FCCT defends foreign media
Foreign media yesterday defended giving coverage to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as simply doing their job and refuted allegations of being paid to do so.
Jonathan Head, spokesman of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), told Thepchai Yong on the "Siam Today" TV programme yesterday that Thaksin was a legitimate newsmaker and it was the job of journalists to hear his views. "Now Thailand has a new government in power who seized power. It is very natural for the foreign media to question why they did it. It is also very natural that we would interview Thaksin. He is a legitimate newsmaker. Everybody wants to hear his views," Head said. He also dismissed the repeated allegation that Thaksin paid the foreign press to give him publicity. "I have never heard of a major media organisation accepting money. It is a great shock to me and distressing that the charges have been repeated day after day," said Head, who is the BBC's bureau chief in Bangkok.
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