NEWS AGGREGATORS: FRIEND OR FOE?

If you're a blogger I'm certain you will have an opinion about news aggregator websites. These are websites that use your headlines or content and, in most cases, provide a link back to your site in return.
Thailand Today is one such site that provides "All Thailand News In One Place". It features headline news from sources such as The Bangkok Post and The Nation, as well as news from a select number of Thailand-based blogs including Bangkok Pundit, My Thai Friend, Phuket Vogue and The Bangkok Bugle.
Amanta Sriwastigul, a spokesperson for Thailand Today which launched in April 2009 tells The Bangkok Bugle: "Our aim is to put together many Thailand related news services to give Thailand fans and professionals a quick overview of what is happening in Thailand. I do believe that we provide added value to our site visitors because it is impossible for most people to search the web for hours and days to find the news they are interested in."
So what about those, and I admit to being one, who aren't totally comfortable with a third-party website openly seeking to make money from external content. Amanta says: "I can understand what you mean by saying that we use your blogs (and other news sources) as our content. But I think this is not true. We just list the headline and the first few words for people to see whether they would like to read the whole article on your site. Even if news sources or blogs publish entire articles by RSS, would we only show the first few words on our side and never publish entire articles and not even substantial parts of articles. The content is on your side, we link to it and send you visitors."
Amanta also says the idea to include blogs as news sources came from a Thailand-based blogger, and adds: "We have never been contacted by a news or blog source asking us to remove the site from our service, but we do receive requests from editors who explicitly ask being incorporated."
Revenue for sites like Thailand Today comes exclusively from Google Adsense, but operating in an entirely different league are sites like Moreover. They charge companies a fee to monitor what's being said about them online.
Moreover was in the news yesterday over suggestions in may sue the UK's Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) over the latters attempt to change "web scraping" sites a fee for using the content from regional and local newspapers. The NLA's Commercial Director Andrew Hughes was quoted as saying: “This is not about having a go at bloggers: it’s about large, commercial operations which are scraping the entire content of tens of thousands of websites and creating paid-for services from them."
I know a number of Thailand-based blogs are monitored by companies such as Moreover, and where their clients are featured an alert is raised. In the days before the Internet, revenue for the publisher (in the case of newspapers at least) came from companies such as Moreover physically buying the printed product. Now they're able to access that same information for free but still charge the end-user for it.
So the question for bloggers is, how do you feel about sites that seek to make money from your work? Are you happy with just the publicity and visitors such links generate?

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IT'S NEW, IT'S SWANKY

Magazines in Thailand seem to be launching at the rate that others are disappearing elsewhere in the world.
The latest addition to the shelves is Swanky, a glossy and, in some places, rather naughty magazine. It seems to be trying to be many things with a huge range of diverse topics including jokes, gadgets, chart watch, fashion, food and drink, astrology, travel and quite a lot of sex-related columns.
I really don't know who would buy this kind of magazine and, to me, I think the publishers are trying to appeal to a diverse audience without giving anything essential.
Swanky is priced at 90 baht and the June edition contains 170 pages. It is published by Samred Publishing.

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THAI JACKSON NEWSPAPERS HIT EBAY

Thai newspapers featuring the death of Michael Jackson are for sale on eBay.
Copies of many of the country's newspapers including The Bangkok Post, The Nation, Thai Rath and Daily News have been posted by several users.
Prices vary. One copy of The Bangkok Post can be yours for US$9.99 with free shipping. That's more than ten times the cover price. The 'Buy It Now' price for a copy of Thai Rath or Kom Chad Leuk is US$24.95, also with free shipping, which equates to 840 baht. The cover price of either is just 10 baht.

Have your say. Are these sellers trying to cash in on Jackson's death or have they spotted what could be a good business opportunity?

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MJ MAGS APPEAR IN AUSTRALIA

The Australian News Agency blog reports that magazines featuring the death of Michael Jackson have already started to appear on the shelves.
I doubt we'll see a similar influx in Thailand for a few weeks at least. The distribution process alone can take three or four days, and when you add another five days for printing you can see that even the keenest of Thai publishers are unlikely to have anything out for at least 10 days.
Timing, in terms of the editorial process, is also a consideration. A lot of the July editions of the popular monthly magazines will have already gone to press. Whether any decide to publish 'special' editions will be something I'll be watching.
I think the Thai language 'gossip' titles, including the likes of Hello!, OK! and Gossip Star, are likely to be the first with Jackson-related covers in Thailand.

