"chiangmai Mail" Newspaper ... Is It Avoiding Us?

[Oneman]

.

Is the Chiangmai Mail newspaper tending to suppress news about expats?

I don't know, so I'm asking here for observations.

Reason for asking:

There is a little email newsletter in Chiangmai which makes the rounds every weekend, "The Sunday Funnies".

It's a great source of jokes, and I always look forwarding to reading it.

However, in this week's edition, something very strange -- a break from the normal humor:

The Chiangmai Mail" has systematically eliminated news of the farang population. They have eliminated all articles and photographs of interest for the past month to the CHIANGMAI FARANG POPULATION.

If you'll note, there are hardly any photographs of farangs. The society page used to be mainly farangs and now there are none. This is an English language publication and they have lost sight of who their audience is. ...

Since the Chiangmai Mail is the local, English-language newspaper here, that's a significant statement.

So, I searched this forum for other comments on the Chiangmai Mail.

That turned up this URL:

Am I The Only One

Fed

-

up

With Cm Mail's Reporting?

...

through it quickly online - 2 minutes is enough.

www.thaivisa.com/forum/Fed-Cm-Mail-s-Reporting-t297973.html

Looks like the situation has been discussed here before.

However, clicking on the link brings up this error message:

Sorry, the link that brought you to this page seems to be out of date or broken.

So, I am asking regular readers of the Chiangmail newspaper, is the situation described above accurate, or not?

And, if it is accurate, is the trend significant for expats living in Chaingmai, or not?

Thank you.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Oneman

[Tywais]

However, clicking on the link brings up this error message:

That's because the previous topic was deleted for liability/defamation issues. So with that in mind, if members can keep it civil this topic can run.

[john b good]

Anyone that buys Chiang Mai Mail needs their heads read unless it has improved one he11 of a lot in the last year or two

Most of the photos in it were of the editor Murray doing / visiting somewhere or other.

And the news was at least two weeks out of date.

Piggy's could give it a shot "for wrapping their F & C in.

On second thoughts Piggy don't as it would only ruin the good reputation you're building up.

[gotlost]

Answere to your question is YES so due as I did stop using it

[earlofwindermere]

Personally, I like the Chiang Mai Mail and find it quite informative for local information. As an expat, I do enjoy reading about some of the local expat news. However; as a longer term resident, I prefer to know what is happening in the wider community. Local politics, news and events are far more significant and important to my life than the latest happenings at the Chiang Mai Expat Club.

For a small ENGLISH paper in a Thai-speaking city, I think that the Chiang Mai Mail does a decent job.

I'm curious, what specific expat events or news is not included that you would like to see covered? From my experience, a simple phone call or email to the paper usually results in a reporter covering events.

[caf]

I think that the point being made was that it is covering less expat news than it used to. Looking at the last few issues that seems to be true. Has the photographer moved on? Maybe that has something to do with it.

[earlofwindermere]

If seeing photos of people holding a cocktail is deemed as important to cover, then I would agree that there is less of those kinds of photos.

However; my opinion is that there seems to be more local news lately. For example, there was a very interesting article in the paper this week about the local police raiding a lot of NGOs who work with migrant workers.

Whoever is sending out the "Sunday Funnies" is obviously trying to drum up readership by slamming others. The simple fact that the email says that the Chiang Mai Mail has "eliminated all articles and photographs of interest" is a tad bit extreme.

[waltercronkite]

The CM Fail is just another Chiang Mai vanity business that serves no real purpose ( almost no one reads it and they have very few advertisers ) but somehow they seem to never to quite fade away. The writers are 3rd rate, the "reviews" are really advertisements and everyone knows it. There is almost nothing worth reading in almost every issue. It really is only useful to wrap Charlie's Fish and Chips. However, what no one ever talks about publicly (and the administrators can delete this if they need to, but it is 100% true).

One Thai businesswoman told me that they "reviewed" her business without asking her, but afterwards kept hounding her to advertise with them while insinuating that she "owed" them and might get a negative review next time unless she paid them back. She finally made a deal that she would advertise with them for a short period of time if they would please leave her alone after that.

I had a similar experience with them and so have several friends, but we were all afraid to complain publicly.

One businessman told me that right after he had stopped advertising with them for several years, they praised a close competitor to high heaven in the very next issue and signed them up to take his place.All of this is an open secret to many local businesses who have had dealings with them in the past, but everyone is afraid to pick a fight with someone who can tear them apart in print once a week, and does not seem to need any advertising income to do it.Their little tricks and lack of ethics really should be public knowledge.

Edited September 26, 2009 by waltercronkite

[venturalaw]

The CM Fail is just another Chiang Mai vanity business that serves no real purpose ( almost no one reads it and they have very few advertisers ) but somehow they seem to never to quite fade away. The writers are 3rd rate, the "reviews" are really advertisements and everyone knows it. There is almost nothing worth reading in almost every issue. It really is only useful to wrap Charlie's Fish and Chips. However, what no one ever talks about publicly (and the administrators can delete this if they need to, but it is 100% true).

