Media organisations object to possible political interference
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Six professional media organisations on Thursday asked for a review of a draft bill on regulating the industry drafted by the media reform committee of the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA).
The media bodies include the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA), the National Press Council of Thailand (NPCT), the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand (NBCT), the Online News Providers Association and the Thailand Cable TV Association.
The move was led by Thepchai Yong, president of TBJA, who submitted a letter to ACM Kanit Suwannate, the chairman of the NRSA media reform committee, voicing opposition against the draft bill.
Thepchai said the media organisations agreed with a mechanism in the draft to elevate codes of conduct applicable to the media, but were concerned about the proposed National Media Profession Council, which would open the door to political intervention in media coverage.
Kanit said he would bring the concerns to his committee and would consider the bill carefully, adding that he promised not to put any “bad issues” in the bill.
However, he said the draft bill is still under consideration by a sub-panel tasked with print media reform.
