Time gets in depth with our "Shallow News" host
There is a good reason why John Winyu Wongsurawat, the host of SpokeDark TV's "Joh Kow Tuen" ("Shallow News in Depth"), would buy a stack of the latest issue of Time magazine.
Although it’s Taylor Swift on the cover, flip inside and you’ll see a full spread devoted to the man Time has dubbed Thailand’s answer to Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show”. He’s among the magazine’s crop of “Next Generation Leaders” – young people “who have not just succeeded in their fields but have also persuaded others to share their vision”.
Others are Saudi microbiologist Hosam Mamoon Zowawi, ResearchGate founder Ijad Madisch, South African author and HIV-Aids activist Phindile Sithole-Spong, Irish CEO Iseult Ward of Foodcloud, Malaysian mixed martial artist Ann Osman and Brazilian entrepreneur and writer Bel Pesce.
To promote its local edition, Time.com’s international Twitter account posted a rare message in Thai, linking to “John Winyu, Thailand’s Next Generation Leader whose weapon is laughter”. It was a tweet heard ’round the world, thanks to the account’s 6.5 million followers.
In his interview, John pays tribute to his talk-show inspirations, among them Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon. As a luk krueng – his dad is Thai and his mum is American – Time asks John whether having an American mother had an effect on his upbringing.
He says: “All my family, except my mum who’s American, went through the Thai national education system. We live in Thailand. We eat Thai food. We are so Thai!”
But despite all that Thainess, John’s English is very good. And he’s proud of that.
He founded “Shallow News in Depth” in 2008 with his sister Janya and successfully made the satirical political webcast a household name for a new generation of Thais who usually shun anything having to do with politics.
He credits his father with making him see the humorous side of politics. “At home on Saturday and Sunday, we would always talk about politics and my mum was always very serious and stressed about what was happening. But my dad would always say, ‘Look, calm down, you can’t be too serious about what’s going on in Thailand or you’ll go crazy – look at it as a joke.”
It’s not the first time John has been recognised in the international presss. Early this year, he was interviewed by the New York Times in the article “Taking on Thailand’s Crisis with a Bit of Western Bite”.
He’s no stranger at The Nation either. We featured him as one of the country’s top-10 young-and-rising people a few years ago. So we have no doubt that he stands out among others in his generation. Congratulations, John. You make us proud and we’ll be looking to you as a great leader in the years to come.
