Dear Tomv,
Thank you for your comments. Your blog has been bookmarked on my browser for some time now and I find it to be a superb source of information. I'm glad that you're now contributing to this forum.
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Originally Posted by tomv
As a political term, "populist" is usually pejorative everywhere as far as the international media is concerned.
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FOX News's Bill O'Reilly doesn't seem to mind being tagged with the label "populist", it actually seems like he relishes it. Come to think of it, Sondhi is sort of like Thailand's answer to O'Reilly. Both are egotistical, self-righteous, ultra-nationalist, and shameless self-promoters.
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Originally Posted by tomv
Have you lived in China? I have. You can't read cnn.com over there. Their filter works on emails, too, so those containing certain keywords will be blocked (I learned this the hard way). Off the internet and in the real world, the Chinese government needless to say doesn't suffer a daily barrage insults from virtually every single newspaper, like the current Thai government does. There is no comparison, but somehow Thaksin critics manage to make such hyperbolic claims without undermining their own credibility.
I'll give it a try. So a poll is being now used to determine the state of media freedom in Thailand, while many self-styled freedom lovers are busy rejecting the voter’s wisdom in electing the country's leader? That strikes me as rather weird.
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I don't think anyone on this board is suggesting that Thailand's media situation is equivalent to China's. Far from it. The point I was trying to make was that given the ability and the opportunity - this government would LOVE to be able to exercise the same amount of control over the media that the CCP does. Don't take my word for it - the gov't has made its intentions all too transparently clear through its words and actions.
The Thai media is one of the freest in SE Asia. But that doesn't me we should rest on our laurels. I asked in another thread whether we should all sing China's praises because they have a better human rights record than North Korea's. I think fair-minded people would agree that that's madness. Just because Thailand's media situation is better than Cambodia's (hardly an accomplishment) gives us no excuse to downplay our problems. We also need to pay attention to the DIRECTION that the situation is headed. And Thailand's ranking by "Reporters Without Borders" is sadly indicative of that direction.
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Originally Posted by tomv
To comprehensively debunk these claims about media suppression will require more than a few more lines I intend to write. So I suggest reading Thai newspapers for yourself. Not only will you find that the real anti-government ones make The Nation look like a poodle, but you'll find that the much-vaunted Thai "journalism" consists of humdrum who-says-what stenography, turbocharged with opinionated, sensationalist headlines. The "pro-government" dailies (Thai Rath and perhaps Matichon?) are now at best on the fence. Does this look like a country that actively suppresses press freedom?
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My Thai reading ability is not good to the point where I can keep up with all the dailies on a daily basis. Fortunately, I have many friends and relatives who do read them, so I'm aware of the type of stuff that's printed in Thai Post and Naew Na. And yes, the Nation is quite mild by comparison. Nevertheless, the anti-government papers' readership is tiny, concentrated almost entirely in Bangkok. What really matters is what's being said in Thai Rath, Daily News and television. As far as I know, these guys like to avoid the whole Sondhi vs Thaksin issue as much as possible.
Duncan McCargo touches some of the issues you mentioned on the quality of Thai journalism. His book is a bit dated, but still my reference of choice on the subject. Yes, Thai news articles read like "he-said, she-said" stories, and are often bereft of analysis or context. Analysis is lumped with opinions and editorials, where of course it's impossible to find any objectivity. Professionalism is also sorely lacking, even with the English dailies. Reporters and editors often don't bother to double-check their facts. Thai journalism has many flaws of its own making, and I'd be delighted to discuss this further on another thread.
The lack of quality in Thai journalism, however, gives Thaksin no excuse to treat the press the way he does. Look at America's CBS and the Bush National Guard story. Everyone agrees that CBS screwed up badly, but I didn't see anyone at the White House threatening to sue for libel. Those involved behaved like mature adults and the affair was settled fairly. Perhaps if Thaksin conducts himself in a more professional manner, the press could be inspired to follow suit.
I look forward to hearing more from you. Again thanks for your comments.
Best,
Tettyan