COMMENTARY: Things may never be the same for local media

Published on September 14, 2005 - We may be saying goodbye to Thailand’s media industry as we have known it to be for the past decade or so. As you read this article, the status quo is being turned upside down due to GMM Grammy Group’s apparently hostile takeover attempt for Post Publishing Plc and Matichon Plc.

Things will never be the same. And especially not for Bangkok Post and Matichon journalists, who woke up yesterday to find that their imminent new boss is an entertainment mogul with very strong political connections who last year was reported to be interested in buying Liverpool Football Club.

Those delighted by the news are excited by the prospects of fresh investment and an opportunity to be part of what aspires to be the country’s most comprehensive and powerful media giant.

The twin takeover bids can pave the way for a merger of a “quality” Thai-language newspaper and a major English-language daily. Prospective advertising money looks very promising, both from the private sector and a government known to have no qualms in shifting public relations funds to “friendly” media organisations.

Pessimists simply don’t believe a nice guy like Grammy boss Paiboon Damrongchaitham has turned into a highly ambitious and arrogant takeover monster overnight. Is he doing this to expand and “complete” his own business?

Why does he want to spend nearly Bt3 billion to buy two potentially rebellious newsrooms?

Is he doing it for someone else? Does national politics play a big part here?

Paiboon, who claims he only wants Grammy to be the biggest content provider, will have to do a lot to prove that there are no political fingerprints in the stunning takeover schemes. Bangkok Post reporters can’t help but link the Grammy onslaught with recent political pressure on their management regarding the controversial story over alleged runway cracks at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

But their Matichon counterparts, who didn’t see it coming, must have been more shocked.

The tycoon has promised non-interference in editorial policies. It’s up to the journalists of the two newspapers whether to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, there must be rich people with noble objectives, who are keen to spend Bt3 billion on two newspapers and tell the reporters: go ahead with your non-partisan job and I will just watch you work.

Paiboon’s move doesn’t make bad business sense but it doesn’t make good political publicity for the Thaksin government, either. Even if his motives are truly innocent, his timing is still conspicuous. When a close friend of the prime minister tries to buy two leading newspapers when the government is losing one media ally after another, speculation runs wild.

The tycoon, who has always sent his superstars to help promote government events, may just want to launch into new ventures as a precaution against his entertainment business reaching saturation point.

If the watching public is to believe that this is his main motive, the two newspapers that he buys will have to display unwavering independence and freedom to stand for what they have been standing for.

Comments on Web boards yesterday confirm that the two dailies will have to work hard to fight off daunting public scepticism. A lot of people are overlooking the business aspects of the takeovers.

What many see now is Thaksin Shinawatra and Paiboon standing side by side, with one commanding iTV and the other controlling two of the country’s best newspapers. Thanks to the good relations between the two men, the government’s plan to sue the Bangkok Post for Bt1 billion in damages concerning the runway story will most likely be scrapped. Or if the case is to be pursued for whatever reason, no money will ever be paid.

So, what will happen next?

The future is uncertain, and it seems that in this new world of intertwined interests and increasing vulnerability of media firms, nobody is safe.

After this upheaval of Thailand’s media industry triggered by the Goliaths of the political and business scenes, it will be up to the Davids – who are only armed with PCs and computer notebooks and the endangered right to tell the truth to the public – to keep the status quo alive.

If they fail in their constitutionally protected duty to rise above ownership and any conflict of interest and simply be journalists, we may have already had one last look at the Thai media industry as we know it.

Tulsathit Taptim