On this National Children’s Day, the news is welcome that the govt will promote quality TV programmes. One very good piece of news on this National Children’s Day, which we are celebrating today, is that the government is planning ways to finance the production of quality programming for children’s television. The lack of suitable shows for young people, particularly during the early evening hours on weekdays and all throughout weekends, has been a topic of public discussion for as long as anyone can remember, but nothing has ever come of it.

OFF THE BENCH: It’s Thaksin’s world, and welcome to it

Welcome to the first television reality show of its kind on Earth, featuring a national leader: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Unlike all those other reality shows, you will see only what he wants you to see. And the bad news is you can’t vote him out. The only way for viewers to express their frustration with this new one is to toss their television sets out the window.