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WEB WINS; NEWSPAPERS PLAY CATCH-UP

The news of Michael Jackson's death came at around 4.45am last Friday morning, so by the time Thailand's newspapers could cover the story some 24 hours later they were very much playing catch-up.
There was nothing new they could add to the story, and The Bangkok Post's coverage focused on tribute from Thai fans, the time Jackson appeared in Bangkok in August 1993. Other newspapers here, including number one seller Thai Rath, had to wait for their 'Sunday' editions to run the story because of their printing schedules.
Celebrity gossip website TMZ.com is credited with breaking the story. The Time Warner owned site was a good 30 minutes ahead of the the more traditional media outlets in confirming Jackson's death. But this shouldn't be a surprise; TMZ.com is run by experienced journalists who use the same methods to get their story regardless of where that final story appears. In my opinion print can still triumph when it comes to publishing iconic images.
Without exception the news of Jackson's passing made front pages around the world. My personal favourite comes from Extra in Brazil. So simple, so dramatic. And there's no way this kind of presentation can work online.

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STARPICS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Thai magazine Starpics is getting quite a lot of coverage at the moment. Its June edition has what appear to be exclusive pictures of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, and they're creating quite a lot of interest amongst fans.
Starpics is a very long established magazine; the June edition is issue number 753. It sells for 60 baht (£1.05, US$ 1.75) and runs to an impressive 156 pages. Most of its advertising is movie and entertainment related. It is published by Starpics Co. Limited.

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LADBROKES IN THAI? YOU BET IT IS.

I find it somewhat amusing that, in spite of gambling being illegal in Thailand, Ladbrokes - one of the UK's top bookmakers - is continuing to spend money on its Thai language portal. At the moment it is recruiting London-based Thai language Internet Operator.
Last year I wrote a story for BusinessWeekThailand that revealed how Ladbrokes was actively promoting and advertising its Thai language portal inside the Kingdom, and how Thailand-based gamblers were winning millions of baht every month. Nothing has changed.
Of course there are Thai-reading gamblers outside Thailand, but according to web information company Alexa visitors from Thailand are responsible for 1 per cent of all visits to the site. That's quite a lot of traffic and quite a lot of income.
How do they get away with it when we read almost weekly about raids by the Royal Thai Police to close down gambling dens that probably account for a fraction of the revenue that Ladbrokes is generating?

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SUVARNABHUMI RANKED THIRD FOR FOOD

I was a little surprised to hear a story on Radio Thailand yesterday revealing the Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport had been ranked third in the world for dining in the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Hong Kong is ranked top with Singapore second and Suvarnabhumi third in the 2009 awards.
The airport, which opened in September 2006, was plagued with teething problems. It's fair to say that facilities have improved greatly since then. There is certainly a greater range, both land and air side, but the high prices aren't reflected in the quality of what's on offer. What you can buy for 50 baht in central Bangkok is two or three times that at the airport.
I know that's often the same at most airports around the world, but if Suvarnabhumi really is the third best in the world for food then I'd hate to see some of the worst.

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FIRST RED NEWSPAPER, NOW RED MAGAZINE

Three weeks ago Thailand saw the arrival of the pro-red (Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship) Thai Red News newspaper. Today it sees the arrival of a pro-red magazine with the launch of D Magazine.
The Bangkok Post reports the launch edition will be 108-pages and sell for 50 baht.

UPDATE: And now The Nation is reporting a second newspaper will be launched at a red shirt rally planned for this weekend. The 'Truth Today Mass Circulation' paper will be published every three days (likely twice a week in reality) and will include columns from former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other red shirt leaders.
Given the costs of producing one, let alone three, publications surely it would be better for the publishers to join together to best get their message across?

