and start all over!

Feels like The Buffalos have all escaped and taken over... Animal Farm.. Thai style!

TIT

CS

This is one of the headline stories on Yahoo UK today. The reporter hasn't yet picked up the 12K baht 'fine' angle, and the main emphasis is on the delay in reacting and the circulation of inappropriate pictures. I would venture to say that this is another Thailand tale that isn't going to play well in the West. The poor lad was from the Isle of Man.

Edited July 13, 2009 by citizen33

[Mai Krap]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8147032.stm

As Nathan's body was lying on the ground Thai paparazzi took photographs of him which prompted his father to hit out, striking one camera with a spanner.

Some images have since appeared on Thai news channels.

Ms Griffiths added: "It's horrific for people to treat my son's death in such a way. I was sitting here in the Isle of Man and I am seeing pictures on Thai television of my son lying in that pump room with his little hands on his chest."

Mr Clark was fined £240 by Thai police over the incident.

This entire story is heart breaking. My only sympathy is with the family of the boy who was lost. That reporter and others involved are very lucky they did not all take a beating for their actions. Most of the people I know would have completely lost it in that situation and attacked anything and everything. I cant believe the corrupt and pathetic police had the nerve to ask the man for even one baht on the day he lost his son in such a preventable incident.

I suspect the ultimate outcome will be a campaign by the family to cost Pattaya as much money as they can by warning others not to come here with their kids. So much for Pattaya becoming a legitimate place for family tourism, maybe they should warn people at the airport to not get pissed off if their kids end up killed on holiday.

[SoiGirlHunter]

un fn believable!

i cant even type

[daveh]

I just can't believe this is true!

So what is being sugested here is;

1) they knew where the boy was but did not tell the father untill the news arrived

2) When the news arrived they then showed the body to the father and the news crew.

3) When the father reacted to this inhuman treatment they fined him 12,000 bht.

This is lower than anything I have ever read in my life!

I tell you right now, if that was my son I would take matters into my own hands, heads would roll even if it took me years.

I just can't believe this happened.

I just can't believe you read all that into what was posted. When reading the story online, nowhere did it say they waited for the news crew to show up nor that they even knew where the body was. Although, it is a closed system, one only need follow the pipe to find the body.

What has been consistently reported is that the father went after a reporter's camera with spanners (wrench in American). He probably was forced to pay for the damage done to the camera, not a "fine" that the police collected.

I agree that the father was not entirely out of line in how he acted. The reporter should have know what was going to happen and got out of there.

If you really want to make a difference, find out who this reporter is boycott all papers that he works for. Send letters to the editor of all papers that will listen about him. It is terrible what the father had to go through.

Dave.

[endure]

The lack of understanding by the Thai media about how foreign deaths should be treated is shocking. I lived by Phuket Airport when the OnetToGo plane crashed and was given some horrific video taken by the local news media as they pulled out the bodies.

It's about time the Thai media started to understand that the world does not end at the borders of Thailand. There are many foreigners in Thailand, all with different cultural and religious believes. In many western cultures, filming a death/suicide/murder victim is an absolute no-no.

It's about time that those foreigners who lived in Thailand realised that if they want to be surrounded by the mores and customs of the west then Thailand is the wrong place to be.

[DP25]

If you really want to make a difference, find out who this reporter is boycott all papers that he works for.

Unfortunately I don't think a Thaivisa boycott of Thai language newspapers is going to be terribly effective.

[emancipationthailand]

.............................

The Thai media publications are the powerhouses in Thailand. They do lots of covered illegal/unethical activities. For instance, they held a lots of fund raising dinners and lavish and extremely overpriced PR events, to put out the good words / extorting from rich business mans. I do not have explicit evidents yet, but some of you here may know what i'm talking about.

With regards to the father of the drown boy, the treatment packages's the matter of whose death, or how would the media saw the profit making opportunities.

Also, i can't really start bashing the Thai medias in this board cos they are the forum's provider. LOL

[chiangdan]

un fn believable!

i cant even type

Yep totally sickening. These are the actions of civilized people. How could anyone ask for compensation in such circumstances shame on the thai media and police. I havae heard some tales of things that go on in thailand but this really takes the cake the lowest of low.

[geriatrickid]

I don't want to come off as an apologist for parts of the Thai media, because I'd have slugged someone as well, but I do understand why there was restitution. The wrench reportedly inflicted some damage. Despite being an act that was provoked and the result of an emotional outburst from a distraught bereaved parent, it was still a wrongful act and one can't go around slugging people and damaging their property when those people have a legal right to be there, even when they are obnoxious, odious and devoid of compassion. (And please I am not judging the gentleman implicated because, I know I would have reacted in a similar manner.)

To those that think that media intrusion is "acceptable" behaviour in Thailand or found only in Thailand, think again. In the UK, there is currently a police investigation underway in respect to a certain newsgroup's electronic snooping of personal info. Pictures of naked and deceased celebrities grace the publications of many western newspapers. for example, you can get a copy a dead BeeGee's autopsy complete with some very personal details from a prominent western newsource. This kind of voyeuristic instrusion is as common to Thais as it is to westerners. Yes Thais read the tawdry details gobbling up the info. Are they any different than westerners that are devoted fans of the Smoking Gun, National Enquirer, Hello, People etc.? You can watch a man getting tortured to death or gored or blown up on dozens of websites hosted in the west. Thai media certainly would not have printed a foreign prince's poetic tampon metaphor, nor would have Thais rushed out to humiliate someone in that manner. Yet, this was done in the western press, despite evidence now being given that the information was obtained by illegal means.

So please, someone tell me how the Thai media and Thai people are any worse than their western counterparts?

Human beings love a good car crash and they'll slow down to gawk, whether they are in Bristol, Topeka, Nairobi or Pattaya.

[Insight]

The lack of understanding by the Thai media about how foreign deaths should be treated is shocking. I lived by Phuket Airport when the OnetToGo plane crashed and was given some horrific video taken by the local news media as they pulled out the bodies.

It's about time the Thai media started to understand that the world does not end at the borders of Thailand. There are many foreigners in Thailand, all with different cultural and religious believes. In many western cultures, filming a death/suicide/murder victim is an absolute no-no.

It's about time that those foreigners who lived in Thailand realised that if they want to be surrounded by the mores and customs of the west then Thailand is the wrong place to be.

Judging by the tourist figures and other stories surfacing recently, they are.

[dttk0009]

I just can't believe this is true!

So what is being sugested here is;

1) they knew where the boy was but did not tell the father untill the news arrived

2) When the news arrived they then showed the body to the father and the news crew.

3) When the father reacted to this inhuman treatment they fined him 12,000 bht.

This is lower than anything I have ever read in my life!

I tell you right now, if that was my son I would take matters into my own hands, heads would roll even if it took me years.

I just can't believe this happened.

I can. TiT.

[thaihome]

I don't want to come off as an apologist for parts of the Thai media, ....

So please, someone tell me how the Thai media and Thai people are any worse than their western counterparts?

Human beings love a good car crash and they'll slow down to gawk, whether they are in Bristol, Topeka, Nairobi or Pattaya.

Nice try, but a voice of reason is lost in these types of threads.

TH