Study finds few investigative reports on TV

[Lite Beer]

Study finds few investigative reports on TV
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- ONLY a combined six hours and five minutes - altogether 13 stories broadcast by seven TV stations - could be regarded as "investigative reports, the Media Monitor project has said. Of TV stations assessed in a study from August 22-September 22 last year, Spring News had six investigative reports, Nation TV four stories, Bright TV two, TNN one, while NewTV and ThaiTV showed no investigative reports during the study period.

The favourite topic for investigative reports on television news was corruption and abuse of power, followed by conflict over resource utilisation, human rights and ethics violation, according to project director Uajit Wirojtrairat. There was also a story on cultural conflict in a television investigation report, she said.

But the pattern of "investigative reports" was mostly just narrative or simply explanations, she said.

Four stories were found making deep analysis to see the root causes of problem, he said. Only two stories were reported in disclosure style, she said. Only one story in the study could lead to the wrongdoer in the controversy, she added.

The Media Monitor did the study in collaboration with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission to review media freedom, ethics and quality of media reports.

Factors which determine the quality of investigative reports in television were political restriction, business success and a lack of resources, she said.

Nation Group Editor Thepchai Yong commented that the report was a good initiative but there were many factors that could determine the success of investigative reports. Investigative reports in Thai media mostly depend on the experience of the journalists involved.

Investigative reports should not only focus on political stories but also social aspects. The challenge was how to build social awareness to encourage quality investigative reports in the country, he said.

Media organisations might need to some mechanism to support investigative reports, he said.

"Investigative reports require teamwork so media organisations should give importance to making good human resources for this kind of work," said Thepchai, who is also chairman of the Thai Broadcasting Journalists Association.

Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative journalism director Suchada Jakpisut said the study was done after the coup, so it was understandable to see few investigative reports as all media was censored or asked to self-censor, she said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Study-finds-few-investigative-reports-on-TV-30254103.html

-- The Nation 2015-02-14

[KhunMoo]

Well...with the draconian libel-laws, LM-legislation and the computer crimes act. Is this really a surprise?

Nobody wants the truth here....mai pen rai.

[tbthailand]

Well...with the draconian libel-laws, LM-legislation and the computer crimes act. Is this really a surprise?

Nobody wants the truth here....mai pen rai.

in addition to the fact that investigating and exposing what is happening can get you killed...

no, it's not a surprise.

In addition, they make the point at the end...

the study was done after the coup, so, you know, "surprise"...

[T_Dog]

One thing you would never see here is a report on how government officials acquired their wealth. You can find news stories from abroad poking on the outsides but a reporter in Thailand would quickly find themselves in an uncomfortable position if they tried to add any meat to a story. Corruption and the steering of money is at the root of the current problems.

[yellowboat]

Well...with the draconian libel-laws, LM-legislation and the computer crimes act. Is this really a surprise?

Nobody wants the truth here....mai pen rai.

True, and the junta is just going to make this worse.

[samsensam]

if ever there was a country crying out for some decent investigative journalists it must be here.

[chainarong]

Any investigative media done in Thailand the investigative person generally ends up either Disappeared or wakes up dead, with no freedom of the media or protection, one can imagine that the 13 investigative TV reports was on the weather, because they wouldn't dare investigate some of the Generals of Thailand's or the establishment elites past activities.

[noitom]

Thai press doesn't have anyone capable of investigative journalism. Digging, fact checking, logic, ethics, structure, professional standards. All goes against Thai culture and character. No such thing as investigative journalism in Thailand.

[Caveat Emptor]

I can imagine if a tasty story with ' legs ' comes in the first thing is to look at who and what's involved and depending on the answer the story immediately dies.

[Fiddlesticks]

They should get a team of investigative journalists working on the hot news story about the two Brits that were caught stealing food off of someone else's plate. I can definitely see a Pulitzer coming out of this story.

Thieving Brits Caught On Camera Stealing Food At Phi Phi Cafe

[Thaddeus]

Brave Thai journalists do not exist, well, not for very long.

[Lupatria]

Well...with the draconian libel-laws, LM-legislation and the computer crimes act. Is this really a surprise?

Nobody wants the truth here....mai pen rai.

