"They used the media as a mechanism to help justify their rule, and when it didn't work, they set up artificial media," Nirun said, in reference to the recent and sudden emergence of a pro-Thaksin Shinawatra cable TV station, radio station and newspaper under the name "The Reporter".

The outspoken senator warned that Thaksin's ambition was nothing less than "the total control of all state power and to become the most influential person in the land". This has partly been achieved by eliminating, co-opting and manipulating media opposed to Thaksin's regime, depending on what is most effective.

"The Thaksin regime is violating free press and freedom of expression," he said.

The senator was speaking at a Thammasat University symposium on the role of the mass media in times of political conflict, organised by the university's Faculty of Journalism.

He claimed that he had been placed on a blacklist barring him from being interviewed on state-controlled television. He said a TV journalist had begged him to understand because he had received an order from a politician not to talk to the senator.

Another outgoing senator, Somkiat Onwimon, claimed that six years ago, during a brief stint as a news executive for what was then the Shinawatra family-owned iTV, he was told that the station need not worry about its advertising revenue because half of the total advertising of Shin Corp, the parent company owned by Thaksin's family, would go to iTV. What's more, Somkiat alleged, he learnt that Shin Corp at that time had introduced a policy of buying ads in various media outlets in order to woo them into an alliance with the ruling party and the premier.

Somkiat said he felt let down by both the quality of most of the Thai mass media and by Thaksin, who, given his wealth and education, should have been a constructive force within Thai society.

Meanwhile, media reform proponent Supinya Klangnarong accused all major free TV operators, which are controlled by the state, of intoxicating the public with a cocktail of sports, sex, comedy and reality programming. She said it distracted the public's attention from the political issues and the true condition of Thai society.

She said the setting up of the pro-government "The Reporter" media group was a sign that the government had learnt nothing from its past attempts to intervene in the media. "It reflects the government's lack of understanding when it comes to issues of human rights and liberty," said Supinya.

Not all of the forum's participants had bad things to say about "The Reporter", however. Alongkorn Akkasaeng, a doctoral student at Thammasat's political communication programme, speaking on behalf of his classmates, said the new company should be treated the same as any other media and should not be branded "artificial" by the mainstream press.

"I'm not for the government, but when ASTV [a satellite television network owned by the Manager group] attacked the government and presented a one-sided view, why was it not called 'artificial'?" asked Alongkorn. "You journalists just want to have exclusive rights of press freedom for yourself, don't you?"

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation