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Thailand THE MEDIA
In the mid-1980s, the media played an important role as the
principal source of domestic and foreign news and, to a lesser
degree, as a source of public entertainment. All major daily
newspapers were privately owned, but radio and television
stations were controlled by the government and operated as
commercial enterprises. Newspapers were generally regarded as
more credible than the government-controlled broadcast media.
Mass media were under the broad supervision of the Public
Relations Department in the Office of the Prime Minister. This
department served as the principal source of news and information
about the government and its policies. It issued daily news
bulletins on domestic and foreign affairs for use by the print
and electronic media. News bulletins were also issued by other
government agencies, including the Thai News Agency, established
in 1976 under the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand, a
state enterprise under the Office of the Prime Minister. The Thai
News Agency concentrated mostly on domestic affairs; foreign news
was gathered from international wire services, which maintained
offices or representatives in Bangkok.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, which may
not be curbed except by law "for the purpose of maintaining the
security of state or safeguarding the liberties, dignity or
reputation of other persons or maintaining public order or good
morals or preventing deterioration of the mind or health of the
public." Most observers agreed that the Thai press enjoyed
considerable freedom. Nevertheless, in the 1980s editorial
writers and reporters continued to exercise self-censorship,
mindful that there were unwritten but real government
constraints, especially on coverage relating to the monarchy,
government affairs, internal security matters, and Thailand's
international image. The existing statutes gave broad powers to
the director general of the Thailand National Police Department,
including the authority to revoke or suspend the license of an
offending publication. The severity of penalties varied,
depending on the political climate and the sensitivity of an
issue. In 1987 a new press bill was pending before the National
Assembly, the intent of which was to give the press as much
autonomy as possible except in time of war or in a state of
emergency, in which case the press officer would be allowed to
exercise censorship.
Daily newspapers were concentrated heavily in Bangkok, where
at least 65 percent of the adults read a daily paper, compared
with about 10 percent in rural areas. Newspapers were generally
independent, and many were financially solvent, deriving their
income from sales and advertising. The government was forbidden
by law to subsidize private newspapers. Foreign ownership of
newspapers was also banned as a safeguard against undue foreign
or subversive influence.
In the 1980s, Thai journalistic standards improved steadily,
as reflected in the print media's growing emphasis on political
and economic issues, as well as on major foreign news events.
This could be attributed to the emergence of a more
discriminating readership. On the negative side, sensationalist
coverage and insufficient professional training continued to mar
the reputation of the Thai press.
There were about 150 newspapers, including 30 dailies in
Bangkok and 120 provincial papers in 1985. Some Bangkok dailies
were considered to be national newspapers because of their
countrywide distribution. Most provincial papers appeared every
two, five, seven, or ten days. In Bangkok twenty-one dailies
appeared in Thai, six in Chinese, and three in English. Of an
estimated daily circulation of 1.6 million for all Bangkok
dailies in 1985, Thai Rath (800,000 circulation) and the
Daily News (400,000 circulation) together claimed about 75
percent of the total circulation. These two newspapers reportedly
were popular among white-collar groups. The most successful among
the remaining newspapers were Ban Muang, Matichon,
Siam Rath, and Naew Na. The English-language
dailies were the Bangkok Post, The Nation, and the
Bangkok World, which were popular among the well-educated
and influential members of Thai society and were regarded by many
as more reliable than the Thai dailies. Some of the editorial
positions on the Bangkok Post and the Bangkok World
were held by foreigners, mostly British; The Nation, on
the other hand, was almost entirely staffed by Thai and tended to
view the world from a Thai perspective.
Unlike the English-language dailies, whose circulation was
increasing in the early 1980s, Chinese-language dailies were
declining in readership. Their total circulation was probably
around 70,000. Two leading Chinese-language dailies were Sing
Sian Yit Pao and Tong Hua Yit Pao. These dailies were
noted for responsible coverage of domestic and international
affairs, but they refrained from taking strong stands on local
political questions.
All aspects of radio and television broadcasting, such as
operating hours, content, programs, advertising, and technical
requirements, were set by the Broadcasting Directing Board, which
was under the Office of the Prime Minister and headed by a deputy
prime minister. In 1987 the country had 275 national and local
radio stations. The Public Relations Department, under the Office
of the Prime Minister, was responsible for Radio Thailand and the
National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT). NBT was the
official government broadcasting station, which transmitted local
and international news mandatorily broadcast on all stations.
News was also broadcast daily in nine foreign languages over
Radio Thailand's World Service. Radio stations were run also as
commercial enterprises by such government agencies as the Mass
Communications Organization of Thailand; units of the army, the
navy, and the air force; the police; the ministries of
communications and education; and several state universities. In
1985 there were 7.7 million radio sets in use.
As a major official channel of communication, all television
stations avoided controversial viewpoints and independent
political comment in their programming. The Army Signal Corps and
the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand directly
operated television channels 5 and 9. Two other channels were
operated under license by private groups, the Bangkok
Entertainment Company, which ran Channel 3, and the Bangkok
Television Company, in charge of Channel 7. Channel 11 was
operated by the government primarily as an educational station.
By 1980 television had become the dominant news medium among
urban Thai. Household television set ownership (about 3.3 million
sets in 1984) was as widespread as radio in all urban areas of
the country. As of 1984, television exceeded radio ownership in
the Center and South and was about even with radio ownership in
the North and the Northeast. Nine out of ten Bangkok households
had at least one television set. Ownership of color television
was also widespread among urban Thai in the South (58 percent),
Bangkok (54 percent), the Northeast (49 percent), the central
plain (47 percent), and the North (43 percent).
Data as of September 1987
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