German reporter 'attacked' by PCAD at Constitutional Court

[casualbiker]

This time it's a bit different though. General Prayuth seems to know what he's doing.

Not sure how do you mean "different".

The coup leaders already said they won't disband parties, and that eventually there will be elections held.

Just saying things could be different a couple of years from now.

Agree that they learned from past mistakes as far as handling things, and that from a PR/social psychology point of view -

someone is doing superb work, really. Not saying this to downplay what they are doing, quite the opposite - rather impressed

with how prepared they were on many levels.

I hope that at least some of the initiatives they promote will stick for the long term future.

What like free haircuts and free tickets to Naresuan 5? That stuff might delight people who already support the coup but it might well come across as patronising to those who don't. Social media response to the latter iniative seems pretty mixed. But there's nothing like a good piece of chest thumping nationalism to get people to forget about their petty internal squabbles and to remember that the real enemy is... the Burmese. lol.

As for Nick, those who accuse him of being a propagandist sound far more like propagandists than he does, especially as they've never adduced any evidence to show that he's been deliberately lying or twisting the truth in his reports for political purposes (i.e. propaganda). But the people that say this stuff are the same people that think that the BBC and The Economist have been bought off by The Economist. It's just conspiracist claptrap.

You don't have to lie to spread propaganda!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Emptyset]

This time it's a bit different though. General Prayuth seems to know what he's doing.

Not sure how do you mean "different".

The coup leaders already said they won't disband parties, and that eventually there will be elections held.

Just saying things could be different a couple of years from now.

Agree that they learned from past mistakes as far as handling things, and that from a PR/social psychology point of view -

someone is doing superb work, really. Not saying this to downplay what they are doing, quite the opposite - rather impressed

with how prepared they were on many levels.

I hope that at least some of the initiatives they promote will stick for the long term future.

What like free haircuts and free tickets to Naresuan 5? That stuff might delight people who already support the coup but it might well come across as patronising to those who don't. Social media response to the latter iniative seems pretty mixed. But there's nothing like a good piece of chest thumping nationalism to get people to forget about their petty internal squabbles and to remember that the real enemy is... the Burmese. lol.

As for Nick, those who accuse him of being a propagandist sound far more like propagandists than he does, especially as they've never adduced any evidence to show that he's been deliberately lying or twisting the truth in his reports for political purposes (i.e. propaganda). But the people that say this stuff are the same people that think that the BBC and The Economist have been bought off by The Economist. It's just conspiracist claptrap.

You don't have to lie to spread propaganda!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

No, I suppose you could just present a very selective version of the truth. But Nick's reports focus on what was happening on the street, not on promoting Thaksin. He's admittedly sympathetic to the reds, and wants to help get their side of the story across. But that's not necessarily "propaganda" either. Journalists often look to give people they think are being ignored a voice. For you to substantiate a claim that his work is propaganda, I think you'd either have to show specifically that he's deliberately omitted truths which you know he was aware of, or that he's lied. Anyway, the people that consistently label him a propagandist tend to believe the red shirts are no more than thugs and goons, who have no ideas of their own other than those put their by Thaksin. So when someone spends a long time on the streets with those people and challenges this simplistic perception, naturally their first instinct is to label him a propagandist, and that's because these people are unable to cope with complexity and nuance and things like that.

I should say that I wouldn't label Yon a propagandist if all he did was what Nick does. Spending time with the PDRC, taking pictures, getting their side of events and presenting that in a sober way. No problem at all with that and it could be a very useful thing. I was hopeful he would do that but at the one clash he witnessed (Thai-Japanese stadium) he tried to report on what he'd seen - which suggested the NPRST weren't all that peaceful and that the police response was more or less proportionate - his fans tore into him and accused him of being bought off. So he decided that it was pointless trying to make any sort of effort in documenting the truth. Clearly his followers were unwilling to put up with anything that wasn't plain and simple propaganda. So instead of going out on the streets to bear witness to clashes, he just decided to spend his time insulting the red shirts and posting endless one-sided pro-PDRC "commentary" (usually just recycled memes that PDRC supporters already came up with). That's propaganda.

People like Yon, Amsterdam and a few others are simply propagandists who are best off ignored. People like Nick, Crispin, Ron Morris from 2bangkok.com - they have their sympathies but they're all still very much worth reading and taking seriously as sources of useful information. You just need to be aware that what they're portraying might not be the whole picture.

[casualbiker]

" You just need to be aware that what they're portraying might not be the whole picture."

That's certainly true of all news items these days.

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[waza]

Not sure how do you mean "different".

The coup leaders already said they won't disband parties, and that eventually there will be elections held.

Just saying things could be different a couple of years from now.

Agree that they learned from past mistakes as far as handling things, and that from a PR/social psychology point of view -

someone is doing superb work, really. Not saying this to downplay what they are doing, quite the opposite - rather impressed

with how prepared they were on many levels.

I hope that at least some of the initiatives they promote will stick for the long term future.

What like free haircuts and free tickets to Naresuan 5? That stuff might delight people who already support the coup but it might well come across as patronising to those who don't. Social media response to the latter iniative seems pretty mixed. But there's nothing like a good piece of chest thumping nationalism to get people to forget about their petty internal squabbles and to remember that the real enemy is... the Burmese. lol.