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PHOTOSHOPPED IMAGE WINS BEST PHOTO

A doctored image that was published with an incorrect caption has won 'Best Photo of the Year' from the Mass Media Photographers Association of Thailand.
The image, taken by Thai Rath a Thai Rath crime reporter, was edited to remove crucial details. Combined with an incorrect caption it's easy to say the photograph as published was misleading.
The winning image (above) and a video screen grab from Prachatai provide the evidence. Prachatai's story gives background and comment. Bangkok Pundit also provides commentary.
What kind of example does this set? First you have the fact the image is not a portrayal of actual events, then you have an incorrect caption. As a former UK press photographer I speak with authority when saying photographers have lost their jobs in similar circumstances, let alone win a prestigious award.
Of course Thai Rath is no stranger to controversy when it comes to its photographs. There is still debate surrounding the authenticity of its recent David Carradine image, and in 2007 it published another doctored image.

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THAI NEWSPAPER CUTS 60 JOBS

The Thai language weekly business newspaper ThanSetthakij has cut 60 members of staff, a third of whom are understood to be journalists. A story in The Bangkok Post today cites the global economic crisis as the reason behind the decision.
The story also makes mention of GG News Network, operators of a business news radio station, which has ceased operation, and Nation Multimedia Group which has "laid off a significant number of newsroom staff" according to the report.
No matter where you are in the world there are more journalists than jobs at the moment.

h/t to Gareth at Director Thailand.

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BANGKOK POST: HOW NOT TO USE TWITTER

The Bangkok Post is annoying and losing many of its followers on Twitter.
In the past 36 hours it has lost more than 120 'followers' due to what is dubbed flooding - sending our numerous Twitter updates (tweets) in a short space of time. This morning alone @Bangkok_Post has published several hundred updates, some of which are duplicated. Some of the comments from followers include:

"pls stop doing what u'r doing u've become a twitter spammer."
"unfollowing unless you stop putting out updates every 30 seconds."
"See you again when you fix this pointless tweet spamming."
"If someone is in the Klong Toey area, can you please go to @Bangkok_Post and tell them they have a Twitter problem, please?"
"That's it! I can't take this anymore. Don't you know how to use social network!!!!!!!!!!"

Clearly The Bangkok Post has a problem. My guess would be they've unsuccessfully tried to automate their publishing operation with Twitter. I cannot imagine for a second that a human is responsible for all these updates.
But whatever is happening it's impacting on the image, reputation and readership of the newspaper. I know I have some readers who work for Post Publishing and I hope they are able to sort this problem, soon.

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A QUICK CHANGE FOR THAI RED NEWS

Thai Red News, backed by the pro-Thaksin Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship, made its debut on June 5th. But in just two editions the weekly tabloid newspaper has changed both its masthead and use of paper.
The changes in the masthead can be seen here. The first edition was printed entirely on what is best described as 'premium white' paper (as used by The Nation for its cover). Eight pages in the second edition (the cover and inside spread) use that paper but the rest is made up of a more traditional, lower quality (and cheaper) paper. Pagination remains the same as 32 pages.
The newspaper is claiming a 15,000 circulation and is offering full page colour advertising at 50,000 baht per page.

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NEWSAGENTS BOYCOTT MAGAZINE OVER AD

Australian magazine Quadrant is facing a boycott from newsagents over an advertisement it carries in its latest issue.
The excellent Australian News Agency blog broke the story yesterday here and has follow-up today here. The controversial ad in the magazine simply says: "If you bought this magazine from a newsagent, you are missing out on such a lot. Subscribers get so much more."
Understandably newsagents in Australia are upset. Many have removed copies of the current edition from sale and have canceled future supplies. What turned out to be a simple subscriptions marketing exercise for the magazine could well cause severe problems.
Without this important sales channel most magazines would perish. That's true no matter where in the world you are.

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THAILAND'S TOP NEWSPAPERS

What are the most popular newspapers in Thailand?
Hong-Kong based Media magazine published its annual Top 1000 Asia Brands report last week, and included data from Nielsen Media highlighting the top newspapers in Thailand.

1. Thai Rath.
2. Daily News.
3. Khao Sod.
4. Matichon.
5. Kom Chad Leuk.

There is no circulation auditing among the Thai print media but it's widely thought that Thai Rath sells close to a million copies per day. Several years ago it was placed well inside the top 50 world newspapers ranked by circulation. That's likely still to be the case today. Even fifth placed Kom Chad Leuk is likely to be selling several hundred thousand copies per day.

