NEWSMAKERS: ‘Thai Media Are Insecure And Imbalanced’
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Now on its fifth domain name, Prachatai.info, the site reports on news and issues on Thailand, including the crisis triggered by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or the red shirts. Its seeking views from different sides of what is the most serious political crisis in this South-east Asian country in decades, has not always been received well, or understood. No stranger to legal troubles, Chiranuch herself has been charged with lese majeste for comments posted on the site’s web board. She faces additional charges under the Computer Crimes Act. Chiranuch, who studied journalism at Thammasat University, talks to the Asia Media Forum about life under the pressure cooker that Prachatai finds itself in amid a very divided Thai society, and her concerns about Thai media and self-censorship. AMF: You've been having a busy cat-and-mouse game with Thai censors since early April, after Prachatai's site was shut down under the emergency decree. On May 11, it was back up under another domain. How did you decide to defy the government's censorship, and what role do you see for Prachatai in the current crisis? Chiranuch: First of all, we want to continue our work as we think that is important in this situation. We also want to send a message to the authorities that it is wrong for them to censor. We are forced to do this even though we are sick and tired of the cat-and-mouse game. We decided to sue the government as we feel the order to block Prachatai is unjust and harmful. There's a lot of misrepresentation in the Thai mainstream media. We can't cover all the issues but at least we try to give an alternative or different voice. AMF: Do you think your site will be shut down again? Chiranuch: We already have five domain names (prachatai.com, prachatai.net, prachatai.org, prachatai1.com, prachatai.info) and the Prachatai Facebook pages are also blocked, so we're quite sure that as long as the Emergency Decree continues there will be attempts to block us. AMF: How is the pressure at Prachatai affecting you and your staff? What is the mood like in your office? Chiranuch: We are not discouraged by the situation. Sometimes we get angry or annoyed, but this can be turned around into productive energy. Of course, our work gets more complicated at times and we consider this as unfair but we have to deal with it. Before 'Operation Rachaprasong' (the government’s sealing off starting May 13 of the shopping district occupied by the red shirts) we were still able to laugh about the situation, but not any more. As a form of recognition of the current situation we have decided to restyle our website in black-and-white. AMF: What three adjectives would you use to describe the Thai media situation amid this crisis? Chiranuch: Insecure, imbalanced, (limited by) self-censorship. Chiranuch: Most of all, (because we see) the importance of getting the information to the people, the mutual support among staff members, and taking a deep breath at times or (having) a small break. AMF: How are social networking sites helping you do your job? Chiranuch: They provide alternative channels for us to send out information so people can follow us, such as Facebook and Twitter. When the website was blocked, Facebook functioned as an alternative channel to communicate, although CRES (the government’s Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation) did attempt to block Facebook, the feed-function continued working. People easily share information on Facebook, like exchanging articles, news items, personal observations etc. Before Prachatai was blocked we had about 700 fans, but now it has grown to more than 6,000. Chiranuch: Despite government pressure and their attempts to make our work impossible, I think the most important thing is that we didn't give in. We defied the pressure and were able to continue our work. Chiranuch: I still believe in the journalist as a human being. There is the intention to do a good job, but from the way Thai media are structured, it seems that self-censorship is accepted or certain issues are left untouched so as not to displease Thai authorities too much. Thai media seem too opinionated instead of being factual. The situation gets serious if journalists become a target of the military, like in this crisis situation, for instance. We can't blame journalists if they don't want to go out anymore to report from the field, but then who's going to tell the story? AMF: How do you destress? Chiranuch: I try to get enough sleep, keep an open mind about different points of view --which can be difficult sometimes -- have discussions among our staff, and know that I have some friends to complain to. |
Chiranuch Premchaiporn, director of the Thai independent news website Prachatai (‘free people’) has become adept at playing 'hide-and-seek' with authorities that have been trying to censor the website. 
Aung Htun (not his real name) is one of the young video journalists featured in the award-winning feature documentary 'Burma VJ (Reporting from a Closed Country)'. 
