Clear terms for 'beauty contest' urged
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Civil-society groups, public foundations and a private think tank have continued to press the broadcasting regulator to clarify the requirements and conditions for a "beauty contest" for licences to operate digital terrestrial television channels for publ
This effort resurfaced last week at a forum titled “The Digital Switchover: Opportunity or Pitfall for Media Sector Reform?” organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation Thailand and Heinrich Boell Stiftung Southeast Asia.
Representatives of consumer groups and scholars at the event expressed concerns that the process for selecting 12 public-digital-TV operators could violate the spirit of media reform if there were not sufficient public accountability and participation.
They also urged the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to make the rules and specifications for the beauty contest clear to the public.
Isriya Paireepairit, chief researcher at the Siam Intelligence Unit (SIU), a private think tank, wondered whether a private institution like Nation University could apply for a licence for a channel for educational purposes.
“If it can hold such a licence, is it possible that Nation University could hire Nation Broadcasting Corp to produce TV programmes for the channel?” Isriya asked.
NBTC commissioner Supinya Klangnarong suggested that in the licensing process, particularly for state agencies, the watchdog’s broadcasting committee must set preconditions. In a beauty contest for the rest of the public TV channels, she suggested that the broadcasting committee must prepare scoring checklists.
