Perilous route toward public broadcasting
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
THAILAND is only a step away from having its first public broadcaster.
Baring any unforeseen circumstances, the commercial-free TV station should be on air by the first quarter of next year. But a big question remains whether the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS), as it is known officially, will be able to fulfil its role as envisaged by its proponents.
Public television free from business influence and political interference has long been a dream of media advocates. While there may have been disagreements over the process, it is generally agreed that having a public broadcaster is a positive step toward a more liberal media landscape.
Public broadcasting is part of a broader media reform pushed by a coalition of media professionals, academics and members of non-governmental organisations who believe that political reform is not possible without breaking the state monopoly of the broadcast industry.
It was the so-called "People's Constitution" of 1997 that set the ball rolling for a comprehensive reform of the airwaves. But entrenched interests and political interference under the Thaksin government effectively killed the reform process. The September 2006 coup also sent the whole thing back to square one.
Another media casualty of the Thaksin era was iTV, until then Thailand's first and only independent TV station. It was taken over by Shin Corp, which was majority-owned by the Shinawatra family, and effectively turned into a mouthpiece of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party. The arrogance of power led the Thaksin government to give the green light for iTV to amend its concession terms, paving the way for it to switch from being a news and current affairs TV station to an entertainment-oriented broadcaster.
The Thaksin government also caused public outrage by allowing iTV to arbitrarily lower its concession fees.
The Surayud government should be credited for acting decisively against iTV, with the intention of turning it into a public broadcaster, after its management was found to have breached the concession terms. But it also came under heavy criticism for being too accommodating to its employees, who are seen by critics as remnants of the old regime. Its decision to allow iTV, which was later renamed TITV, to come under the Public Relations Department (PRD) during the transition, also raised questions about its agenda.
Public broadcasting has been a battle cry of media reform campaigners who lament the heavy commercialisation of the broadcast industry on one hand and persistent political interference with electronic media on the other. Before the iTV controversy, they had set their sights on Channel 11, which is run by the PRD as a government mouthpiece. But the lack of political will on the part of the government and intense lobbying by PRD bureaucrats derailed the reform efforts.
The bill on public broadcasting is now awaiting its second and third readings in the National Legislative Assembly after being overwhelmingly passed in the first reading. But this doesn't mean that it will be all smooth sailing. Last-minute lobbying may delay or even scupper the bill, while there are signs that certain outside elements may be seeking to dilute the original intent of the bill or even to protect the status of TITV as a commercial TV station.
TITV is being managed by the so-called "Special Delivery Unit", which was set up as a business arm of the PRD. Members of the unit were handpicked to run the station during its transition by Khunying Thipawadee Meksawan, the minister in charge of the PM's Office. And it is widely known that the management unit with the strange-sounding name is operating under the heavy influence of the PRD — so much so that TITV has been referred to by many as "Channel 11/1".
It has been feared all along that the PRD has designs on TITV.
Today the station is practically an extension of the PRD, a huge state-run media empire that has the least incentive to see the money-making station slip out of its control. If for some unexpected reason the public broadcasting bill can't make it through the assembly, TITV would automatically become a business unit of the PRD for years to come.
And even if the bill is adopted, the road towards a truly independent public broadcasting role for TITV will not be easy. During the transition, a five-man policy committee will be set up to lay down the groundwork for the public broadcaster. It will be charged with drawing up programming policy, editorial guidelines and a code of conduct. There is no guarantee that the committee will be safe from interference. There are many interest groups that want to have a stake in the TV station, especially those who are benefiting from its current status as a PRD business unit.
The transition that will lead to the birth of Thailand's first public television thus needs to be closely monitored. Despite some reservations, it will at least represent the first concrete step toward significant broadcast media reform. But the public has a duty to make sure that it's a step in the right direction. The Nation/ANN
Baring any unforeseen circumstances, the commercial-free TV station should be on air by the first quarter of next year. But a big question remains whether the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS), as it is known officially, will be able to fulfil its role as envisaged by its proponents.
Public television free from business influence and political interference has long been a dream of media advocates. While there may have been disagreements over the process, it is generally agreed that having a public broadcaster is a positive step toward a more liberal media landscape.
Public broadcasting is part of a broader media reform pushed by a coalition of media professionals, academics and members of non-governmental organisations who believe that political reform is not possible without breaking the state monopoly of the broadcast industry.
It was the so-called "People's Constitution" of 1997 that set the ball rolling for a comprehensive reform of the airwaves. But entrenched interests and political interference under the Thaksin government effectively killed the reform process. The September 2006 coup also sent the whole thing back to square one.
Another media casualty of the Thaksin era was iTV, until then Thailand's first and only independent TV station. It was taken over by Shin Corp, which was majority-owned by the Shinawatra family, and effectively turned into a mouthpiece of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party. The arrogance of power led the Thaksin government to give the green light for iTV to amend its concession terms, paving the way for it to switch from being a news and current affairs TV station to an entertainment-oriented broadcaster.
The Thaksin government also caused public outrage by allowing iTV to arbitrarily lower its concession fees.
The Surayud government should be credited for acting decisively against iTV, with the intention of turning it into a public broadcaster, after its management was found to have breached the concession terms. But it also came under heavy criticism for being too accommodating to its employees, who are seen by critics as remnants of the old regime. Its decision to allow iTV, which was later renamed TITV, to come under the Public Relations Department (PRD) during the transition, also raised questions about its agenda.
Public broadcasting has been a battle cry of media reform campaigners who lament the heavy commercialisation of the broadcast industry on one hand and persistent political interference with electronic media on the other. Before the iTV controversy, they had set their sights on Channel 11, which is run by the PRD as a government mouthpiece. But the lack of political will on the part of the government and intense lobbying by PRD bureaucrats derailed the reform efforts.
The bill on public broadcasting is now awaiting its second and third readings in the National Legislative Assembly after being overwhelmingly passed in the first reading. But this doesn't mean that it will be all smooth sailing. Last-minute lobbying may delay or even scupper the bill, while there are signs that certain outside elements may be seeking to dilute the original intent of the bill or even to protect the status of TITV as a commercial TV station.
TITV is being managed by the so-called "Special Delivery Unit", which was set up as a business arm of the PRD. Members of the unit were handpicked to run the station during its transition by Khunying Thipawadee Meksawan, the minister in charge of the PM's Office. And it is widely known that the management unit with the strange-sounding name is operating under the heavy influence of the PRD — so much so that TITV has been referred to by many as "Channel 11/1".
It has been feared all along that the PRD has designs on TITV.
Today the station is practically an extension of the PRD, a huge state-run media empire that has the least incentive to see the money-making station slip out of its control. If for some unexpected reason the public broadcasting bill can't make it through the assembly, TITV would automatically become a business unit of the PRD for years to come.
And even if the bill is adopted, the road towards a truly independent public broadcasting role for TITV will not be easy. During the transition, a five-man policy committee will be set up to lay down the groundwork for the public broadcaster. It will be charged with drawing up programming policy, editorial guidelines and a code of conduct. There is no guarantee that the committee will be safe from interference. There are many interest groups that want to have a stake in the TV station, especially those who are benefiting from its current status as a PRD business unit.
The transition that will lead to the birth of Thailand's first public television thus needs to be closely monitored. Despite some reservations, it will at least represent the first concrete step toward significant broadcast media reform. But the public has a duty to make sure that it's a step in the right direction. The Nation/ANN
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