We Have The Right To Be Paranoid; Thai Press Freedom

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We have the right to be paranoid

By Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation

Rule number one for people in the media industry is that whenever the government is mulling a law on "press freedom", they cannot trust what they see. And paranoid is exactly how we feel at the moment after closely inspecting through the microscope one such bill approved by the Cabinet.

Maybe you don't have to be an alarmist to be alarmed by the bill on "protection of media freedom and liberty and promotion of journalistic standards". It can scare you at first glance, so to speak.

The fact that media experts and professionals played a key role in mapping out the bill doesn't help. If a supervisory "committee" is to be set up through a largely political process, which is funded by government money and obliged to report to Parliament, the future looks far too doubtful for comfort.

First things first. The committee will be empowered to approve or endorse the status of any "media organisation" (presumably when questions arise). On paper, this may sound all right, but with the media - an industry susceptible to political influences, intervention or interference - this authority can easily be subject to abuse or, at least, controversy. And the proliferation of small, partisan media groups, both conventional and digital, will make things even more complicated.

In other words, what will such a committee do when it comes to a group of "journalists" pushing for an unorthodox agenda? What will it do if it receives a complaint that certain journalists received funding, directly or indirectly, that can be traced to some controversial figures?

At present, it's a free market. The environment has its shortcomings, but it's as democratic as we can get. Let this supervisory panel enter and unconventional media outlets may be at risk, which may defeat the bill's proclaimed purpose of fostering media freedom.

The committee's secretariat will have a strange status as a part-independent, part-state mechanism. We understand that this is made necessary by proposed state funding. Money is good, but where and how it comes about will raise questions about integrity and independence of such a committee.

To be fair to the Abhisit Vejjajiva Cabinet, it did raise reservations on the status issue. The Cabinet reportedly wanted the committee to be a totally independent body that is funded in a less controversial way. The Council of State has been asked to find a way to make that possible.

Another contentious point is that the proposed panel's structure will involve members appointed, ominously, by a selection committee - a process that we will see the government's hand, more or less.

Make no mistake though, the bill does have its good points. Chief among them is that it will purportedly protect journalists from persecution, especially those who work in sensitive fields, such as government media outlets. However, as they say, only the paranoid can survive.

The bill was formulated with considerable input from media academics and professionals. It was drafted when two issues were clashing - the political intimidation of journalists and journalists pursuing (allegedly) dubious political agendas. What we've got, therefore, is a bill on "freedom protection" that may turn into a bill that restricts freedom instead.

The concept of "free media" may be defeated right from the start by the requirement that a "media organisation" must be one classified so by a supervisory committee. Journalism is a strange animal to begin with. Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

Is such a bill necessary? Ironically, those who say "yes" are those who complain about the "quality" of today's media. It is these very people who should be really paranoid right now.

-- The Nation 2011-01-07

[bangon04]

In other words, what will such a committee do when it comes to a group of "journalists" pushing for an unorthodox agenda? What will it do if it receives a complaint that certain journalists received funding, directly or indirectly, that can be traced to some controversial figures?

What? - you mean like the Army? or higher...

At present, it's a free market. The environment has its shortcomings, but it's as democratic as we can get. Let this supervisory panel enter and unconventional media outlets may be at risk, which may defeat the bill's proclaimed purpose of fostering media freedom.

This is a very interesting definition of free market. and democratic....

[bangon04]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

[spidermike007]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

[tigermonkey]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

"The primary purpose of directed media is to convince the masses, whose slowness of understanding needs to be given time so they may absorb information; and only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on their mind."

[housepainter]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

The standards of journalism in Thailand have steadily gone down the pan over the last decade.

I find both English Newspapers gutless and cowardly in their reporting. Buying a newspaper has become a disappointing experience and the thing is finished with minutes after buying.

Huge double page ads fill the pages, content is down and coverage is supefficial. Set aganst this the concern over independence and press freedom. It makes me laugh. Journalists may cry fredom but they never exercise it. If you want to read the facts, detail and full version of what took place you have to refer to the internet. And then it's on sites outside of Thailand as Thaivisa quakes in its shoes as does T k Dor.

The reality is being 153 rd ranked in the world means that self censorship exists. That is worse than actually having a censoring regime in power. It is the gutless journalists themselves that cow tow and accept this censorship.

I remember my blood boiling when some stupid Thai cow visited North Korea and reported in 'Horizon' as if she were visiting Disney World; 'Mickey followed us everywhere on our guided tour of citizens performing a flower parade in honour of the Great Leader.'

It was so bland and that was about a foreign country. Worse it was about a foreign country whose foreign policy didn't matter two hoots to thailand and yet there still was no honest, objective assessment.

Press Freedom? If they had what would they do with it? Worse they exorcise a Thai version of glossing over the truth, avoiding the controversial, never going anywhere near investigative journalism or righting wrongs, criticising the powers that be or simple recognising the truth when they stumble upon it.

