BBC says it will respect Thai laws while maintaining its integrity

[webfact]

BBC says it will respect Thai laws while maintaining its integrity 
By Wasamon Audjarint
The Nation

 

The BBC’s World Service Group director Fran Unsworth, right, and the broadcaster’s executive editor for Asia, Iain Haddow, deliver a special lecture at Thammasat University's Tha Pra Chan campus on Wednesday.

 

BANGKOK: -- Defending journalists’ right to cover justifiable stories while not breaking domestic laws are editorial principles adhered to by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said a director of the UK-based broadcaster.

 

The remark was a direct reference to the case in which the BBC via BBC Thai published a controversial article in December that was shared on Facebook by more than 2,000 times, including by activist Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa, who was charged with violating the lese majeste law and the computer crime bill and is in prison in Khon Kaen.

 

Other consequences of the story included police visiting BBC’s Thai office in Bangkok, with staff there keeping a low profile in the following months. 

 

The Government’s Deputy Spokesman Lt-General Werachon Sukondhapatipak also went to BBC headquarters in London after the article was posted on the BBC Thai website and he met with BBC executives.

 

The BBC’s World Service Group director Fran Unsworth said the BBC explained to him its editorial values and ensured him it would abide by the laws of the country for the safety of its staff.

 

“It’s important to note that the article in question was written and published at the BBC head office in London,” Unsworth said. “No BBC Thai staff based in Thailand played any part in writing or publishing the article. Nor did our Bangkok-based news-gathering staff.”

 

The BBC does not wish to offend anyone, she said, “least of all the Royal family”.

 

Unsworth, together with the BBC’s executive editor for Asia, Iain Haddow, spoke about media freedom in an increasingly authoritarian world at a special classroom lecture at Thammasat University’s Tha Pra Chan campus on Wednesday.

 

Despite the talk’s rather controversial title, it did not attract military officers, who often observe public discussions deemed by the junta government to be critical to “national security”.

 

The lecture was organised in a rather closed manner, with around 30 students and only three journalists attending the session.

Apart from remarks on Thailand, Unsworth’s lecture mostly touched on authoritarian trends on the global landscape, media struggles and how the freedom of media should be defined amid this atmosphere.

 

“To retain the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters must be aware of their responsibilities too,” she said. “We constantly have to be aware that there’s a balancing act between untrammelled freedom of expression and its potential impact.”

 

On Thursday, the director will attend a discussion on global media digitalisation at Chulalongkorn University and be joined by Nation Multimedia Group editor Thepchai Yong.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30310743

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-03-30

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[true word]

At least my cable tv company removed bbc which is good but looking forward to see fox news removed too.

[rkidlad]

Thank you, BBC. Someone has to respect the laws here. Be an example to so many of the affluent locals who treat it like a toy. 

[kannot]

unable to comment..............again

[kowpot]

24 minutes ago, true word said:

At least my cable tv company removed bbc which is good but looking forward to see fox news removed too.

Why is Fox news the most popular news organization in the USA.  It has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined. I don't care which one somebody watches. Except Fox must be doing something right. More Americans are watching it instead of the others.

Fox News Channel Crowned 2016’s Most Watched Basic Cable Network

[Bluespunk]

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The lecture was organised in a rather closed manner, with around 30 students and only three journalists attending the session.

Says a lot about freedom of speech and thought in the current climate.

[Bluespunk]

8 minutes ago, kowpot said:

Why is Fox news the most popular news organization in the USA.  It has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined. I don't care which one somebody watches. Except Fox must be doing something right. More Americans are watching it instead of the others.

Fox News Channel Crowned 2016’s Most Watched Basic Cable Network

Entertainment that panders to prejudice and the lies people choose to believe 'trump' reality and the truth for a great number of people.

 

Hence fox's success.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Bluespunk

[JAG]

At least my cable tv company removed bbc which is good but looking forward to see fox news removed too.

You are obviously a great believer in freedom, both of the press, the media, and of the Thai people.

Tell us, do you relish the "slap of firm government"?

[sirmud63]

BBC & integrity in the same sentence .  

[Bluespunk]

3 minutes ago, sirmud63 said:

BBC & integrity in the same sentence .  

As they should be.

[ddavidovsky]

Obviously a PR exercise to play down recent controversy. But the BBC caters to a global audience and is funded by UK taxpayers who want transparent global news and analysis - ridiculous if they are basically agreeing that they won't cover any story that Thailand doesn't want it to, whether it's to do with LM or anything.