Some kind of journalistic evolution when the hub of the untouchables becomes the hub of the un-reportable

just

[WitawatWatawit]

The TV stations are businesses first, news organisations second. Investigative journalism is very costly, so if a TV station can't see adequate returns for their investment, then resources are simply not going to be allocated to this field of news. Newspapers around the world have been living with this fact for a very long time now - most notable being the greatest investigative newspaper of them all, the Wall Street Journal.

[arrowsdawdle]

Well...with the draconian libel-laws, LM-legislation and the computer crimes act. Is this really a surprise?

Nobody wants the truth here....mai pen rai.

Defamation paranoia is why you never see or read a legitimate review of anything from restaurants to entertainment. Even some of the TV so-called talent shows always advance even the worst performers and you never hear, "You suck, get off the stage." And look at the scripted outcomes of the national sport, muay thai, which lacks only the humour of U.S. wrestling, and the fixed football matches that make FIFA look like amateurs.

The land of smiles ought to be renamed, "The Land of No Surprises."

[Freed1948]

I have mentioned this before:

I once asked a well-known Thai reporter why there weren't any investigative reporters in Thailand.

He responded:"They are all dead"

[dru2]

'Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative journalism director Suchada Jakpisut said the study was done after the coup, so it was understandable to see few investigative reports as all media was censored or asked to self-censor, she said'.

Yes. And there were so very many investigative reports before the coup, I suppose...

[worgeordie]

There was only one investigative reporter in Thailand,reporting

on mainly Farang scams etc, and he was forced to leave Thailand

after reported threats on his family,although he is still putting

reports on his website from outside the country.

How many stories have you read about, murders,scams,corruption,

that you very rarely hear what actually happened in the end.

regards Worgeordie

[dru2]

There was only one investigative reporter in Thailand,reporting

on mainly Farang scams etc, and he was forced to leave Thailand

after reported threats on his family,although he is still putting

reports on his website from outside the country.

How many stories have you read about, murders,scams,corruption,

that you very rarely hear what actually happened in the end.

regards Worgeordie

Worgeordie, I am a Western journalist working in Thailand and I have been doing so - with a work permit - for more than 20 years. I learned early on not to meddle in Thai politics or corruption scandals after I was told that "I wasn't Thai and I didn't need to stay here" by a senior Thai politician who didn't like what I had written about his business empire in Cambodia.

Lesson learned - Thailand has proved an excellent base for writing about China, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia and other regional countries. But I stay away from negative comment on Thailand as a quid pro quo for being able to criticise neighbouring regimes. It may not be heroic, but I'm still here with wife and family and without threats and hassles.

[phoenixdoglover]

World Press Freedom Index 2014 - Thailand's Rank, #130 out of 180 countries.

[GinBoy2]

It took a 'study' to reveal this?

There never has been even the inkling of a investigative journalist here.

Even in the interludes between coups and martial law, LM and defamation laws are so draconian that no journalist in their right mind would dare to publish anything controversial for fear of imprisonment.

So news is relegated to reporting on the shooting of soi dogs, suicides of farangs and a multitude of traffic accidents and low level drug busts.

So why it took a study to reveal that no hard hitting Thai version of Watergate has yet surfaced baffles me. Then again grease my palm with a few million Baht and my survey will tell you whatever the Hell you want to hear

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

In a country where libel and defamation are criminally prosecuted offenses, and truth in reporting apparently is not considered an absolute and valid legal defense, it's no great surprise at the situation here.

Then pile on top of the government (past and present) and influentials meddling in the media, the history of retaliation against journalists, the sorry state of the Thai education system, and most Thais' general indifference to honesty and integrity in government, and you get a recipe for fluff and lakorns.

Edited February 14, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There's another thread running today on the murder of a land rights activist in the South, supposedly based on his activism.

The AFP report on the murder includes the following info relevant to this thread on journalism:

Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of activists in Thailand are commonplace, with few killers facing justice.

According to the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances there are at least 81 open cases of enforced disappearance in Thailand dating back as far the mid-1990s.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/800116-thai-land-rights-activist-murdered/

[connda]

[rametindallas]

World Press Freedom Index 2014 - Thailand's Rank, #130 out of 180 countries.

And the US is 49th!

http://index.rsf.org/#!/index-details/USA