Statement of Four Thai Professional Media Organizations

[Lite Beer]

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY
Statement of Four Thai Professional Media Organizations

BANGKOK: -- Since 2014, the media in Thailand have been facing more and various challenges. During the time of political protests in early 2014, the media were pressured by supporters of different parties in the political conflicts who wanted the media to take their side.

Meanwhile, some of the public have seen media as players in the conflicts, or a party to intensify the tensions instead of pulling the fuel out from the fire. Some cast doubts in the work and performance of the media.

Realizing the seriousness of the problems as well as the importance of the public's faith and trust in the media, the four professional media organizations , namely the Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the National Press Council of Thailand and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand, have joined hands in attempt to solve the problems.

Once the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took over the national administration power on 22 May 2014 (B.E.2557), the situation and the media freedom index for Thailand has dropped drastically in the eyes of the global community. That was because in the first period after the power seizure, the NCPO ordered many television and radio stations to go black out while asking newspapers to refrain from publicizing any opinions that could lead to opposition to the NCPO.

After that, the NCPO and its leader also issued the announcements that limit the media freedom and the people's rights to information. They include the NCPO's Announcement Number 97/2557, NCPO's Announcement Number 103/2557 and the Article 5 of the NCPO's Chief Announcement Number 3/2558 issued as authorized in the Article 44 of the 2014 Interim Constitution. Freedom of the press and the people's rights to information are not less important than the people's privacy and individual's rights to be protected from the media's violation. At the same time, the media are obliged to work keeping social responsibility and Code of Ethics in mind.

On the World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2015, the four professional organizations propose demands as follow:

The NCPO must quickly revoke its Announcements Number 97/2557 and 103/2557 and the NCPO chief must quickly revoke his Announcement Number 3/2558 to create the environment for reconciliation with free and safe discussion. This comes especially at a time of national reform in Thailand. Therefore, it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country.

The media can be a good platform for discussion and market of ideas so that the country can be out of the political conflicts peacefully.

Revocation of the announcements would mean the NCPO is sending a good signal leading to a better image of the country on the people's rights. It would demonstrate to the global community that the enforcement of Thailand's laws used in the normal condition is enough as the tools to take action against the media who violate the rights of the people. The media professionals can do their job properly without the need of any special laws or measures.

2. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand must be independent from any interference from the state power. The agency was established with the will of the people to be independent body to freely and justly allocate frequencies, which is national asset, for the public interest. Meanwhile, all media organizations should work professionally and responsibly under the law, Code of Ethics and Code of Conducts with the effective self-regulation to uphold the freedom of the press.

3. The people and the media consumers should realize in the changed media landscape in Thailand. With the use of technologies, a lot of people, not only the media professionals, can create the content and spread the information to the wide public. The information receivers, then should use be careful and use their consideration while consuming the information.

The current time of drafting the Constitution is a good opportunity for the people to submit and share their opinions on the laws for the sake of the country. Meanwhile, the main law supports the existence of professional media organizations to protect freedom of the press, to keep good professional and ethical standards for the media as well as to consider and take measures in case of media misconduct or violation.

The people violated or damaged by the work of the media are eligible to petition to the National Press Council of Thailand and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand as well as exercise their legal rights to take action against the violating media.

4. The media professionals and the owners of the media business should keep in mind the roles and obligations of the media to the public according to the professional and ethical standards. They should support the people for the exchange of ideas as a way to the solutions for the country. Thailand then can achieve reconciliation and national reform and be out of the great crisis.

The four professional media organizations urge all parties in society to respect the freedom of the press and people's rights to information, which will be account greatly for the good governance of the country and eventually the public interest.

Thai Journalists Association;

Thai Broadcast Journalists Association;

National Press Council of Thailand;

News Broadcasting Council of Thailand

3 May 2015

Source:
-- The Nation 2015-05-03http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Statement-of-Four-Thai-Professional-Media-Organiza-30259246.html

[NongKhaiKid]

Thai and professional in the same sentence !

it's not bashing before the the trolls start just

[noitom]

Well intentioned appeal but surprisingly poor writing for professional Thai journalists.

[zaphod reborn]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

alt=cheesy.gif width=32 height=20> Thai and professional in the same sentence ! alt=cheesy.gif width=32 height=20>

it's not bashing before the the trolls start just alt=cheesy.gif width=32 height=20>

Well intentioned appeal but surprisingly poor writing for professional Thai journalists.

Agreed. Before making any demands, get your own house in order. Do professional work and then there can be a discussion about being treated like professionals.

[canuckamuck]

The writing is better than usual IMO.

I am impressed that they are having a go at getting some of their rights back. Kind of ballsy to make demands these days.

A free press and a complete overhaul of defamation laws would go a long ways to bring some accountability to this circus.

[Lite Beer]

NCPO urged to scrap three media-gagging orders

BANGKOK: -- Four core media organizations today urged the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to revoke three of its orders issued by virtue of Section 44 of the interim constitution which they claim have restricted the basic rights of the media and block access to information of the people.

The call for the restoration of free expressions by the media and public rights of access to information was contained in a statement issued to mark the World’s Media Freedom day today by the Thai Journalists Association, the National Press Council, the Broadcast Media Reporters Association and the Broadcast Media Council.

TJA president Wanchai Wongmeechai said that the media situation last year was an important turning point as the media came under pressure from both pro and anti-government factions then to the extent that the media appeared to be held hostage and viewed negatively as part of the conflict by all political groups.

