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No copies of The Economist in Thailand

Andrew Batt — Wed, 26 May 2010 12:46:52 +0000

No copies of The Economist have appeared in Thailand this week. For the second time this year the publisher has withheld copies of the magazine from distribution in the kingdom for what it considers to be problematic content.

Time for a travel advice downgrade?

Andrew Batt — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:21:36 +0000

On Wednesday, April 28, the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued advice relating to Thailand. It said: “We currently advise against all but essential travel to the whole of Thailand.” That advice still remains valid today, some seven days later.

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Publish Asia a victim of Bangkok’s instability; second time in two years

Andrew Batt — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:07:52 +0000

The Publish Asia 2010 Conference and Expo, which was scheduled to take place in Bangkok next month, has been postponed. This is the second year in succession that the high profile event, which was due to attract more than 500 media industry professionals, has fallen victim to political instability in the Thai capital.

Reds bring central Bangkok to a standstill

Andrew Batt — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 11:38:31 +0000

The red shirt anti-government protesters were out in force in Bangkok today, blocking many roads and forcing several high profile shopping centres – including Siam Paragon and Central Chitdlom – to close early in the afternoon.

Bangkok Post records a 29% y-o-y drop in circulation

Andrew Batt — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:56:06 +0000

The latest audited circulation figures for The Bangkok Post, the only newspaper in Thailand with an independently audited circulation, show a year-on-year headline figure decline of more than 29 per cent.

The power of print in Thailand

Andrew Batt — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:46:41 +0000

Print is a powerful medium, and that’s even more evident this week with the non-appearance of The Economist in Thailand. The magazine’s print edition was withheld from distribution for what the publishers describe as “sensitive” content surrounding the Thai royal family.

No copies of The Economist for Thailand

Andrew Batt — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:25:01 +0000

An industry source has confirmed to me that The Economist will not be distributing copies of its next issue in Thailand. The publishers are already contacting distributors and agents to inform them of their decision to suspend distribution of the issue which will be printed later today (Thursday) and would have arrived with subscribers and on the shelves throughout the kingdom over the weekend.

Varying fortunes for print media in Thailand

Andrew Batt — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:56:43 +0000

Media spending in Thailand grew 10.7 per cent year-on-year during February 2010 according to data released by Nielsen (Thailand) yesterday, but while newspapers showed a healthy increase, the magazine sector remains in steep decline.

With the reds on Rajadamnoen

Andrew Batt — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:46:10 +0000

I’m home after spending a couple of hours walking up and down Rajadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok where most the red-shirt anti-government protesters are gathering. It’s hard to estimate just how many people, but for certain the numbers are growing by the hour. Policing is light and the mood of the protesters, at least when I was there, was jovial although seemingly determined.

Magazines for rent in Thailand

Andrew Batt — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:31:26 +0000

A service offering copies of international magazines on a rental basis has launched in Thailand. The venture, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, allows customers in Thailand to rent copies of overseas magazines from the United States and the United Kingdom.

ADFEST falls victim to Thai political troubles

Andrew Batt — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:15:23 +0000

The “difficult political situation” has forced organisers of The Asia Pacific Advertising Festival 2010 (ADFEST) to postpone the event for a couple of months. The event, which was set to be held in Pattaya from March 18-20, was set to bring many of the regions top advertising executives to Thailand.

Global newspapers put Thaksin verdict on P1

Andrew Batt — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:03:00 +0000

A number of Saturday’s newspapers from around the world featured Friday night’s decision by the Supreme Court to seize US$1.96 billion of assets belonging to the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thailand gets its first licensed magazine of 2010

Andrew Batt — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:16:24 +0000

Thailand has seen the launch of its first local language licensed magazine this year following the appearance of at least 20 new, locally published titles during the first two months of 2010.

The Nation introduces paywall section

Andrew Batt — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:06:30 +0000

One of Thailand’s two English language daily newspapers, The Nation, has introduced “The Nation Exclusive”, a paywall-protected section of its free-to-access website that promises, according to publisher, to deliver “exclusive news, in-depth analysis, tips for investors, premium lifestyle articles, exclusive video, exclusive business tips, best offer for your lifestyle, privilege for high-class travelers and audio analyses”. (sic)

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Violence “quite possible” in Bangkok, says British Ambassador

Andrew Batt — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:39:59 +0000

The British Embassy in Bangkok has emailed registered British citizens to warn them that violence is “quite possible” on the back of next week’s court decision.
Ambassador Quinton Quayle, referring to official advice travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth office, said: “The political situation in Thailand is tense and uncertain. British citizens should exercise great caution throughout Thailand and avoid demonstrations or large gatherings of people that might turn violent. It is likely that there will be mass protests by anti-government demonstrators in and around Bangkok. A court decision due on 26 February 2010 is a potential flashpoint. If, as is quite possible, anti-government protests turn violent, British citizens should stay indoors and monitor the media and this website.”

