I write this bearing in mind Surfcrest's concerns in the previous post. And I bring it up only because the topic has already appeared in The Nation newspaper and continues to appear on its on-line site.
As a result of the law of the land, censorship of the news in Thailand is understandable. Yet what, I wonder, is the purpose of censoring fishball eating contests and weather forecasts? I am not the only one to ponder this important issue. A letter published two days ago in The Nation highlighted exactly the same point. Here is part -
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news...ditor/30303754The other day I was watching CNN when a news clip started. It was about a fishball-eating contest somewhere in Thailand.
I anticipated an amusing little sequence that would feature happy locals gulping down fishballs, probably accompanied by snappy morlam music and dancing upcountry maidens. I was looking forward to seeing it when BANG! Down came the heavy hand of the junta, cutting off the sequence with the now-all-too-common notice, “Programming will return shortly.”
It did, but by then all the fishballs had been eaten . . . Is the junta so paranoid about criticism that they have to block every news item that even mentions Thailand?
The writer made a couple of much more scathing comments which I do not quote but which can be read in the above link.
Frankly I have no interest in fishball eating contests, but from time to time I do like to hear about the weather, the more so given it has been so erratic this year. Yet as soon as the CNN weather forecaster starts to talk about the flooding in the south, the signal is cut and that "Programming will return shortly” notice appears. Often it lasts for little more than 10 seconds. What makes this so seemingly stupid, it seems to me, is that the dreadful weather in the south has been so bad it is front page news for days in every news organisation not only in Thailand but also much of the world. I have no idea if this is a result of government instructions or self censorship by True Visions. Whoever, are they totally unable to distinguish between weather and political news when it is clear those with their fingers on the button are able to speak English well?
Reply With Quote
