Plaudits for ThaiPBS over live Pojaman court verdict

ThaiPBS yesterday relayed scenes from closed-circuit television during the reading of the verdict in the Criminal Court's courtroom, while other television stations showed the event as breaking news.

Media academic Darunee Hirunrak said ThaiPBS played its role properly in televising the entire judgement.

The public should have the chance to follow the trial closely without having to go to the courthouse.

They can listen to what the court said and how the judges ruled in the case, she said.

Pojaman is the wife of a former prime minis¬ter, a very prominent politician, and tax evasion is a rare case to be brought to court publicly.

This case should be publicised as a lesson for politicians and business¬men, she said.

ThaiPBS did what was expected of it as a public broadcasting station while other channels faced business constraints, so they could only show parts of the proceedings, she said.

Supinya Klangnarong, secretarygeneral of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, called the airing of a criminal verdict reading a breakthrough.

"It is good that the case was broad¬cast, but common people should not be forgotten. People would be also interested in other nonpolitical cases such as conflicts over natural resources," she said.

A special TV station might be suitable for transmitting lots of legal cases, but not general audience stations, as there are also many interesting programmes with contributions to society, she said.