Thai media asked to present news more carefully

Andrew Batt — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:58:59 +0000

A spokesman for the Royal Thai Government has asked members of the media to present news more carefully in light of the current political tension.

Khun Panitan Wattanayagorn, deputy secretary-general to the Prime Minister, added that international communities were monitoring the situation in the Kingdom, and that news presentation could affect the important tourism industry.

I cannot imagine there are too many happy faces at Government House with the headlines on Thailand’s two English language dailies.

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Magazine with identity issues

Andrew Batt — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:13:44 +0000

eLeader is a magazine with an identity crisis. One year ago the Thai-language magazine was joined at the hip with its sister title Business.Com magazine.

By ‘joined at the hip’ I mean both magazines were printed as one publication – back to front with two separate front covers. Now eLeader has been similarly joined to another sister title, the licensed local language edition of PC Magazine.

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‘Guitarist’ launches Thai-language edition

Andrew Batt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:43:13 +0000

The first licensed Thai-language local edition of an overseas magazine this year has been announced.

Guitarist, a 26-year-old music title published by Future in the United Kingdom, will be published locally by Bangkok-based Diplomat Publishing from April with a cover price of 150 baht.

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How not to sell a condo

Andrew Batt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:58:15 +0000

If you’re paying 2.5 million baht for a condominium you would expect the developer to be putting a little bit more of an effort into their English language marketing materials.

The style in this new, French-themed development in the Ladprao area of Bangkok is described in one sales brochure as (deep breath) …

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All’s quiet in Bangkok, for now…

Andrew Batt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:34:30 +0000

If you read some media reports yesterday you might be forgiven for thinking that Bangkok is once again a city under siege ahead of the February 26 court ruling on Thaksin Shinawatra’s US$2.2 billion of frozen assets.

The Thai government’s own news agency reported on Tuesday: “Security-concerned agencies have deployed thousands of military and police across the capital …”, and understandably this was picked up by various media outlets both regionally and further afield.

I’ve not seen anything unusual during the past 48-hours, and certainly no signs so far of any increased security. My daily commute involves passing by where the red-shirt pro-Thaksin supporters were camped out last year, and there were no troops and no signs of any increased activity.

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Publishers take the credit…

Andrew Batt — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:59:54 +0000

.. but perhaps not in the way you might think.

I was talking to a friend in the printing business yesterday, and she told me how she’d recently lost the contract to print one of Thailand’s most famous women’s lifestyle magazine. Her company had been printing the title for the past 20 years. And the reason? The publisher demanded six months worth of credit.

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New design and frequency for Asia News magazine

Andrew Batt — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:16:35 +0000

Asia News, the regional English news magazine produced by the Asia News Network, has adopted a new cover design and reduced its frequency from weekly to fortnightly.

The Asia News Network is a group of English language daily newspapers from throughout Asia. Titles represented include The Straits Times, The Jakarta Post, The Korea Herald and The Brunei Times. Thailand’s representative is The Nation, and indeed the magazine is designed and printed in the kingdom. Content is varied and is drawn from newspapers across the region.

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Changes afoot at Southeast Asia Globe magazine

Andrew Batt — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:31:59 +0000

The publishers of Southeast Asia Globe has spoken exclusively to The Bangkok Bugle regarding industry rumours surrounding the future of the Thailand edition of the magazine. The Cambodia-based English language title launched a Thailand edition in October 2009, and five months on Publishing Director Kirk Bentham admitted things have been a lot tougher than expected.

World first for Bangkok’s 10-year-old Big Chilli magazine

Andrew Batt — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:41:30 +0000

After 120 editions, 14,000 pages, 8.4 million words and 84,000 images, Bangkok’s one and only expat magazine The Big Chilli celebrated its tenth anniversary last month.
Other publications have come and gone but The Big Chilli has survived and even flourished. The Big Chilli team is headed by former Fleet Street reporter Colin Hastings, and there can’t be too many expat events in Bangkok where Colin or one of his team is not present. That all-important visibility is one reason why The Big Chilli works.

Luxury in Bangkok gets a whole lot cheaper

Andrew Batt — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:08:23 +0000

The Siam Paragaon Luxury Property Showcase in Bangkok comes to an end this weekend. More than 40 properties from Bangkok, and as far afield as Pattaya and Hua Hin, have been trying to tempt buyers with a range of show-only promotions.

One junior penthouse in the trendy Thonglor area of Bangkok is priced at 33 million baht (about US$1 million) and developers have been trying to tempt buyers with the offer of a Mini Cooper S thrown in with the purchase, along with other incentives worth close to 7 million baht.

But you don’t been deep pockets to find something at this ‘Luxury Showcase’. For those, like me, with significantly less to spend there area number of one- and two-bed condominiums in the 2 and 3 million baht price range – or less than US$100,000. Luxury in Bangkok has obviously got a lot cheaper!

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