Journalism: Did Matichon took the correct step in firing an “extreme hate-based” journalist?

/ August 1, 2011

there is no place for hate based journalist in a violent prone country like Thailand

  • By Tammy, Thai Intel’s humanity journalist

What should a society do with “Hate-Based” journalism?

  • Get rid of them, and risk being branded as “censorship” society or let them report and “put people’s lives at risk?” And if these “hate-Based” journalist have in fact contributed to death, should there be a cost to them?

About a week after the Bangkok massacre, a Bangkok Post journalist was asked, “How do you feel now, that so many Red Shirts have been killed?”

Unbelievable, the Bangkok Post journalist said, quote: “I am elated.”

If that is not insane as it sounds, a Thai celebrity, written and sang a song, with the words, quote: “I wished more sniper bullets would hit the head of the Red Shirts protesters.”

What is truly amazing, is that those two examples, by the Bangkok Post journalist and the celebrity, were greatly supported on Twitter and Facebook.

And thus, “Hate” is a serious problem for Thailand, that just resulted in about 100 people being killed in the middle of Bangkok.

  • Recently, on Twitter, there was a very lively debate concerning Matichon, a newspaper for the intellect in Thailand, firing Prasong, a journalist who hates the Red Shirts, Pheu Thai Party and Taksin.

The question, on Twitter, is not if Prasong is a “Hate-Based” journalist or not, since all anyone has to do is read anything Prasong has written in the past 5-6 years to see how much hatred Prasong is about-but the debate was on if it was “Right” or “Wrong” to fire a “Hate-Based” journalist.

  • The twitter debate went no where-with a famous journalist, Pravit, twittering that who is to be the judge what is “Hate Based” journalism. Pravit wrote again today on the subject, with the overall rationale that the Red Shirts should have learned a lesson from the past few years of being censored, and thus Pravin join in criticizing Matichon.

Because Prasong headed up Thailand’s press association during the time that Thailand freedom of the press tanked to one of the lowest ranking globally, should not the Red Shirts not make the same mistake, Pravin asked.

  • I disagree with Pravit.

What many people like me will re-call for people like Pravit is the Riwanda massacre and the Bangkok massacre.

In both situations, it is these Prasong type of “Hate-Based” journalism that cause society to go “Totally Mad” and went on a rampage of killing.

“No” Thai Intel is not over-reacting here, if anyone cares to remember back, to think of Thai media, like newspapers such as the Bangkok Post, Nation and about 90% of other Thailand press, during that weeks and months leading up to the Bangkok massacre-Thai Intel just wants to ask this question:

  • “Did not like every Thai press called for the crack-down on the Red Shirts protesters?”

“No” there were nothing written in most of that Thai press, calling for a crackdown, that said, “Go ahead, and crack-down on the Red Shirts protesters, even if it means killing people.”

But is that “Not Exactly” what most of the Thai press had written in the “un-spoken words.”

Matichon did nothing wrong in firing Prasong, but exactly the correct thing.

Thai Intel just wished, the likes of Bangkok Post and Nation, and the rest of the Thai media, had the guts to fire these “Hate-Based” journalist that helped cause the lost of life of so many people.

Related articles

Related posts

Leave a comment