Surprised to read so much about CM, its local troubles, and national water shortages in NYT. That would be the New York Times, most influential newspaper in English speaking world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/business/international/household-debt-and-signs-of-drought-squeeze-thai-economy.html?ref=world

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

Yes. Obviously.

O.P. It's not surprising, The New York Times has excellent international coverage.

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

Yes. Obviously.

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

Yes. Obviously.

Apparently not in the the emoticon speaking world.

OP. Thanks for sharing that excellent New York Times article about the Thai economy.

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

Yes. Obviously.

Apparently not in the the emoticon speaking world.

OP. Thanks for sharing that excellent New York Times article about the Thai economy.

Yes. Obviously.

Apparently not in the the emoticon speaking world.

OP. Thanks for sharing that excellent New York Times article about the Thai economy.

I don't get the humor. What am I missing? Hard to tell from only an emoticon... I thought the article was excellent and an accurate accounting of the economy here. There is a crisis looming....100%. Many Thais are up to their ears in debt. Careless spending on their numerous credit cards, new cars they didn't really need.....same old lesson they didn't seem to learn from the mistakes made in the West.

Thomas Fuller lives in Thailand and does very thoughtful reporting. Part of why we subscribe to the International NYT is to read his articles. Good to see this article has made the global edition, not just the Asian edition. It appears to be well-researched and a good overview of the problems facing the country. Yes, there's a reason the NYT is the most influential newspaper in the English-speaking world, this article is a good example, as is the fact that the NYT has full-time coverage of the situation in Thailand.

Pretty sure the laughter is for the "most influential" comment. Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and/or Financial Times advocates would probably tend to disagree.

Good article, thanks for posting it.

The high level of debt and low level of water have got to be making many uncomfortable, irritable, and even nasty.

" most influential newspaper in English speaking world. "

Really?

Yes really.

Remember Marshall McLuhan's perceptive comment years ago: "You don't read the Sunday NY Times, you enter it like a warm bath."

I think he means in 'the American speaking world".

The Times (UK) and the Guardian (UK) are high quality papers also.

The NYT might have the circulation and influence in the USA, but let's not get carried away.

I think he means in 'the American speaking world".

The Times (UK) and the Guardian (UK) are high quality papers also.

The NYT might have the circulation and influence in the USA, but let's not get carried away.

The New York Times has a readership and influence that go far beyond "the American speaking world."

So does the Daily Mail................

Lets settle this once and for all...as much as you talk about England or the United States media......in the end its Rupert Murdoch's (a former Australian) empire as a conglomerate is the most influential....politics/economy/sport/finance.....all of it

Apparently not in the the emoticon speaking world.

OP. Thanks for sharing that excellent New York Times article about the Thai economy.

You must be the Marcel Marceau of Thai Visa.

If you don't agree with the proposition at least argue it by nominating other publications instead of using inane emoticons.

So does the Daily Mail................

True enough... but the New York Times has a more educated [and influential] readership worldwide.

So does the Daily Mail................

True enough... but the New York Times has a more educated [and influential] readership worldwide.

and if my Aunty had balls she's be my Uncle........

And to me...it was interesting but superficial.....no real analysis or where to now, hardly in depth and more of a water cooler (or Thaivisa) discussion..

It would have been nice if its was more substantial than gathering coup, third world economy, and rainfall to make an article. Its a bit sad if this is the level of fluff being directed at the "more educated [and influential] readership worldwide"

Can we get back to the CM focus now instead of who has the better news service....coz all in all this was not a good example to base a claim on.

So does the Daily Mail................

True enough... but the New York Times has a more educated [and influential] readership worldwide.

and if my Aunty had balls she's be my Uncle........

And to me...it was interesting but superficial.....no real analysis or where to now, hardly in depth and more of a water cooler (or Thaivisa) discussion..

It would have been nice if its was more substantial than gathering coup, third world economy, and rainfall to make an article. Its a bit sad if this is the level of fluff being directed at the "more educated [and influential] readership worldwide"

Can we get back to the CM focus now instead of who has the better news service....coz all in all this was not a good example to base a claim on.

My simple statement of fact was answered by a ribald put-down.

You're not a Daily Mail reader, are you?

The relative merits of the New York Times as a newspaper is indeed germane to the topic.

I stand by what I posted.

So does the Daily Mail................

At least the NYT is not MICT blocked in Thailand.

