Thai press under threat from itself: Editorial

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Thai press under threat from itself
The Nation

The traditional enemies of media freedom have been replaced by a fear from within

BANGKOK: -- If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." So said Noam Chomsky, the American social commentator, and his quote could well reflect the state of press freedom in Thailand.

At first glance Thailand enjoys a relatively good reputation for press freedom compared to other countries in the region. But freedom, as Chomsky pointed out, cannot be selective. If you truly advocate freedom, you have to grant the same rights to your enemy as well.

It's difficult to say whether Thailand has a free press or not. During periods of dictatorship the press was intimidated by the military, which had a stranglehold on politics. The law allowed the powers-that-be to close down newspapers, but that law was abolished two decades ago, after a tenacious campaign for press freedom. Blatant infringements on press freedom are long gone, but still Thailand can't claim to be a champion of the free press.

We should be in a better position, but some critics instead suspect we're entering a dark age. And the galling truth is that government interference is not the major issue, since the media volunteers to compromise on freedom.

Freedom is not something to compromise about. The press can't express a view on one issue and ignore another. Some media outlets fail or decline to report on certain issues, undercutting their responsibility as watchdogs. Media advocates have recently expressed frustration. Supinya Klangnarong, a media-rights advocate and member of the National Broadcast and Telecommunication Commission, says newspapers and TV news programmes must prove they work for the benefit of the public and that they are really free from interference from the state. Likewise, former Thai Journalists' Association president Samlee Kampa-u has urged the press to look within and ask whether they are free or slaves of capitalism.

Thailand's press is not free from government interference. Under former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the government meddled in various ways. Friendly media were rewarded with government-sponsored advertising, while anyone hostile was put under close surveillance. Thailand's press freedom from 2001-2006 was categorised as "partly free", and the country was ranked alongside nations considered backwards in most contexts.

Thailand might have travelled back in time to the Thaksin era, with press freedom under threat from "invisible" economic forces. Yingluck Shinawatra's government has followed in the footsteps of her fugitive brother in awarding advertising and government-related sponsorship to so-called friendly media. There are certain media outlets that shy away from reporting anything damaging to the government. It is worse when the mainstream media ignore this important issue altogether. And the worst situations arise when one newspaper unveils shortcomings in a government project while government-friendly outlets issue contrary reports, as if they were government mouthpieces.

Stories go untold not because of strict control over political news or any specific press law, but because of fear. The traditional enemies of the past are absent from our media landscape. The enemies of the Thai media now lie within each organisation and among the journalists themselves. The press has long struggled to achieve freedom of expression. Before exercising this hard-earned freedom, it must be realised that freedom can't be selectively exercised for anyone else's convenience. You have to make up your mind whether you want to be a free bird, with all its perils, or a caged one, with its spirit-crushing banality. That is how genuine freedom works.

-- The Nation 2013-10-16

[Thai at Heart]

Ooooh. Hilarious. It was obviously a much freer press during all those military governments, than in Thaksin time.

How many TV and radio stations are still military controlled. Thai media isn't free, never was and isn't right now. Thaksin is not the only bogey man.

In general, no Thais in power want the populous to really start wondering how it can be that they are in the position they are.

[soundman]

Nope, the press are very careful what they say here for fear of defamation suits, and physical intimidation & retaliation; and god forbid, investigative journalism is just a pipe dream when it comes to the misdeeds of dodgy, corrupt politicians and other business leaders, influential figures etc.

[noitom]

This editorial's premise is preposterous. Thai press doesn't check facts, ask questions, or do any digging and /or follow up at all. That's not a question of free press, it's a question of professional journalistic standards.

[noitom]

Thai press is the best entertainment that's come along in decades.

[HUAHIN62]

Good example of the limitation of press freedom or self censorship is the Bangkok Post. If you place a comment they dont like, even if its within their rules, they dont place it. In the end the comments you read on BP is the once that passed their censorship. The Nation on the overhand use your fb account to place comments with no censorship. So much for BP's public facade of freedom of speech.

[bigbamboo]

I'm afraid that Thais have the press they deserve.

[Curt1591]

Pretty much sums up the situation:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/672982-thai-army-chief-prayuth-cautions-media-against-criticism/