Thai editorial: Even celebrities deserve some privacy

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EDITORIAL
Even celebrities deserve some privacy
The Nation

Media coverage of TV star Por Tridsadee's medical affliction has gone too far; it's time to end such invasiveness

BANGKOK: -- It's difficult to imagine having a loved one in critical condition in hospital with the news media swarming around as if on some sort of death watch. And yet, for celebrities, this is the norm. People on the street will discuss the case. Commentators will speculate about the chances of survival. Little if any regard is spared for the family's feelings.

The Nation is among the news outlets that have taken an interest in the case of television star Tridsadee "Por" Sahawong, who has for more than a month been struggling to overcome complications arising from a dengue fever infection. His condition has at times been alarming enough to generate concern about public-health risks in general, given the country's inability to control the peril of dengue.

We have become appalled, however, by the dozens of other news outlets that have staked out positions at the hospital in the interest of monitoring every development, no matter how small. Their presence, tolerated by the hospital's administrators to a baffling extent, has on occasion been rude and invasive. Doctors and nurses are forced to erect a tent around Por's bed when transporting him to other wards, and yet photographers still feel compelled to sneak pictures through gaps in the curtain. The hospital arranges regular press briefings on Por's condition, and yet some reporters insist on probing further for scoops.

For the relatives of a patient in such circumstances, coping with sudden and severe illness is difficult enough. To have sustained media coverage far out of proportion to the issues at hand can only add to their trauma. Again, the spectre of media ethics arises. Again, the need to meet public demand for information is the problem.

Celebrities are understandably regarded as fair game in the news trade. They have put themselves in the spotlight and count on media coverage to further their careers, businesses and social interests. If the celebrity encounters misfortune, the coverage is no longer welcome, but they have already abdicated control.

Most reporters covering an unfortunate story like that of Por will admit that they're not proud of being a pest. Others have no compunctions about "doing their job" - defined here as getting the details, no matter how much of a disturbance they cause.

Thus we have a mob of reporters and photographers camped at the hospital where Por is being treated. They grasp at his friends and relatives as they come and go, demanding comment, heedless of infringing on anyone's right to privacy. Those close to Por are denied the chance to deal with a difficult situation without being hounded to share whatever they might be thinking.

Between the public's right to know and an afflicted person's right to privacy, there is no contest, regardless of that person's star status. Common sense dictates that compassion for the individual must prevail over the intrusive interests of the masses.

Unfortunately the news media in Thailand have violated the privacy of celebrities for so long that the practice is no longer seen as being unethical, let alone immoral. In most countries, individual rights would supersede public curiosity and reporters would be kept outside the hospital to prevent them from hampering patient care.

We are reminded of another high-profile case almost three decades ago. A TV news show broadcast film of the food served to former Prime Minister MR Kukrit Pramoj while he was in hospital, ostensibly to demonstrate that he was indeed eating. Kukrit was furious at this infringement on his privacy.

In most ways, times do not appear to have changed. In the case of Por, however, criticism of the press has been steadily mounting on the social media, and one doctor at the hospital has complained on Facebook about the media invasion.

It will be countered that the media are merely sating the public's appetite, but here they have the perfect opportunity to set an example. Curtailing their coverage of Por's case to just the hospital press conferences would be the morally correct first step.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Even-celebrities-deserve-some-privacy-30274119.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-02

[Krataiboy]

Sounds like sour grapes. Perhaps the Nation is finding it hard to compete for tidbits with the rest of the media sharks in this gruesome feeding frenzy. It doesn't usually balk at following the herd..

Let's face a depressing reality - not just in Thailand, but across the world, the word newspaper has long since been an oxymoron. The Press is simply giving an increasingly dumbed-down and "celebrity"-fixated proletariat exactly what they want - a diet of endless trivia which diverts their attention from the nefarious activities of the plutocracy which runs all our lives.

As Edward Bernays, "father" of modern public relations, sagely observed: ". . . we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons...who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”

[Dap]

Hey, we were here first. It's all the rest of

you who are creating the problems. Shame

on you all (but not us) for infringing on this

poor celebrities privacy. Shame on you!