Journalists' plea for station
The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA) yesterday called on the PM's Office to ensure that iTV continues to exist and operate on the basis of its founding objectives.
The association urged the PM's Office - which grants the concession to the country's sole private television station - to proceed in line with a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court this week. The court ruled on Wednesday that iTV must retroactively pay a Bt1-billion concession fee per year to the PM's Office. This has placed the station in a precarious financial position. The TBJA statement said iTV was an example of how plans to create a media outlet to serve the people were subverted by a government that allowed its last owner to reap maximum profit from the TV concession. The association also said that conflict of interest among political office holders, and businessmen who owned media outlets, had threatened media independence and its investigative capacity. "We should learn from what has happened to prevent interference in news reporting," TBJA said. It praised iTV for delivering sufficient quality news despite existing constraints and limits. The association also warned people who may become iTV executives in the future that "the status and welfare of iTV staff should not suffer".
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