Thai Newspaper Run Digital Altered Photo

MEDIA BLUNDER

Newspapers urged to be more careful

BANGKOK: The Thai Journalists Association has called on the media to be careful in their news coverage and the way they display photographs of the southern violence.

Bakban Boonlert, spokesman for the Thai Journalists Association, said the association was aware the media had to race against time to cover news about violent attacks in the deep South. However, it should be more careful in presenting news stories and photographs as the southern situation was a sensitive issue. The association's warning comes after Thai-language Krungthep Thurakij newspaper ran a digitally altered photo of Wednesday's violent clash in its April 29 publication.

The newspaper showed the photograph of a dead militant with a knife in his left hand. In fact, the man held a sheath, not a knife.

Krungthep Thurakij yesterday ran the original, unaltered photo the following day and apologised for displaying the ``wrong photo'', which it said resulted from production errors.

Duangkamol Chotana, editor of Krungthep Thurakij, told the association that the newspaper immediately took corrective action once it realised that a mistake was made to prevent public misunderstanding.