Every day we personally trawl around a dozen websites and post details of vacancies deemed suitable for native English media professionals in Thailand. If you have a vacancy and want it filled, email your details to bkkandy AT myway.com.
Latest vacancies:
pricewaterhousecoopers is looking for an English editor for its Bangkok office.
DDProperty.com urgently needs a writer/editor with fluent written and spoken Thai and English skills.
AA Talent is seeking a native English Corporate Writer/Editor for one of its clients - an international PR and sponsorship agency.
Are you a journalist or writer looking for work in Thailand and South East Asia? Why not post your details and let publishers come to you? See HERE for more details.
A number of Saturday's newspapers from around the world featured Friday night's decision by the Supreme Court to seize US$1.96 billion of assets belonging to the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Regional and global print publishers opted to report the news on page one, including newspapers in Dubai, Singapore, the Philippines, Macau and, surprisingly perhaps, The New York Times which included a small teaser headlined 'Blow for former Thai PM' alongside a small image of crying red-shirt supporter holding a picture of Thaksin.
Thailand has seen the launch of its first local language licensed magazine this year following the appearance of at least 20 new, locally published titles during the first two months of 2010. The new bi-monthly magazine, published in Thai by Post Elements Co. Ltd, is a combination of content from Future Plc's 3D World and ImagineFX magazine brands. The inaugural February/March edition is priced at 150 baht and runs to 150 pages. It also includes a CD. There are two important things to note with this latest licensed title. Firstly, it shows that global publishers are willing to license content from two existing titles to create one new magazine in a country that likely couldn't support single editions of each title. They're also willing to allow their monthly titles to be reproduced with lesser frequency. This magazine is the third that has been licensed by Post Elements from Future in the U.K. Last year they launched a Thai language local language edition of Computer Arts, and months after launched the sister-title Computer Arts Projects.Last month Future announced it had reached an agreement with Diplomat Publishing to produce a Thai language licensed edition of it's popular, 26-year-old magazine Guitarist. I know another four or five global magazines are currently in discussions with Thai publishers with a view to licensing their content locally. Perhaps 2010 will be the year of the licensed magazine in Thailand? Licensed and niche, perhaps?
Post Publishing Public Company Limited has reported a net loss for the year ending December 31, 2009, of 97.93 million baht. This compares to a net profit during 2008 of 12,19 million baht. In a statement released to The Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday the company cited sharp declines in sales and services income due to the global economic crisis and local political uncertainties. Income from sales and services declined by 206.92 million baht to 1.6 billion baht. Job classified advertising, as well as advertising from multinational luxury brands and high end automotive brands showed the largest declines, according to the statement. Although the company managed to reduce its sales and admin expenses, a four million baht allowance for "impairment of equipment" and a 48 million baht cost of a mutual early retirement plan were included in the 2009 accounts.
Nation Multimedia Group Public Company Limited has recorded a net loss of 53.04 million baht for the year ending December 2009. This compares to a net loss of 54.98 million baht for the previous year. In a statement released to The Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday the company highlighted a 15 per cent drop in sales and services during 2009, blaming the economic slowdown and political instability. Advertising revenues were down 14 per cent overall, with print showing a 24 per cent decline. Broadcast revenues were up 15 per cent and revenues from new media up by 30 per cent. The company also noted a 20 per cent drop in circulation revenues. Newspaper circulation revenues were down 6 per cent while revenues from its pocket books and comic books business were down 51 per cent. Revenues from its printing and logistics services were up 4 per cent.
If you need further evidence that magazine publishing in south east Asia is alive and well, you only need to look at the latest batch of licensing agreements that have been announced. Hearst has announced it has signed a deal with Vietnam publisher Sun Flower Media to produce a Vietnamese language edition of Cosmopolitan. Next month's planned launch is the 59th local language edition of the global title. BBC Worldwide has also announced the launch of its popular children's title In The Night Garden to Indonesian publisher PT Media Griya Harmony. The first edition went on sale last week and contains an 80/20 balance of global vs. local editorial content. And also in Indonesia, Meredith Corporation has announced a partnership with the CompasGramedia Group to published a local language edition of women's magazine More. The first edition is planned for July. A Thai edition of More was announced some time ago with a promised debut in late 2008. It has never appeared.
Ensign Media, one of Thailand's most dynamic English language publishers, is seeking an energetic multi-tasker to work on a variety of projects as Associate Editor in its Phuket office. Are you ready for the challenge of working in one of Asia's most exciting media environments? Can you write engaging copy on any subject? Can you switch between business and lifestyle writing with ease? Are you a fast and efficient proof-reader? Do you want to live and work in a tropical island paradise? If the answer to all of the above is yes, you could the person Ensign is looking for.
Duties will include:
News and feature writing for Property Report Thailand, the country's leading real estate publication, and www.property-report.com
Sub-editing the annual Phuket Marine Guide.
Feature writing for Ensign's lifestyle contract publications.
News writing for Thailand Marine Guide website.
News and feature writing for SuperYacht Asia magazine.
Requirements:
Between 1-2 years professional writing experience.
Degree level education.
Full driving license.
Preference will be given to applicants already residing in Thailand but applications from qualified individuals of any nationality who are keen to work in this part of the world are also welcome. A competitive salary and benefits package is on offer. Please send your full resume, recent photo and at least three examples of recently published work to: editor@property-report.com. The closing date for applications is Friday, March 5th, 2010. Read more...