Useless.

And the original OP article was probably censored before it ever went to press.

Amazing.

Edited January 7, 2011 by housepainter

[Steely Dan]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

The standards of journalism in Thailand have steadily gone down the pan over the last decade.

I find both English Newspapers gutless and cowardly in their reporting. Buying a newspaper has become a disappointing experience and the thing is finished with minutes after buying.

Huge double page ads fill the pages, content is down and coverage is supefficial. Set aganst this the concern over independence and press freedom. It makes me laugh. Journalists may cry fredom but they never exercise it. If you want to read the facts, detail and full version of what took place you have to refer to the internet. And then it's on sites outside of Thailand as Thaivisa quakes in its shoes as does T k Dor.

The reality is being 153 rd ranked in the world means that self censorship exists. That is worse than actually having a censoring regime in power. It is the gutless journalists themselves that cow tow and accept this censorship.

I remember my blood boiling when some stupid Thai cow visited North Korea and reported in 'Horizon' as if she were visiting Disney World; 'Mickey followed us everywhere on our guided tour of citizens performing a flower parade in honour of the Great Leader.'

It was so bland and that was about a foreign country. Worse it was about a foreign country whose foreign policy didn't matter two hoots to thailand and yet there still was no honest, objective assessment.

Press Freedom? If they had what would they do with it? Worse they exorcise a Thai version of glossing over the truth, avoiding the controversial, never going anywhere near investigative journalism or righting wrongs, criticising the powers that be or simple recognising the truth when they stumble upon it.

Useless.

And the original OP article was probably censored before it ever went to press.

Amazing.

Surely having censorship, whether it be legislated or self imposed, is becoming less and less relevant with the internet rapidly replacing newspapers just as newspapers did town cryers before them. I would be more concerned about being ranked just above Saudi Arabia for press freedom if the authorities were doing a better job of controlling internet access, but they clearly aren't as it takes but minutes to get round any censorship attempts.

[jayjay0]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

You copied that from another thread. And of course neglected to print the part about not OK to talk about a certain Family residing in Thailand. Repeal those law's and you will see a rise to the top 50 in freedom of speech.

Ask yourself if Thailand was as bad as you want people to think would they allow papers like the nation to exist. Unless they wanted gobbledegook to represent news.

They limit the freedom of press to those dedicated to turmoil and rightfully so. We all should have the rite to pick up a news paper and read it with out trying to figure out what the truth really is what are they hiding. It is people like you who fight to take away our personal rights so that big business can do what they want. Maybe you should read some of the local papers. There is always some thing about the opposing party and it's corruption and ineptness. As viewed by the minority.

[jayjay0]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

The standards of journalism in Thailand have steadily gone down the pan over the last decade.

I find both English Newspapers gutless and cowardly in their reporting. Buying a newspaper has become a disappointing experience and the thing is finished with minutes after buying.

Huge double page ads fill the pages, content is down and coverage is supefficial. Set aganst this the concern over independence and press freedom. It makes me laugh. Journalists may cry fredom but they never exercise it. If you want to read the facts, detail and full version of what took place you have to refer to the internet. And then it's on sites outside of Thailand as Thaivisa quakes in its shoes as does T k Dor.

The reality is being 153 rd ranked in the world means that self censorship exists. That is worse than actually having a censoring regime in power. It is the gutless journalists themselves that cow tow and accept this censorship.

I remember my blood boiling when some stupid Thai cow visited North Korea and reported in 'Horizon' as if she were visiting Disney World; 'Mickey followed us everywhere on our guided tour of citizens performing a flower parade in honour of the Great Leader.'

It was so bland and that was about a foreign country. Worse it was about a foreign country whose foreign policy didn't matter two hoots to thailand and yet there still was no honest, objective assessment.

Press Freedom? If they had what would they do with it? Worse they exorcise a Thai version of glossing over the truth, avoiding the controversial, never going anywhere near investigative journalism or righting wrongs, criticising the powers that be or simple recognising the truth when they stumble upon it.

Useless.

And the original OP article was probably censored before it ever went to press.

Amazing.

Well said If it were not for the laws against talking about certain people They would be very much higher.

But as you said so what the ad's would still take up the papers and there would be no investigative journalism. That is for three reasons

1 It would take a honest qualified reporter to do the job

2 There is not that many with both qualification's

3 The editors would not print it. All they want is the head line to be slanted in the most attractive way to separate some one from there money so they can go to a advertiser and say look how many papers we sell.

[spidermike007]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

You copied that from another thread. And of course neglected to print the part about not OK to talk about a certain Family residing in Thailand. Repeal those law's and you will see a rise to the top 50 in freedom of speech.

Ask yourself if Thailand was as bad as you want people to think would they allow papers like the nation to exist. Unless they wanted gobbledegook to represent news.