 

Why don't they just publish Thailand items of this kind from outside Thailand and do without the local reporter's by-line, rather than put their local reporters at risk?

[kowpot]

30 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Entertainment that panders to prejudice and the lies people choose to believe 'trump' reality and the truth for a great number of people.

 

Hence fox's success.

Could you produce a reference for that please!

 

[true word]

40 minutes ago, kowpot said:

Why is Fox news the most popular news organization in the USA.  It has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined. I don't care which one somebody watches. Except Fox must be doing something right. More Americans are watching it instead of the others.

Fox News Channel Crowned 2016’s Most Watched Basic Cable Network

by rednecks 

[Chip Allen]

Which simply tells us that they have no integrity. You either believe in freedom of speech, or you don't. There is NO middle ground.

[Asiantravel]

1 hour ago, true word said:

At least my cable tv company removed bbc which is good but looking forward to see fox news removed too.

Up to you if you want to watch propaganda channels but don't impose your low standards on everyone else!

[true word]

33 minutes ago, JAG said:

You are obviously a great believer in freedom, both of the press, the media, and of the Thai people.

Tell us, do you relish the "slap of firm government"?

bbc is biased, it is not even close to aljazeera

[Jai Dee]

A couple of troll posts and replies have been removed from this thread.

[JAG]

bbc is biased, it is not even close to aljazeera

Geographically, politically, ethnically or in terms of the quality of its broadcasting?

Tell us, do. You see I'm sure no one here minds in the slightest if you choose not to listen to or watch their output. Quite a lot of us are not impressed with the idea of that choice being made for us.

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa, who was charged with violating the lese majeste law and the computer crime bill and is in prison in Khon Kaen.

Yes Jatupat by the time you walk out of the prison door the world will be a wonderland to you. Duck the flying cars. 

[Chip Allen]

1 minute ago, JAG said:

Geographically, politically, ethnically or in terms of the quality of its broadcasting?

Tell us, do. You see I'm sure no one here minds in the slightest if you choose not to listen to or watch their output. Quite a lot of us are not impressed with the idea of that choice being made for us.

One thing about the BBC...you can ALWAYS expect them to be on the side of truth and freedom.

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

“No BBC Thai staff based in Thailand played any part in writing or publishing the article. Nor did our Bangkok-based news-gathering staff.”

Is this not similar to Thaksin living abroad and yet his children are being asked to pony up back taxes. 

[darksidedog]

This does go to the heart of the matter. What can you say and where can you say it? The BBC published the story in London, not here.

It found its way here through Facebook. By the Juntas standards, no one can say anything bad about Thailand, anywhere, but that's just not feasible.

How could anyone anywhere in the world know what was happening in the world, if every country did the same thing?

Freedom of speech is about being able to say what you can show to be true. And the truth as they say often hurts.

[Classic Ray]

I find the best approach is to use a variety of media, compare and contrast, and the reality may be somewhere in there.

 

Journalists are always a target for any authoritarian regime, as they expose uncomfortable truths. It happened in South America, South Africa and many other countries.

 

Well done to the BBC for sticking to its principles whilst recognizing the situation under which their journalists operate.

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, Classic Ray said:

I find the best approach is to use a variety of media, compare and contrast, and the reality may be somewhere in there.

 

Journalists are always a target for any authoritarian regime, as they expose uncomfortable truths. It happened in South America, South Africa and many other countries.

 

Well done to the BBC for sticking to its principles whilst recognizing the situation under which their journalists operate.

A good reply targeted to the point. I have seen lesser articles garner a SLoad of likes yours deserves a few more. 

[Bluespunk]

57 minutes ago, kowpot said:

Could you produce a reference for that please!

 

Nope.

 

It's based on watching the alt-right/right of centre right wing garbage fox churns out.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Bluespunk

[jesimps]

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

Entertainment that panders to prejudice and the lies people choose to believe 'trump' reality and the truth for a great number of people.

 

Hence fox's success.

One thing I like about Fox, the anarcos and liberals hate it. Don't they?

[kannot]

1 hour ago, true word said:

bbc is biased, it is not even close to aljazeera

which is  full of ex  BBC staff

[Bluespunk]

33 minutes ago, jesimps said:

One thing I like about Fox, the anarcos and liberals hate it. Don't they?

Nah, we love it.

 

Always good to know what garbage the alt right choose to believe.

 

Hilarious in many cases.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Bluespunk

[kowpot]

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Nope.

 

It's based on watching the alt-right/right of centre right wing garbage fox churns out.

Oh my! I think it is snowing in Thailand.