Thailand

T new 1997 constitution in Thailand, often referred to as the people’s constitution, has brought fundamental changes to the country’s broadcasting industry. It ended state ownership of broadcasting frequencies, to be replaced by a frequency reallocation scheme that aims at serving public interest. Promulgated under the new constitution, the Act on Organizations to Assign Radio Frequency Spectrum and to Regulate Sound Broadcasting, Television Broadcasting and Telecommunication Services B.E. 2543 (2000), mandates the establishment of two independent regulatory bodies—the National Broadcasting Commission and National Telecommunication Commission—to allocate frequencies for television, radio and mobile phones. The most significant implication under this new regime is that the broadcast media can now act as a channel for citizens to impart information and express their opinions, instead of being under the control of the state or big business. The two new organisations will draw up regulations for the existing six free-to-air television stations and hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Broadcasting frequencies, which are considered a “national resource” under the new constitution, will be re-allocated to three groups of operators—government agencies (for public use), private business groups and local communities. Many consider this media reform under the new constitution as a historic move. However, eight years after the 1997 constitution, the new act on frequency re-allocation is still going through its enactment process. Given this, the broadcast media remain under heavy state control and continue to operate under the strong influence of cut-throat commercialisation. This is because the broadcasting laws and regulations, enacted over the past decades, remain in force. Not surprisingly, the current broadcast media structure has a negative impact on the development of public service television in the country. As a result, Channel 11—the only non-profit TV channel in the country which shares some similarities to a public service broadcaster—is still being used to blatantly promote government policies instead of serving the needs of the public at large. The government has yet to expound on how this ailing public service television should be restructured despite the ongoing debate on media reforms. Instead, the government through its Office of the Prime Minister, which has a status of a ministry, has come up with the policy of separating Channel 11 from its operator, the government’s Public Relations Department, and transforming it into a so-called special delivery unit (SDU) with the goal of boosting its income. This plan has raised fears among media professionals and academics that Channel 11 will be turned into a full-blown commercial television channel, considered by many as a complete reversal from its original role. State control over Thai broadcast media has resulted in a lack of pluralism as highlighted by many researchers. Ubonrat Siriyuvasak (2001) in her study on the Thai broadcast media system, has comparatively pointed out the different types of programmes produced by Thailand’s major television stations. The study suggested that while entertainment and news programmes were emphasised, children’s, news analysis and cultural programmes were woefully lacking as shown in the table (Table 1) below.