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BANGKOK POST AND ITS OWN 'SHOCKING' PIC

The front page of the Bangkok Post's website was recently carrying what I would describe as a disturbing image of the bloodstained body of a monk who was killed late last week in the south of the country. (See update below). A similar image was published on the front page of Saturday's edition of Thai Rath.
Given last week's call by assistant editor Sanitsuda Ekachai for "moral outrage" over the publishing of shocking pictures in the Thai media, the decision to display this particular image in a prime position online seems strange at best and hypocritical at worst.

UPDATE: In the hour since this post appeared The Bangkok Post has changed the leading image and story. This is not uncommon as changes to top news are usually made at various times throughout the day. To see what was appearing you should click the image above.

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'GALLERY OF GORE' CONTINUES

If anyone thinks Thai Rath's publication of the David Carradine pictures last week was an isolated incident they are sadly mistaken.
Today's edition shows the unedited face of a dead three-year-old child whereas Saturday's edition portrayed a similarly graphic image of the death of a monk in Thailand's south.
Elsewhere on today's front page there is news that Thai Rath has won a news photography competition

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WHY THAI RATH WILL NOT BE SUED

In the immediate aftermath of Thai Rath's decision to publish photographs that were purported to show the body of David Carradine there were suggestions from his family that publications would face legal action for the "distress" caused.
My own initial feeling was the publishers of Thailand's most popular newspaper may have left themselves open to a lawsuit for subsequently allowing the images to appear online, and thus publishing them around the world. This is unlikely to be the case.
A New York-based attorney, commenting on behalf of the Media Law Resource Center, told me yesterday by email: "As a matter of law I don't think the Carradine family would have any viable legal claims here against the American or Thai press over publication of the photos. Obviously, the family members could be hurt and offended by the publication of the photos, but to succeed on a claim of distress they would have to prove "extreme and outrageous conduct" by the press. I don't think publication of the photos in connection with articles about the actor's death would be considered "extreme and outrageous" under American law."
The attorney also feels Thai Rath are unlikely to face legal action, adding: "There would be the preliminary issue of whether an American court would have jurisdiction over a Thai publication. Even assuming the Carradine family had a viable claim, a U.S. court would not necessarily have jurisdiction over a Thai publisher. Even though the photos were available on the web that is not enough for a U.S. court to hear the case."
He also said any 'invasion of privacy' claims would likely fail as those rights belong to Carradine and not his family, and ended with his death.
So legally speaking, Thai Rath or any other Thailand-based publisher is very unlikely to face action in the U.S. in this case. I now wonder if the family could take action within Thailand under related Thai laws? I will try to find out.

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THAI MEDIA: A MORASS OF CONTRADICTIONS

There's an interesting story on MSNBC.com that suggests "all hell breaks loose" when Thailand's newspapers are reporting crime, especially those involving sex and violence.
The piece compares that kind of coverage to that of the Thai Royal Family where coverage is "extremely cautious" due to the Kingdom's lèse majesté laws.
The story concludes little is likely to change and says; "Carradine is not the first person to have his privacy violated by the Thai press, and likely won’t be the last."
It's an interesting read.

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MORE THAI RATH CARRADINE COVERAGE

Today's edition of Thai Rath reveals a g-string was found in David Carradine's hotel room. A Google translation from Thai to English can be found HERE. The Thai original is HERE. There is also mention of "a hole near the back of the pants."
The story seems to indicate "official" sources for this new information that has yet to appear anywhere else in English, either in print or online.
The story appears as a small headline on the front page of Thailand's most popular and best selling newspaper. The story continues inside with half a page of editorial. There are no pictures.

