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Published on September 18, 2007

In the same way, speed, in-depth information and accuracy should be the top priority for the Thai mass media. Unfortunately, Sunday's plane crash in Phuket tells us it might take awhile before we can achieve that goal.

Sunday's crash in Phuket is the most disastrous tragedy in Thailand's aviation industry since the one in Surat Thani almost nine years ago. After the accident happened at about 4.30pm, we were alerted by a mobile-phone news service half-an-hour later.

This hit the right speed, given that it should take some time for reporters to phone in to the news centre and the centre to type in the message and push the "Send" button. But reading the news alert failed to shock me. Probably due to the tiny space available for a few short lines, the news report was unusually brief and contained words that could not make sense to laymen. Sometimes, brief messages are misleading due to abbreviations. This one said, "One-Two-Go plane skidded off the runway and caught on fire."

The news was confirmed by a radio news report about 6pm. It was then that I became excited and turned on the television set.

In a society where SMS news alerts are more limited than a real medium like radio or television, not many learned of the tragedy until Channel 7 brought it to the television screen.

But that was about 6pm, an hour-and-a-half after the crash.

As the first to pick this up, Channel 7 got Udom Tantiprasongchai, CEO of the airline, on the telephone. Unfortunately, the anchor may have been overexcited, because she kept asking whether he knew what caused the accident and how he felt about the tragedy. Of course, what else could Udom say but express his regrets for the victims. The anchor also forgot to ask how much the plane was insured for and by which insurance company. She kept asking whether Udom saw the disaster scene on Channel 7.

It was so disappointing at the time that my favourite TITV failed to bring the scene to the television screen until 7pm. Comforting me was the fact that TITV offered me most of the facts I needed. But it would have been better if the facts had come a lot earlier than 7pm.

It would be better too for the Thai public if we had a mass media that could offer speed, in-depth information and accuracy - especially after a horrendous accident like this.

achara_d@nationgroup.com