Reporting on Violence and Emergencies: Regional Media Conference for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific

14 Oct 2011 Manila Panel 1: Reporting on violence and emergencies: opportunities and challenges

Pinpaka Ngamsom, News Editor, Prachatai.com (Thailand) "The roles of online media in Thailand's May 2010 crackdown: advantages and obstacles"
19 May: In front of UN office BKK In This Clip, the Redshirts cursed Thai Media because they feel that the way Thai media represent redshirt movement is unfair and blame that Thai media response to the worse situation on Thai political crisis This happened on 19 May, The crackdown of the redshirts A night before 19 th I've heard from group of academics that they will go to the UN office to ask for any action from UN to protect people from the violence. So I went there in the morning of 19th and see around 100 people there. I wear the Press ID Tag (Thai Journalist Association) with hope that I might get into the bld. in case that UN officer comedown to receive the pledge. But this things is useless at all, I could not get inside the bld. besides were cursed by redshirts on behalf of Thai media because they can recognize my role from Press Tag J (will add more story about this thing later) Why should we attend on the redshirts movement and crackdown on May 2010 1 This crisis base on the debate about electoral democracy principle. Believe it or not! (becoz takin is evil and corrupt so we do not need to care the mechanism to step him down or we can wait for the next election) 2 Base on electoral vote, the redshirt recognize themselves as majority to been violated their rights to vote. (by or noble and double standard practice) 3 Many power players show up, establishment, justice system, military, middle class come with yellow shirts and grassroots come with redshirts. And even media. Please notice that anti taksin movement and call for royal and military intervention led by one biggest media corporation, manager group. Why red shirt to be hostile to the Thai media.

Thai media focus on the conflict among leader but lack of space for voice from ordinary people who join both yellow and red. Media self censor strongly and mislead represent of redshirt. The mist classic example is meaning of the word. Reclaim the area instead of disperse rally Tighten the area instead of Crackdown

New way to access information Portal websites (most just broadcast speech from the stage) People go to Websites, Portal websites which broadcast the redshirts movement eventhough under emergency decre and and computer crime act there were blocked the 7,4686 URLs have been blocked in 2010 . But this situation push people to learn how to access website trough webproxy. Grassroot become fast learner about the IT. Websites (thaifreenews.com, thaienews.com, newskythailand.com) Facebook, twitter. Cable TV Community radio During the rally, Under Emergency Decree, MAIN Red Cables TV and Many community radio were shut due to CRES order. But before it been shut we can see people went protect their media. These are picture from thaicom satellite station. Military fail to disperse redshirt at first but they can shut the cable tv finally. (Dstation, PTV)

Facebook and twitter become a battlefield among red, yellow and multicolor movement After crackdown, redshirt fall into fear. I cannot contact my resource person in countryside. Facebook flood by status that express the while most of the leader were arrested and some escape. But shortly after crackdown, a guy who is welknown as .. who was arrested and bail out start campaign again. He gathered people around facebook and twitter make and appointment to do an activities offline. So the red start again from middle class in Bangkok with likely funny activity like dace together, jocking, picknick and share their experienceit was like group therapy but finally people in countryside join and come up with huge rally on 19 September.

Meanwhile Multicolor is also active, just 2 days after crackdown, they gathered through facebook and twitter for cleaning up Bangkok with the campaign Big Cleaning Day 2 Alternative Medium facebook and twitter become a medium to access information 3 and become colorful batterfield. There are groups set up and attack other and Democrat government spend 170 millions thai baht for cuber scout project aim to train schoolboy mornitor cyberspace. Exclude 10s millions for build up new page for the prime minister/government and so on. Yingluck do the same but I do not know yet what does she do about the cyber scout project. These are picture taken by a friend of mine. He is a dentist who live on high rise condominium located in a life firing Zone. He wake up at 10 am that day and look at the street and see these people. He was shocked and started taken picture and then post it on facebook . I ask him for the permission to put it on prachatai In the evening AP contact this guy to buy the picture, if Im not misunderstanding he just give it for free. And next morning. I see this pic on newspaper.picture from AP is more reliable

6 Situations.

CRES- Center of the Resolution of Emergency

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to be Fair Black 10 .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOUNBPD93g0)

Men in

.. 25 10 ..

) Charactoristic Interactive Empowering ordinary people Opening space for marginalized people Reducing the dominance of mainstream media and the state in controlling the flow of information

Not restricted in time and space Political mobilization trough the internet reaches far and wide, at low cost but notice that the mobilization online need to be connected to the movement in offline world. For example in Thailand the witch haunting online movement due to prosecution of those who are alleged to have committed les majeste is strong and have many supporters because it does happen in offline social. Anonymous An advantage of new media is that people can express their opinion can conceal their identity. Costly access To access the internet you must pay for the computer equipment and internet service. Then most of audience and user tend to be middle class Connot be blocked

in case of Prachatai, we prove that there is no technology that authority can block websites permanently. They can do it temporaly. We have been blocked 6 times in 2 month from April to May Due to the order of Not accepted as media For Prachatai experience, Journalist organization in Thailand does not recognize us as a media. Challenge 1 allow diverse information, particularly when mainstream media is subject to self censorship 2 rapid This is the big challenge for mainstream media especially in crisis which you need numbers of reporter. In case of Redshirts crackdown. We can go to youtube and get various situation and in this kind of situation I wonder how difference between professional and non-professional coz u can just report what u see which is just a jigsaw of big picture. Obstacles 1 Online media has its limitations as it lack of narrative. When you take the photo by ur iphone and post it on your facebook. Or just take a clip from your compact camera. It can be misuse by other. There were huge number of clips which take by the redshirts were edited an exploited by the CRESCenter of the Resolution of Emergency Situations. 2 Censorship -Computer Crime Act - Emergency Decree - Article 112, Lese Majeste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EYlSnPRKC4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FWE8FtyC0 http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2010/05/29555