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MORE CONDEMNATION OF CARRADINE PICS

The Bangkok Post has published a column today that is critical of both Thai Rath's decision to publish the Carradine crime scene pictures and the state of Thai journalism. This follows a similar piece by The Nation, Thailand's only other English language daily newspaper, yesterday.
The piece by Outlook assistant editor Sanitsuda Ekachai is well argued. It points out the relative silence within the Thai media about the decision to publish but makes a few incorrect (in my view) statements.
She writes: "Admittedly, we still see gory pictures now and then in the papers but they are not as pervasive as before. Revealing the identity of the victims has also become rare." That is simply not true. Graphic pictures are the norm of Thai Rath and several other popular Thai language daily newspapers, and the identity of the victims, whilst often 'Photoshopped' is rarely in doubt when combined with the story. Even today Thai Rath has another dead body as its lead story.
Equally there is no discussion of some key points. Who took and leaked the original picture? Is the picture genuine? Who leaked the autopsy pics that have appeared in various places online? How much did Thai Rath pay for their original images?
You also have to also question why has it taken the better part of a week for these condemnations to start appearing, and in the case of The Bangkok Post why has it not come from the editor himself?

UPDATE: June 11, 2009: Thai Rath publishes details of a g-string found in Carradine's room. See HERE.

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THAI NEWSPAPERS WARNED OVER PICS

The Press Council of Thailand has warned Thai newspapers about their coverage of David Carradine's death in Bangkok.
The report, which appears on the website of Thai language newspaper Matichon, reminds publishers to abide by the organisation's Code of Ethics and Guidelines. Particular mention is made of the guideline which states: "Newspapers must use their judgement when presenting photographs that may be violent or pornographic in nature."
Editorials today in Matichon and The Nation have been somewhat critical of Thai Rath's publication of what they claimed to be two photographs of the crime scene.
In a separate development the global frenzy to view the David Carradine images from has caught the attention of both spammers and those seeking to spread malware and computer viruses. Thai RathPC1News reports that Twitter users have also been targeted.

h/t to Bangkok Pundit (@bangkokpundit on Twitter).

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BANGKOK'S SKYLINE FROM A BRIDGE

After the somewhat depressing posts so far this week I thought I would lighten the mood with a picture I took this morning on the way to the office.
Since 2007 I have been capturing life in Bangkok from the back seat of a taxi for my Bangkok Taxi photoblog.
There are more than 110 images and I'm trying to add at least three or four a week.
For those who know Bangkok and are interested, this image was taken on Saphan Krung Thep / Rama 3.

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THAI RATH CARRADINE PICS: MORE FALLOUT

Condemnation of Thai Rath's decision on Saturday to publish what they claim to be a crime scene photo from the death of David Carradine has continued around the world.
There is much doubt about whether the picture is genuine. The upmarket Nai Lert Park hotel where Carradine's body was found is refusing to confirm or deny if the image depicts one of their suites. Thai Rath remains equally silent about its sources, as does the Royal Thai Police about whether this image is genuine.
Thailand's most popular newspaper has been branded "sick" and "sensationalist" for its decision to publish the pictures on Saturday, however to those in Thailand their coverage is nothing out of the ordinary. Yesterday's front page, for example, showed blood-spattered bodies from the latest terror attack in the south of the Kingdom.
Thailand remains in the spotlight with the appearance online on Tuesday of a photograph that appears to show Carradine's body during the autopsy. U.S. website The Examiner.Com, commenting on the leaking of a photograph which appears to show Carradine's body during the autopsy, said: "Thailand gets plenty of money from American tourism dollars. Perhaps the Government of Thailand should address how this happened or we Americans should stop visiting." At this time I believe no Thai publication has published this new picture.
What is ultimately apparent, regardless of whether this image is proved to be real or a fake, is that ethics and standards of decency within Thailand's media are so very different to other parts of the world.

UPDATE: June 11, 2009: Thai Rath publishes details of a g-string found in Carradine's room. See HERE.

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IS THAI RATH CARRADINE PHOTO A FAKE?