A single sentence in one story in The Bangkok Post probably sent shivers down the spines of many publishers. In the piece which highlighted forthcoming revisions in advertising strategy and spending at Thai Airways, the writer stated: "Thai Airways will purchase advertising media directly from agencies and will use more bartering in its media buying." Bartering is common in Thailand, but it's only useful when the publisher can actually make use of the services bartered. It may sound wonderful to have, for example, a 30,000 baht barter arrangement with Thai Airways where a publisher can travel on the airline in return for advertising within his or her magazine. But if the publisher would not normally use air travel as part of company business then the deal is practically worthless. I was recently told of one Thai language golf magazine which survives purely on barter advertising agreements. It has established a large and active membership and subscription base, to which its barter deals for golf packages, etc, are sold for cold, hard cash. So while they get no physical income from advertising they're able to translate their barter deals into lucrative income. Back to Thai Airways, which is an influential and demanding client. I cannot imaging the news they're considering paying less cash for their advertising will come as welcome news to the vast majority of their advertising partners.
The Nation has introduced "The Nation Exclusive", a paywall-protected section of its free-to-access website that promises, according to publisher, to deliver "exclusive news, in-depth analysis, tips for investors, premium lifestyle articles, exclusive video, exclusive business tips, best offer for your lifestyle, privilege for high-class travelers and audio analyses". (sic) The premium content service will cost US$3.99 per month/US$19.99 for six months/US$34.99 for 12-months for readers who are not subscribers to either the print or iPhone editions. The Bangkok Bugle understands The Nation has been looking at introducing a pay-to-view section for at least six months, as is evident from the August 17th "last update" tag on the subscription registration page. The question has to be just what kind of "exclusive" content do they intend to provide? Last week they had an "exclusive" interview with the top executive of a leading Thai company. That same executive gave similar "exclusive" interviews to at least half a dozen other publications on the same day. Not really exclusive, is it? To be honest there's very little news in Thailand that is truly exclusive to one publication. I fully understand the problems facing traditional media. The thing is that The Nation has introduced and subsequently withdrawn so many projects in the past few years (Daily Xpress, focus on being a business newspaper, international edition for hotels, a premium paper cover, partnering with Wall Street Journal Asia for subscriptions, etc) and readers can only take so much. I predict this latest venture will join the growing list of unsuccessful initiatives.
The British Embassy in Bangkok has emailed registered British citizens to warn them that violence is "quite possible" on the back of next week's court decision. Ambassador Quinton Quayle, referring to official advice travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth office, said: "The political situation in Thailand is tense and uncertain. British citizens should exercise great caution throughout Thailand and avoid demonstrations or large gatherings of people that might turn violent. It is likely that there will be mass protests by anti-government demonstrators in and around Bangkok. A court decision due on 26 February 2010 is a potential flashpoint. If, as is quite possible, anti-government protests turn violent, British citizens should stay indoors and monitor the media and this website." Given the Thai government has made concerted attempts to reassure foreign diplomats this should act as a wake-up call to anyone who still thinks there's nothing much to worry about. The British Ambassador isn't going to be saying things like this lightly.
Last month I wrote about the year-old magazine that was still on sale at one bookshop in Bangkok. Just two days after my story appeared copies of this magazine had been removed from sale at the shop, and at another branch of the same chain where I'd also noticed copies on sale. Does this mean that executives of the bookshop concerned read my blog and took action? Surely it cannot be a coincidence that copies were taken down after being on sale for so long?
Bangkok-based CNN correspondent Dan Rivers has won the prestigious International Television Reporting award at the annual George Polk Awards which honours special achievements in journalism. The awards are regarded as one of the most coveted honours in United States journalism, although the only entry requirement is that nominated stories must have been seen in the U.S. Rivers, along with producers Kit Swartz, Kocha Orlan and TheerasakNitipiched, will collect the gong for last February's coverage of abuses against Rohingya refugees by military forces in Thailand. In "World's Untold Stories: A Forgotten People" the CNN crew detailed allegations of shocked tourists who said they witnessed members of the Thai military abusing the Rohingya on a popular beach. The team also uncovered exclusive photos of scores of boat refugees being cut adrift after being towed far out to sea. While being interview by Rivers, Thailand's Prime Minister acknowledged that the wrongdoing likely took place and states the government would not allow such acts in the future. The multi award-winning reports can be seen here; these reports have also won a prestigious Amnesty International media award. Winners of the awards are selected by a jury of Long Island University faculty members and alumni from entries submitted by journalists and news organisations, and by a panel of journalism teachers, editors and reporters, including some former award recipients. Long Island University has administered the Awards since their inception in 1949. The Awards were established in memory of George Polk, a CBS reporter who was killed while covering the civil war in Greece in 1948. The Awards will be presented at a ceremony in New York in April.
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.. about the media and publishing industry in Thailand, and I will do my best to assist you. You can email your question to bkkandy AT myway.com.
A number of Saturday's newspapers from around the world featured Friday night's decision by the Supreme Court to seize US$1.96 billion of assets belonging to the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Regional and global print publishers opted to report the news on page one, including newspapers in Dubai, Singapore, the Philippines, Macau and, surprisingly perhaps, The New York Times which included a small teaser headlined 'Blow for former Thai PM' alongside a small image of crying red-shirt supporter holding a picture of Thaksin.