As for Nick, those who accuse him of being a propagandist sound far more like propagandists than he does, especially as they've never adduced any evidence to show that he's been deliberately lying or twisting the truth in his reports for political purposes (i.e. propaganda). But the people that say this stuff are the same people that think that the BBC and The Economist have been bought off by The Economist. It's just conspiracist claptrap.

You don't have to lie to spread propaganda!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

No, I suppose you could just present a very selective version of the truth. But Nick's reports focus on what was happening on the street, not on promoting Thaksin. He's admittedly sympathetic to the reds, and wants to help get their side of the story across. But that's not necessarily "propaganda" either. Journalists often look to give people they think are being ignored a voice. For you to substantiate a claim that his work is propaganda, I think you'd either have to show specifically that he's deliberately omitted truths which you know he was aware of, or that he's lied. Anyway, the people that consistently label him a propagandist tend to believe the red shirts are no more than thugs and goons, who have no ideas of their own other than those put their by Thaksin. So when someone spends a long time on the streets with those people and challenges this simplistic perception, naturally their first instinct is to label him a propagandist, and that's because these people are unable to cope with complexity and nuance and things like that.

I should say that I wouldn't label Yon a propagandist if all he did was what Nick does. Spending time with the PDRC, taking pictures, getting their side of events and presenting that in a sober way. No problem at all with that and it could be a very useful thing. I was hopeful he would do that but at the one clash he witnessed (Thai-Japanese stadium) he tried to report on what he'd seen - which suggested the NPRST weren't all that peaceful and that the police response was more or less proportionate - his fans tore into him and accused him of being bought off. So he decided that it was pointless trying to make any sort of effort in documenting the truth. Clearly his followers were unwilling to put up with anything that wasn't plain and simple propaganda. So instead of going out on the streets to bear witness to clashes, he just decided to spend his time insulting the red shirts and posting endless one-sided pro-PDRC "commentary" (usually just recycled memes that PDRC supporters already came up with). That's propaganda.

People like Yon, Amsterdam and a few others are simply propagandists who are best off ignored. People like Nick, Crispin, Ron Morris from 2bangkok.com - they have their sympathies but they're all still very much worth reading and taking seriously as sources of useful information. You just need to be aware that what they're portraying might not be the whole picture.

Herr Nick problem is that he's partisan rather than Impartial. That make all his reports biased, he may not tell lies but he does report only from one perspective. This also makes him a target for the frustrated side who is not getting a fair shake. One example would be the investigation into the temple shootings, his comments on this forum had the troops hung, drawn and quartered before the investigation was in full swing, absolutely rejecting any other possible scenario.

Edited June 12, 2014 by waza

[Morch]

This time it's a bit different though. General Prayuth seems to know what he's doing.

Not sure how do you mean "different".

The coup leaders already said they won't disband parties, and that eventually there will be elections held.

Just saying things could be different a couple of years from now.

Agree that they learned from past mistakes as far as handling things, and that from a PR/social psychology point of view -

someone is doing superb work, really. Not saying this to downplay what they are doing, quite the opposite - rather impressed

with how prepared they were on many levels.

I hope that at least some of the initiatives they promote will stick for the long term future.

What like free haircuts and free tickets to Naresuan 5? That stuff might delight people who already support the coup but it might well come across as patronising to those who don't. Social media response to the latter iniative seems pretty mixed. But there's nothing like a good piece of chest thumping nationalism to get people to forget about their petty internal squabbles and to remember that the real enemy is... the Burmese. lol.

As for Nick, those who accuse him of being a propagandist sound far more like propagandists than he does, especially as they've never adduced any evidence to show that he's been deliberately lying or twisting the truth in his reports for political purposes (i.e. propaganda). But the people that say this stuff are the same people that think that the BBC and The Economist have been bought off by The Economist. It's just conspiracist claptrap.

No, not like tickets to the cinema and police bands playing for the public.

I was referring to the way they apply certain good governance initiatives which can be seen as positive by most Thais.

Sort of what the governments were supposed to be doing. Granted that some of these moves are for show, and some

might not last, but I think they are generally well received anyway.

On the other hand, they haven't been too aggressive yet, and most restrictions placed aren't a deal breaker for most Thais.

Someone obviously handles Prayuth as far as media goes, non of them more colorful interviews of old.

Not cheer-leading or singing their praises, just saying that they seem to handle the public relations and image rather well,

especially compared with previous times. Seems to me there's a smart cookie or two on-board.

Haven't seem all that much nationalistic trends, not real negative ones, so far. Not sure what you're on about with the

Burmese.

Don't think I ever used the word "propagandist", nor did I ever claim the BBC or the Economist were on someone's payroll.

That still doesn't make Nostitz's or Head's reports objective and unbiased. Worthy to note that at his latest incident with the

PCAD guards (outside the court), he was targeted while Head wasn't. Some of his troubles may possibly have to do with

his personal interaction style and sometimes fiery nature (as some may have witnessed on this forum).

[Dumu Ali]

funny how farang think they can control and tell another country to do and how farang support corrupt dictators like Thaksin

farang I feel lack cross culture understanding

[siampolee]

Dumu Ali post # 246

funny how farang think they can control and tell another country to do and how farang support corrupt dictators like Thaksin

farang I feel lack cross culture understanding

"Mirror mirror on the wall.''

In truth the post # 246 should indeed must be read thus.

funny how Thai's think they can control and tell another country to do and how Thai's support corrupt dictators like Thaksin

Thai's I feel lack cross culture understanding.