A growing number of websites around the world are questioning the authenticity of the David Carradine forensic photograph which appeared on the front page of Thailand's top selling Thai Rath newspaper on Saturday.
Amid growing global outrage the newspaper removed the image from its online version of the story yesterday morning, however many websites and blogs carry copies of the image and reproductions of the newspaper's front page. That decision could have been made for any number of reasons, one of which might be doubt about its origins.
Several things are clear. Firstly the Royal Thai Police has confirmed members of the media were not present at the crime scene, and that the image has not come from them. They have also refused to confirm the authenticity of the Thai Rath photograph. The publishers have also declined to reveal the source and have justified its original publication by claiming it was done as a "tribute" to Carradine.
FrogBlog has a post which includes a picture of a typical room at Bangkok's Nai Lert Park hotel where Carradine died. He was reportedly staying in one of the hotel's suites but the Thai Rath photography doesn't give that impression. Thai Indian has a post that also questions the authenticity of the image. (Note: this includes a copy of the original Thai Rath photograph).
It's possible the newspaper has been duped into buying (if indeed they have paid for it) a questionable image. I doubt they would have been able to get anything in the way of confirmation before publishing because, as mentioned earlier, the Royal Thai Police is refusing to confirm whether it's real.
Given that, and given the reluctance of the publisher to confirm its origin there are many questions that remain unanswered.

UPDATE: June 11, 2009: Thai Rath publishes details of a g-string found in Carradine's room. See HERE.

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WHAT'S THE TRUE COST OF DROPPING BBC?

A story in today's Bangkok Post says True Visions lost 9,000 premium subscribers during the first quarter. The equates to a more than 2 million baht in revenue per month.
The decision to drop BBC Entertainment from the schedule only came to light recently and those who canceled in protest at this decision will not be included in these figures.
One can only speculate how many more premium subscribers have canceled or downgraded their packages.

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THAI RATH REMOVES CARRADINE PIC ONLINE

As the global media "outrage" surrounding the publication of what was claimed to be a crime scene photograph depicting the death of David Carradine intensifies, Thai Rath appears to have removed the controversial image from its website.
The website of Thailand's best selling newspaper had previously shown a complete representation of Saturday's front page. Now that page is minus the Carradine coverage. But with increasing criticism and threats of legal action, and questions regarding its authenticity, it's likely a sensible precaution by the Thai publisher.
Very few Thailand-based media or blogs have published the image or even linked to it, and Thai Rath is the only newspaper to have published the image.

ADD: 9th June | There is now some doubt as to whether that image is genuine See my subsequent post HERE for more.

UPDATE: June 11, 2009: Thai Rath publishes details of a g-string found in Carradine's room. See HERE.

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SHOCKING IMAGES, LEGAL ISSUES?

It came as no surprise to those in Thailand that crime scene pictures of the death of American actor David Carradine eventually found their way onto the front page of Saturday's edition of Thailand's most popular newspaper Thai Rath.
Attorney Mark Geragos, representing David's brother Keith, is reported as saying he will legally go after any publication which publishes the picture. Will this apply to Thai Rath?
Several pixelated images was also published on their website and have, by the very nature of the Internet, been published around the world. Could the attorney bring an action against a Thai publisher or any Thailand-based website under U.S. privacy laws?

ADD: In the truest sense of the word Thai Rath is not a tabloid, as has been widely reported around the world. It's a broadsheet format newspaper that is Thailand's best selling daily. Its coverage, however, can be likened to that of a tabloid style newspaper in other parts of the world.
You can read recent posts I've written about their often shocking coverage HERE and HERE.

ADD: 9th June | There is now some doubt as to whether that image is genuine See my subsequent post HERE for more.

UPDATE: June 11, 2009: Thai Rath publishes details of a g-string found in Carradine's room. See HERE.

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RED NEWS HITS THE STREETS

Thailand gets another newspaper today with the launch of Thai Red News, a weekly Thai language publication backed by the pro-Thaksin Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship.
Reports last month suggested this would be a five-days-a-week title, however this is not the case. The tabloid-style publication will be produced weekly. The first edition is priced at 20 baht and runs to 32 pages. It is printed on the increasingly popular 'premium white' style paper. The center pages, together with the front, inside front, inside back and back are full colour.
Production and style wise I think it looks attractive, although it's lacking anything substantial in the way of advertising. The back cover features the only noticeable ad - for slimming tablets.
Content wise it's no surprise the inaugural front page includes a picture of Thaksin although reports yesterday suggest a planned interview was delayed for "technical" reasons. I cannot read Thai so cannot comment further.