He said that the media then was in a position that it could no longer be depended upon by the people, hence the proliferation of “ad hoc media” bent on serving vested interests of different political groupings.

Then came the coup of May 22 followed eventually by the issuance of orders 97/2557, 103/2557 and 3.2558 of the NCPO that the four core media organizations said have restricted their basic rights and obstructed public rights of access to information.

The revocation of the three orders will help improve the image of the country as far as free expressions are concerned.

Broadcast Media Reporters Association president Thepchai Yong, meanwhile, called on the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to be independent and free from interference from the government’s sector.

He also called on members of the media to realize their role toward the society and to perform their duties in a responsible manner in accordance with the ethical standards and professional code of conduct and to open their media space for all political groupings to air their views.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ncpo-urged-to-scrap-three-media-gagging-orders

[oneday]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

[papa al]

Well intentioned appeal but surprisingly poor writing for professional Thai journalists.

Guessing they normally publish in Thai rather than a foreign language.?

[stevenl]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

Ah, the media don't know what is happening but you do. Thanks for enlightening us.

[kimamey]

Well intentioned appeal but surprisingly poor writing for professional Thai journalists.

Guessing they normally publish in Thai rather than a foreign language.?

Do they not have access to translators then? There are lots of them around. They could try asking for recommendations from farangs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[kimamey]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

Ah, the media don't know what is happening but you do. Thanks for enlightening us.

I agree. I've been back in the UK for several months and it seems I've lost touch with Thai politics. I didn't know the yellow shirts were a political party or that they'd ever been in power. I do remember them protesting against the Democrats over their handling of the Preah Vihear Temple confrontation.

Anyway I'm up to date now.

[GeckosDiving]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

[seajae]

the media need to stop trying to sensationalize everything and writing the truth before anyone can take them seriously. The last thing we need is the media causing divisions like the red tv has been doing till they were shut down last week, the current leaders might not be perfect but there is a lot less of the problems Thailand was facing before they took over. When we see the media continually writing there own biased version of events or simply making it up to sell more papers or gain viewers what can they expect. Instead of printing the garbage being propagated by biased journo's they need to be honest, only have to see what some of the sh*t they write in here says to see that. I always thought journalists were supposed to write the truth not make it up to suit themselves,the thai media has a long way to go before they can call themselves professionals.

[oneday]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

Ah, the media don't know what is happening but you do. Thanks for enlightening us.

The media does know what is happening and they also know they are pis...ing in the wind.

Saying they don't understand was a bit a drama for the audience, too bad you didn't get it.

[Godders]

the media need to stop trying to sensationalize everything and writing the truth before anyone can take them seriously. The last thing we need is the media causing divisions like the red tv has been doing till they were shut down last week, the current leaders might not be perfect but there is a lot less of the problems Thailand was facing before they took over. When we see the media continually writing there own biased version of events or simply making it up to sell more papers or gain viewers what can they expect. Instead of printing the garbage being propagated by biased journo's they need to be honest, only have to see what some of the sh*t they write in here says to see that. I always thought journalists were supposed to write the truth not make it up to suit themselves,the thai media has a long way to go before they can call themselves professionals.

If I were you, I'd stick to sniffing the franjipani.

[Fat Haggis]

The seeds of discontent are manifesting more and more as each day passes.

The writing of truth can viewed in two ways .

An English tourist in Australia recently wrestled a shark in shallow waters, and killed it after it was seen swimming around a terrified little girl, he has been hailed as a hero all over the world.

In Australia however newspaper headlines "Pommie bastard kills little girls pet shark !! " ?

[jayboy]

the media need to stop trying to sensationalize everything and writing the truth before anyone can take them seriously. The last thing we need is the media causing divisions like the red tv has been doing till they were shut down last week, the current leaders might not be perfect but there is a lot less of the problems Thailand was facing before they took over. When we see the media continually writing there own biased version of events or simply making it up to sell more papers or gain viewers what can they expect. Instead of printing the garbage being propagated by biased journo's they need to be honest, only have to see what some of the sh*t they write in here says to see that. I always thought journalists were supposed to write the truth not make it up to suit themselves,the thai media has a long way to go before they can call themselves professionals.

There are always going to be quislings who embrace repression and who hate freedom of expression.The slight mystery is why foreigners should want to take this role and why those that do are invariably inarticulate and dense.It would be quite encouraging to see an intelligent well informed defender of the current regime - but so far just dim bulbs.

[stevenl]

"...it is necessary that the people from different groups can have opportunities to submit their opinions and proposals how they want to see the future of the country..."

Nice try, but what you in the media fail to understand is the current government clearly represents the "Yellow Shirts" and they have no intention of letting go of their stranglehold. To ensure they stay in power they are force feeding a constitution down the throats of the Thai people; a constitution that will ensure the "Yellow Shirts" stay in power for years to come and they are systematically stamping out the opposition one-by-one so they will be too weak and downtrodden to present a problem for years to come.

In order to perpetuate the momentum of this draconian steamroller called the "j...ta" they can't have a fair minded media pointing out all this to the Thai public so the orders restricting the media will stay in place for a long time to come.

...but nice try.

Ah, the media don't know what is happening but you do. Thanks for enlightening us.

The media does know what is happening and they also know they are pis...ing in the wind.

Saying they don't understand was a bit a drama for the audience, too bad you didn't get it.

Of course, after being caught giving wrong information/telling lies here, easiest thing to do is to blame the audience.