They limit the freedom of press to those dedicated to turmoil and rightfully so. We all should have the rite to pick up a news paper and read it with out trying to figure out what the truth really is what are they hiding. It is people like you who fight to take away our personal rights so that big business can do what they want. Maybe you should read some of the local papers. There is always some thing about the opposing party and it's corruption and ineptness. As viewed by the minority.

Wow. When jayjay0 says that Thailand would not let the Nation exist, if they were concerned with censorship, it shows how out to lunch this man truly is. The Nation exhibits very, very little press freedom. When they have one of their infrequent investigative pieces, it is ALWAYs about a foreign nation, or something happening outside of the coutry. And he mentions that lese majeste is the cause of the censorship. Talk about a lack of understanding. It is the inability of many of many Thais to engage in self criticism, that is the root cause of this problem. They are bad, and we are great. The monarchy has nothing to do with this. The King is beloved for good reason. The Nation is also extremely selective in printing reader editorials. More so, than most papers. Same with the Bangkok Post. I am not referring to those dedicated to turmoil. I am talking about a people's ability to look within for solutions. I am talking about self reflection, and the ability to root out problem areas, such as corruption, political incompetence, issues with the police being ineffective, etc. Get the message.

[jayjay0]

Whereas doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and so on require degrees or licences to operate, someone without a normal or proper education can be a better journalist than university graduates as long as he or she is guided by a right conscience.

But maybe cannot be trusted to vote the educated way.

There is very, very little press freedom in Thailand. The country is ranked in the 150's, out of 178 countries, by reporters without borders, which tracks such things. It is ranked 153, just below Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Two spots about Saudi Arabia. if you see an investigative piece here, it is always about the international community, and NEVER about Thailand. When is the last time you have seen an investigative piece about the corruption commission, or the Prime Ministers office, or about vote buying, or anything else, that is the slightest bit inward looking? It just does not happen. And I wonder if the press is manipulated to that degree, do they also have the power to plant false info in the press, such as how well the tourism sector is doing right now, or what the economic growth numbers look like? Food for thought?

You copied that from another thread. And of course neglected to print the part about not OK to talk about a certain Family residing in Thailand. Repeal those law's and you will see a rise to the top 50 in freedom of speech.

Ask yourself if Thailand was as bad as you want people to think would they allow papers like the nation to exist. Unless they wanted gobbledegook to represent news.

They limit the freedom of press to those dedicated to turmoil and rightfully so. We all should have the rite to pick up a news paper and read it with out trying to figure out what the truth really is what are they hiding. It is people like you who fight to take away our personal rights so that big business can do what they want. Maybe you should read some of the local papers. There is always some thing about the opposing party and it's corruption and ineptness. As viewed by the minority.

Wow. When jayjay0 says that Thailand would not let the Nation exist, if they were concerned with censorship, it shows how out to lunch this man truly is. The Nation exhibits very, very little press freedom. When they have one of their infrequent investigative pieces, it is ALWAYs about a foreign nation, or something happening outside of the coutry. And he mentions that lese majeste is the cause of the censorship. Talk about a lack of understanding. It is the inability of many of many Thais to engage in self criticism, that is the root cause of this problem. They are bad, and we are great. The monarchy has nothing to do with this. The King is beloved for good reason. The Nation is also extremely selective in printing reader editorials. More so, than most papers. Same with the Bangkok Post. I am not referring to those dedicated to turmoil. I am talking about a people's ability to look within for solutions. I am talking about self reflection, and the ability to root out problem areas, such as corruption, political incompetence, issues with the police being ineffective, etc. Get the message.

Not sure what you are talking about. Are you? I said remove lese majeste and they would jump way up in the polls in my estamation the top 50. I never said it was the cause of censorship in the press

The Nation is free to print investigatory journalism if they want to. It is not however that kind of a news paper.(One step up from the National enquirer in the states)

I believe what you are talking about is your own personal freedom to print what ever you like. As you said the News Papers have the freedom to print what they want and apparently don't want your input so they don't print it.

No body is saying there is not censorship of the press in Thailand but a lot of people with the capacity are saying to them selves is it that bad and if it is why. Then there is the mindless horde always willing to believe any inane thing people say against a government NO questions asked.

You said

I am talking about self reflection, and the ability to root out problem areas, such as corruption, political incompetence, issues with the police being ineffective, etc. Get the message.

Yes I got the message you want them to muck rake on things the whole countrie knows are going on and they just don't bother to get excited about . They would be unwilling to buy papers that just talked about stuff they don't care about. And the papers have many short comings but financial suicide is not one of them.

On a side note I really don't know what investigative reporting is. I have 50 years of reading papers in The Seattle and Vancouver BC and can not remember reading one. I do know that there is some political motivated ones back east that do such a thing but it never amounts to any thing than to earn a living for some and entertain a lot of other people. O wait I just remember about 38 years ago there was some thing in the papers about the elected President that caused him to resign and the States for the only time in there history wound up with a unelected President.