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NATION PARTNERS WITH WALL ST. JOURNAL

The Nation has a new subscription offer.
Until recently a one-year subscription came with a similar subscription to Newsweek. Now The Nation is offering a six-month subscription to The Wall Street Journal Asia as part of its incentive package.
The price for this tie-up is 8,460 baht (which includes a McDonald's voucher and a USB coffee cup warming hub). The previous deal with Newsweek was 5,400 baht. A standard one-year subscription to The Nation is priced at 4,900 baht.
The subscriptions process for most publications in Thailand remains inconvenient. Why don't publishers make it an easy and convenient experience by offering an online credit card payment option? To take advantage of this offer you must print a PDF, fill in your details and then fax it.
How old-fashioned is that?

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ECONOMY: IS THE MEDIA TO BLAME?

While consumers in North America and Europe are generally critical of the media for failing to provide enough warning of the global economic crisis the majority of those in the Asia Pacific region feel the media has done a good job.
Editor and Publisher, reporting on the study by The Nielsen Company, highlights the fact that criticism appears to be strongest where the crisis is hurting the most. Regionally it's the media in the Philippines, Indonesia and India that comes out best. There is no Thailand-specific data as yet but I wonder whether the average person on the street here feels the media has done a good job?
One could argue the media has done a lot to make the crisis worse by its often blanket coverage, but I feel the amount of coverage is indicative of the seriousness of what is happening.

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GOOD FOR PRINT, BAD FOR DIGITAL?

A U.K. website specializing in supplying consumers with digital editions of print magazines has folded, reportedly due to lack of demand from consumers.
MediaWeek reports the Magazines On Demand website, operated by John Menzies Digital, was closed due to "too much uncertainty" in the sector that demands considerable investment.
Is this good news from print publications? Does it show consumers still prefer print versus digital editions of their favourite magazines? Digital editions have been heralded as the saviour for many publishers but I'm sure this news has some worried.

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SELLING NEWS ON THE STREETS

Shops like the one pictured (right) are where most newspapers and magazines are sold in Thailand.
Generally they're small, family owned businesses, operated from shop houses and sell a small range of the most popular titles. They can be found at frequent intervals on every street in Bangkok.
The picture gives you an idea of what sells well in these places. On the left are a range of popular gossip and celebrity magazines including the licensed Thai editions of both Hello! and Ok!. Hanging from the roof are a large number of amulet-related magazines, while the Thai language daily newspapers are laid out on a table at the front.
Don't expect to find any English language titles in places like this.

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BLURRING THE EDITORIAL LINE

Whilst the blurring of the line between editorial and advertising is by no means a uniquely Thai occurrence, it does seem to happen more here than I've seen in other parts of the world.
I could show you a number of magazines that list the cover story (or scoop, as it's often referred to here) as part of their media kit priving. So for the right price your company can buy itself some front page coverage.
It does tend to be the more specialist magazines that offer this package, but as a reader you wouldn't necessarily know that what you're reading has been paid for by the advertiser. Just a few magazines, and newspapers for that matter, label paid-for content as such. Publishers do it because they can, and because it's just another way of deriving revenue from their publication.
Just how much credibility is placed by the reader on this sort of coverage is just not known, and perhaps it's something most readers don't care about.

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IT'S TRUE, BBC ENTERTAINMENT HAS GONE

TrueVision ended its provision of BBC Entertainment on its channel line-up from midnight this morning.
Channel 38, the previous home of the popular channel, is now home to AXN Beyond which includes reruns of shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files. On Channel 40, previously AXN, is American Sports Network (ASN) which is now (4.45am) showing live Nascar. STC, which was on channel 42, is now home to Nickelodeon.
Despite a deafening public silence to the large number of complaints, not solely from expats, TrueVisision has responded to customer emails by saying: "In a continuing effort to maximize TrueVision's audience base, the company will replace three new channels that appealed to a wide audience. The company is responding to an overwhelming level of demand and has decided to replace the existing channels that are due for contract renewal this month. The three channels were selected for their high rating in several countries and have been demanded by subscribers through our website and call center so it is fortuitous that these channels are available at this time."
Have you canceled your agreement with TrueVision? Have you downgraded your package? I am certain the company will be swamped with enquiries from people this week from people who were simply previously unaware of the changes.

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