LOL.. the second I read that extra qualification of the paper I knew this would trigger a massive derailment of the topic.

Lessons learned: don't dangle ANY side-comment out there no matter how innocuous, because it may just be the actual highlight of the day to some people.

But unfortunate especially as the original poster DID successfully clear the most common trap to forum posting. (Taking care to mention Chiang Mai in the title and post itself, when posting an article that isn't directly related to Chiang Mai. ) Or else it gets hauled off by the mods. Now it gets hauled off by trolls and pedants.

Anyway, as it seems that I'm among the few who actually read the article, I think it's a but early to claim a drought, given that the rainy season isn't quite over yet and often has a bit of a sting in the tail.

Also tourist numbers aren't all that bad, and besides don't affect farmers in any way. Pretty average article overall.

Anyway, as it seems that I'm among the few who actually read the article, I think it's a but early to claim a drought, given that the rainy season isn't quite over yet and often has a bit of a sting in the tail.

Also tourist numbers aren't all that bad, and besides don't affect farmers in any way. Pretty average article overall.

I enjoyed the article but as you say it was average. Actually for the NYT pretty good. It was interesting that it did not exactly blame the government in that it did mention a world wide turn down. Much of it hinted at the past administration and completely avoided the present one. Leaving readers to believe Thailand is unique and not going to change just go down hill. All of course done in a polite way. As you say the rainy season is not over yet and it is not high season. That will tell about the tourist coming to Thailand. The tally is of course way down as the country was being promoted world wide as unsafe. When in fact it was only a few areas in Bangkok. They don't count the south when they recommend safety or lack of safety.

As of now it is sit back and watch the show. All we can do is get some popcorn.

Recession by the middle of next year in addition perhaps?

I'm not a huge fan of Thomas Fuller's (His reporting of the conflicts leading up to the coup was often very one-sided), but I thought this was an excellent article.

The quote "The economy is the bread and butter of legitimacy" is right on the money, and Fuller zeroed in on all of the current threats to the Thai economy. The water shortage could have a significant affect on farmers and cause a rift between urban and agricultural areas as it does in many parts of the world (and the potential shortage is already serious enough for the PM to "request" the farmers not to plant a second crop); All of the events of the last year or so have definitely affected tourism, and "not that bad" isn't good enough for all those workers who depend on and have a vested interest in it being very healthy; the political situation and weak demand have hit the manufacturing base and exports; and everyone is aware of Thailand's decade-plus problem with skyrocketing household debt.

So farming, tourism, manufacturing, exports and consumer spending--which make up most of Thailand's economic base--are all in trouble. That doesn't bode well for a military-backed government, which have historically not done well managing economies in any country in the world. And its good journalism to call direct attention to this potential perfect storm, which may or may not come to fruition.

Good article, pulls everything together nicely and brings it home with local examples. Thanks for posting.

PS Despite some issues of its own, I don't think any other newspaper can claim to be as influential on a worldwide basis as the NYT. And the fact that they have their own reporters out doing stories like this, which is very rare these days (most use stringers or wire services), is a very good thing for those of us who like to see good journalism from around the world.

let me see, rice farmer borrows 200,000bht for kids education.

Education for the poor, at most of the 'RAT' universities is 25,000bht per year .......

The numbers don't add up!

So does the Daily Mail................

At least the NYT is not MICT blocked in Thailand.

That's because it's afraid to tackle the tough stories like "VIP stays in hotel and has tent for his cars".

Pretty sure the laughter is for the "most influential" comment. Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and/or Financial Times advocates would probably tend to disagree.

Precisely. I could have gone with 'one of the most...' but there are other newspapers of record around the world that are equally influential.

let me see, rice farmer borrows 200,000bht for kids education.

Education for the poor, at most of the 'RAT' universities is 25,000bht per year .......

The numbers don't add up!

I wondered about that too, but maybe her child isn't in a teacher's or farmer's college. Maybe the kid is at Chula or Thammasat and has fees for dorm, books, lab fees, uniforms, transportation and perhaps even tutoring because of substandard secondary public school education.

Pretty sure the laughter is for the "most influential" comment. Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and/or Financial Times advocates would probably tend to disagree.

Precisely. I could have gone with 'one of the most...' but there are other newspapers of record around the world that are equally influential.

Being influential is not equal to responsible. The NYT has been living off it's reputation for a while now in my opinion.

This story was put in because they didn't have any real news. It was just filler material.