One Thai businesswoman told me that they "reviewed" her business without asking her, but afterwards kept hounding her to advertise with them while insinuating that she "owed" them and might get a negative review next time unless she paid them back. She finally made a deal that she would advertise with them for a short period of time if they would please leave her alone after that.

I had a similar experience with them and so have several friends, but we were all afraid to complain publicly.

One businessman told me that right after he had stopped advertising with them for several years, they praised a close competitor to high heaven in the very next issue and signed them up to take his place.All of this is an open secret to many local businesses who have had dealings with them in the past, but everyone is afraid to pick a fight with someone who can tear them apart in print once a week, and does not seem to need any advertising income to do it.Their little tricks and lack of ethics really should be public knowledge.

Interesting information. If true it's perhaps a reason why they never have experienced true success. Bush-league tactics never bring about positive notoriety.

[canopus1969]

The CM Fail is just another Chiang Mai vanity business that serves no real purpose ( almost no one reads it and they have very few advertisers ) but somehow they seem to never to quite fade away. The writers are 3rd rate, the "reviews" are really advertisements and everyone knows it. There is almost nothing worth reading in almost every issue. It really is only useful to wrap Charlie's Fish and Chips. However, what no one ever talks about publicly (and the administrators can delete this if they need to, but it is 100% true).

One Thai businesswoman told me that they "reviewed" her business without asking her, but afterwards kept hounding her to advertise with them while insinuating that she "owed" them and might get a negative review next time unless she paid them back. She finally made a deal that she would advertise with them for a short period of time if they would please leave her alone after that.

I had a similar experience with them and so have several friends, but we were all afraid to complain publicly.

One businessman told me that right after he had stopped advertising with them for several years, they praised a close competitor to high heaven in the very next issue and signed them up to take his place.All of this is an open secret to many local businesses who have had dealings with them in the past, but everyone is afraid to pick a fight with someone who can tear them apart in print once a week, and does not seem to need any advertising income to do it.Their little tricks and lack of ethics really should be public knowledge.

Sounds more like a business person with a chip on their shoulder - trying to find an excuse !

[WaiWai]

I always wonder why Chiang Mai Citylife monthly (free but with more advertisements) can offer good quality, engaging articles, editorials and more while Chiang Mai Mai -- oops, Chaing Mai Mail -- weekly (with fewer ads but for a price) cannot. I will flip through CMM if I happen upon a copy but there's rarely anything I want to wade -- aargh -- read through. The classified ads can be useful, particularly to newcomers, sometimes I'll skim through the doctor's column or the restaurant review but ... as others have noted, the "news" is mostly mouldy old dough, poorly (ghost?) written and/or promotional and ... well, simply numbingly dull and null and devoid of substance and direction ... not to mention dash and style, which Citylife has aplenty.

Pim of Citylife engages quite actively with her foreign readership through various means. Some of you will recall that she asked for suggestions on this forum before interviewing the former mayor. Pim declared her "bias". More recently, she has done the same with another local social/political issue. Pim's intelligence and engagement don't need to be underlined. I always read her editorials and articles. Pim is a also a highly talented writer. I may not always agree with her, but she always has my respect.

CMM clearly supported the former mayor and certain foreign groups associated with her. (Has that ceased?). However, their leaders appear to lack Pim's understanding of the "farang" appreciation of "transparency".

I don't know the intention of the CMM (perhaps to help us ingrates integrate better?).

Who knows?

[getgoin]

One Thai businesswoman told me that they "reviewed" her business without asking her, but afterwards kept hounding her to advertise with them while insinuating that she "owed" them and might get a negative review next time unless she paid them back. She finally made a deal that she would advertise with them for a short period of time if they would please leave her alone after that.

I had a similar experience with them and so have several friends, but we were all afraid to complain publicly.

I don't believe any of this and you joined Thaivisa and are complaining publicly on your very first post.

The big problem that the Sunday Funnies person has with the Chiang Mai Mail is that he also runs the Dining Out arm of the Chiang Mai Expats Business Company and he was used to having his groups routinely in the paper. Now, they may have decided to take a different approach to the social scene (not having the same people in the pictures week after week) and he feels left out. And what did the Sunday Funnies have to do with slamming another business in town?

I have not noticed any difference in the reporting. The Chiang Mai Mail was never about reporting on the foreign scene but was always about reconstituting local news stories.

After reviewing the last 4 issues online I do not notice any difference in the social scene pictures and they actually seem to reflect a larger segment of the Chiang Mai community. Maybe they are changing for the better?

Edited September 26, 2009 by getgoin

[Tywais]

Again, attacks and accusations have been made of a business and too many responses to just "clean up" the topic, as such ...

//Closed//