The world needs this quality English-language source of Thai news
I understand the outpouring of love among letter writers for your cartoonist, Stephff, although I think some of it has been a little over the top.
I view it of greater concern that The Nation seems to be getting rid of all of its foreign staff. This is extremely curious given that one of the reasons given for making the change to a website-only news outlet was that a majority of its readers are outside Thailand.
Like it or not, English is the first, second or third language of much of the world. While Mandarin Chinese may be the most widely spoken, it isn’t as global as English. Quite simply, you can reach more people in more countries with an English-language website. But there is a lot of competition out there, and a website that offers poor English will not survive. Equally – and this is where Stephff comes back in – a news website that does not publish a variety of informed and independent voices, and critical analysis, will not be taken seriously.
R Debacluer
Bangkok
