| The newspaper you can trust | |
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 The front page of theBangkok Post 14 May 2015 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Bangkok Post PCL (SET: POST) |
| Founder(s) | Alexander MacDonald and Prasit Lulitanond |
| Publisher | Kowit Sanandang |
| Editor | Soonruth Bunyamanee[1] |
| News editor | Anucha Charoenpo |
| Sports editor | Wanchai Rujawongsanti |
| Photo editor | Sarot Meksophawannakul |
| Founded | 1 August 1946; 78 years ago (1 August 1946) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Bangkok Post Building, 136 Sunthorn Kosa Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 |
| Country | Thailand |
| Circulation | 110,000 |
| Sister newspapers | M2F (defunct) Post Today (defunct; took over byNation Group in 2022)[2] |
| ISSN | 1686-4271 (print) 0125-0337 (web) |
| OCLC number | 980335362 |
| Website | www |
TheBangkok Post is anEnglish-language dailynewspaper published inBangkok,Thailand. It is published inbroadsheet anddigital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost onebaht, a considerable amount at the time when a baht was a paper note. It is Thailand's oldest newspaper still in publication. The daily circulation of theBangkok Post is 110,000, 80 percent of which is distributed in Bangkok and the remainder nationwide.[3] It is considered anewspaper of record for Thailand.[4][5][6][7]
From July 2016 until mid-May 2018, the editor of theBangkok Post wasUmesh Pandey.[8][9] On 14 May 2018, Pandey was "forced to step down" as editor after refusing to soften coverage critical of the ruling military junta.[9]
TheBangkok Post was founded byAlexander MacDonald, a formerOSS officer, and his Thai associate, Prasit Lulitanond. Thailand at the time was the only Southeast Asian country to have aSoviet Embassy. The U.S. embassy felt it needed an independent, but generally pro-American newspaper to counter Soviet views. Some claim[who?] the financing came directly from theUS State Department or possibly even the OSS itself, although there is no proof of this.
Nevertheless, under MacDonald's stewardship, theBangkok Post was reasonably independent and employed many young reporters, includingPeter Arnett andT. D. Allman, who later became known internationally. Alex MacDonald left Thailand after a military coup in the early 1950s, and the newspaper was later acquired byRoy Thomson. The paper has since changed hands. Major shareholders in Post Publishing include the Chirathivat family (owners ofCentral Group), theSouth China Morning Post ofHong Kong andGMM Grammy Pcl, Thailand's biggest media and entertainment company.
Post Publishing PLC, publisher of theBangkok Post,Post Today (daily Thai language business), andM2F (free Thai language daily) newspapers, returned a modest profit of 450,000 baht in 2016 compared to a 42.1 million baht loss in 2015.[10]
On 14 May 2018, Pandey was "forced to step down" as editor after refusing to soften coverage critical of the ruling military junta.[9] He said the board of directors had asked him to "tone down" the newspaper's reporting and editorials on the actions of the military government, especially its suppression of free speech and election postponements. In a written statement by Pandey issued on 14 May, he said, "When asked to tone down I did not budge and was blunt in letting those who make decisions know that I would rather lose my position than bow my head."[9] ThePost issued a statement on 16 May to assure its readers of its continued commitment to "editorial independence".[11] A seniorPost official said that, "This is not an issue of government interference or press freedom per se,...This is simply an internal organisational matter."[12] Pandey was not fired, but transferred to another high-ranking post as assistant to a deputyCOO at no loss of income.[13] Some sources within the company attributed Pandey's ouster as editor to his poor management style and ethical breaches. Some staffers who worked with Pandey cited his creation of a hostile workplace environment and unprofessional behavior. Five current and former staffers blamed him for driving away many newsroom employees, creating a toxic environment and breaching ethics.[13] Meanwhile, Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha denied that the government pressured thePost to reassign Pandey, dismissing the action as "an issue within a private company."[13]
TheBangkok Post employs (April 2015) 179 journalists, including reporters, rewriters, editors, copy editors, photographers, and designers. Twenty-nine foreign nationals work as copy editors and print and digital news editors. Sunday editor Paul Ruffini is an Australian national. ManyPost staff reporters are Thai nationals, as fluency in Thai is required. Foreign staff write for the newspaper's news, op-ed, sports, business, and features sections.[14]
In a country where media censorship is common, theBangkok Post portrays itself as being comparatively free. There are instances where the newspaper has been accused of self-censorship to avoid controversy or conflict with powerful individuals, including adherence to the country's strictlèse-majesté law, which prohibits open criticism of members of theThai Royal Family. Yet another example was the newspaper's failure during theVietnam War to report on bombing forays made from US Air Force bases in Thailand over military targets inNorth Vietnam andCambodia, none of which received coverage in the local press.[citation needed]
Throughout the early-2000s, theBangkok Post took positions that were, at times, generally favorable to the government.[15] After theThai election of 2011 the paper took a largely anti-Thaksin position aligned with theYellow Shirts and theDemocrat Party.[16]
TheBangkok Post was at one time well known among expatriates forBernard Trink's weeklyNite Owl column, which covered the nightlife of Bangkok. Trink's column was published from 1966 (originally in theBangkok World) until 2004, when it was discontinued. The newspaper has a letters page where expatriate and Thai regulars exchange opinions on local and international concerns. According to thePost, more than half of its total readership are Thai nationals.[14]
During the tenure of Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra, thePost largely toed the government line—at one point bowing to government pressure by firing a reporter who had exposed cracks in the runway of the prestige projectSuvarnabhumi Airport along with the news editor, whileThe Nation, thePost's competitor, actively campaigned for Thaksin to resign.[15]
Bangkok Post columnistAndrew Biggs, who had previously worked atThe Nation, views thePost as the "more staid" of the two dailies. He noted that both publications have been "...champions of democracy.The Nation was just a little more vocal about it."[17] Biggs's column in theBangkok Post was ended with the 30 December 2019 edition.[18]
A special Learning[20] section of theBangkok Post website helps Thais learn to read English by using the daily newspaper. Vocabulary, reading questions, video and web resources are provided for a selection of articles every day. Articles are taken from the general news, tourism, entertainment, and business sections of the newspaper. The targeted audience includes individuals studying English and teachers using articles in the classroom. The editor of Bangkok Post Learning is British national Gary Boyle.
Bangkok Post is the English-language newspaper of record in Thailand...
TheBangkok Post was used because it is a newspaper of record in Thailand and the most widely read of the English-language dailies.
The newspaper of record's decision to uncritically broadcast a closed session with Russia's ambassador to Thailand yesterday has been met with anger and disbelief.
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