Bangkok Post
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bangkok Post | |
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 The 60th anniversary edition of the Bangkok Post. |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
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| Owner | Post Publishing Public Co. Ltd. |
| Publisher | Kowit Sanandang |
| Editor | Pichai Chuensuksawadi, editor-in-chief Veera Prateepchaikul, deputy editor-in-chief Pattna Chantranontwong, editor |
| Founded | August 1, 1946 |
| Language | English |
| Price | 25 baht |
| Headquarters | Khlong Toei, Bangkok |
| Circulation | 75,000 |
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| Website: www.bangkokpost.net | |
The Bangkok Post is a broadsheet English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. The first issue came out on August 1, 1946. It was four pages and cost 1 baht.
The paper was founded by Alexander MacDonald, a former OSS officer, and his Thai associate Prasit Lulitanond. Thailand at that time was the only Southeast Asian country to have a Soviet Embassy, and the American Embassy allegedly felt it needed an independent but pro-American paper to present its views. Thus, some sources claim the financing came directly from the State Department or possibly even the OSS itself. [citation needed]
Nevertheless, under MacDonald's stewardship, the Bangkok Post was reasonably independent and employed many young newsmen, including Peter Arnett and T. D. Allman, who later became internationally known.
In a country where media censorship is common, the Bangkok Post portrays itself as having been comparatively free. There are notable instances where this is clearly untrue and the newspaper has often been accused of self-censorship in order to avoid controversy or conflict with powerful individuals. A ubiquitous example of this in Thailand is an unwillingness to criticise the Thai monarchy, which would constitute an illegal act and would, no doubt, be hugely unpopular. Another example of self censorship – until recent years – is a traditional unwillingness to accuse influential individuals of corruption. Yet another example of censorship was the newspaper's failure, during the Vietnam War, to report upon forays from U. S. Air Force bases in Thailand over North Vietnam and Cambodia. At the time none of these missions received coverage in the local press.
Alex MacDonald left Thailand after a military coup in the 1950s, and the paper was later acquired by Lord Roy Thomson. The paper has since changed hands. Major shareholders in Post Publishing include the Chirathivat family (owners of Central Group), the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong and GMM Grammy Pcl, Thailand's biggest media and entertainment firm.
Another English newspaper of Thailand, the evening-edition Bangkok World, was bought by the Bangkok Post in the late 1980s and is now defunct.
The main competition today comes from The Nation, a Thai owned and managed newspaper. Compared to The Nation, the Bangkok Post typically covers topics more from an expatriate perspective, especially after several of its Thai journalists left in 1991 and joined The Nation, which takes pride in having been founded and still being owned entirely by Thais.
The Bangkok Post was well-known for Bernard Trink's weekly Nite Owl column covering the nightlife of Bangkok. Trink's column was published from 1966 (originally in the Bangkok World) until 2004, when it was discontinued.
Contents |
[edit] Sections
- Section 1 – Local, regional and world news, as well as Opinion and Analysis pages. The Sports section starts from the back page of the front section and consists of four to six pages.
- Business – The second section (introduced in 1966) contains local, regional and world business and financial news and stock-market tables.
- Outlook – The features section, includes human-interest stories, entertainment news, a society page, advice columns, comics, puzzles, local television listings and movie ads.
- Horizon – A weekly travel section, inserted on Thursdays.
- Motoring – A weekly automotive section, inserted on Fridays.
- Sunday Perspective - A weekly news analysis and investigative journalism section.
- Real.Time – Launched as a weekly magazine in 1997, then became a broadsheet section in 1998, inserted on Fridays. Includes reviews of movies and music as well as events listings.
- Learning Post – An English-language education section.
- The Magazine – A bimonthly glossy lifestyle magazine.
- Guru – An entertainment tabloid, inserted on Fridays and aimed at young-adult readers.
- Classified – Extensive English-language listings for jobs, housing, automobiles, entertainment, dining, travel and other services.
[edit] English Language Education Site
A special Bangkok Post website readbangkokpost.com helps people learn to read English using the daily newspaper. Vocabulary, reading questions, and web resources are provided for a selection of articles every day. Articles are taken from the general news, tourism, entertainment, and business sections of the newspaper. The targeted audience includes individual learners studying English by themselves as well as teachers using articles in the classroom.
