Nation Multimedia Group
Encyclopedia
Nation Multimedia Group Public Company Limited is a media
company based in Thailand
. It has both on-line and off-line media like newspaper
, television
channels, book
s, magazine
s and web
contents. Its address is 44 Moo 10 Bang Na-Trat KM 4.5, Bang Na
, Bangkok
10260 Thailand
. Its symbol at the Bangkok Stock Market is "NMG".
newspaper, The Voice of the Nation, was founded in Bangkok
by some Thai
journalists. The paper's name was eventually shortened to The Nation
and the multimedia company grew up around it. Its shares were first listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand
in 1988 and it was registered as a public company in 1993.
Each of these businesses has its own board of directors.
.
printed an article on March 24, 2006 that misquoted anti-government protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul
, with the misquote suggesting Sondhi wanted Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej
to abdicate, which was viewed as an insult to the king, or lese majesty, which is a crime in Thailand.
The report was about a speech Sondhi made at a protest rally on March 23, in which he implied the king was responsible for the Supreme Administrative Court quashing the two royal decrees on the public listing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
.
Sondhi defended his remarks, saying he was just using a figure of speech, asking whether Thaksin expected the king to "resign" to take responsibility for the failed royal decrees if Thaksin himself refused to show responsibility by resigning.
The Kom Chad Luek report dropped part of the sentence.
On March 28, a group of about 1,000 protestors from the "Caravan of the Poor" supporting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
gathered in front of the Nation Group headquarters on Bang Na-Trat Highway, demanding that the paper clarify its report. Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong acknowledged the paper made an error and said Kom Chad Luek was "punishing itself for the mistake" by shutting down for three days.
The paper published a front-page apology on March 30, begging forgiveness from the king.
However, protests in front of the company complex continued and on March 30 a group of 2,000 protestors blocked the highway and prevented Nation employees from entering or leaving the complex for seven hours. They demanded to meet with the reporter who filed the story. "Tell us what Sondhi said," read signs at the protest.
The paper's editor Korkhet Chantalertlak resigned in a show of responsibility, the chief news editor was reassigned and the paper said it would suspend publication for a total of five days, from March 31 to April 2 and on April 8 and 9.
The newspaper additionally faces charges of lese majesty, filed by a private citizen in response to the March 24 report, but an appeal for royal pardon has already been submitted by the paper.
While most protestors, regardless of whether they support or are opposed to Thaksin, support the monarch, opponents say supporters of Thaksin have politicised the issue for a couple of reasons - first as a means to criticise Sondhi, and second, because Kom Chad Luek and its sister English-language daily The Nation have printed many articles critical of Thaksin.
The Thai Journalists Association and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association denounced the protest as a serious act of intimidation as the paper had already taken full responsibility for the error. More than 100 journalists signed a letter, condemning the siege and the protesters for invoking the monarchy.
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
company based in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It has both on-line and off-line media like newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channels, book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s and web
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
contents. Its address is 44 Moo 10 Bang Na-Trat KM 4.5, Bang Na
Bang Na
Bang Na is one of the fifty districts of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are the Phra Khanong and Prawet districts of Bangkok, Amphoe Bang Phli, Amphoe Mueang, and Amphoe Phra Pradaeng of Samut Prakan Province.-History:...
, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
10260 Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Its symbol at the Bangkok Stock Market is "NMG".
History
The Nation Multimedia Group's beginnings go back to 1971, when a new English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspaper, The Voice of the Nation, was founded in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
by some Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
journalists. The paper's name was eventually shortened to The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...
and the multimedia company grew up around it. Its shares were first listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand
Stock Exchange of Thailand
The Stock Exchange of Thailand is the national stock exchange of Thailand. It is located in Bangkok. As of 31 December 2007, the Stock Exchange of Thailand had 541 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $280 billion. The indices of the stock exchange are SET Index, SET50 Index...
in 1988 and it was registered as a public company in 1993.
Organisation Structure
As of July 2005, the six business units are :- The Nation (includes The Nation Junior)
- Chairman: Pakorn Borimasporn, president: Pana Janviroj, editor: Tulsathit Taptim
- Broadcasting (including Nation Broadcasting Corp and Nation Radio Network)
- Chairman: Suthichai Yoon, president: Adisak Limprungpatanakij, editor: Pranot Vilapasuwan
- Printing (including newspapers, books and magazines)
- Chairman: Thanachai Theerapattanavong, president: Thanachai Santichaikul
- Krungthep Turakij and BizWeek
- Chairman: Nivat Changariyavong, president: Prasert Lekavanichkajorn, editor: Duangkamol Chotana
- Kom Chad Luek and Nation Weekender
- Chairman: Thanachai Theerapattanavong, president: Phimpakan Yansrisirichai, editor: Korkhet Chantalertluk
- Edutainment (including Nation Books, Direct English and cartoons)
- Chairman: Chaveng Chariyapisutthi, president: Kesery Kanjana-Vanit
Each of these businesses has its own board of directors.
Nation Edutainment
Nation Edutainment (NED) is a business in the Nation Group publishing Japanese and Thai mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
.
Publications
The Nation Multimedia Group publishes the following:- The NationThe Nation (Thailand)The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...
- An EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-language daily with circulation in the 60,000-80,000 range. It is the flagship publication of Nation Multimedia Group. Maintains a progressiveProgressivismProgressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
editorial line. - Nation Junior Magazine - A weekly English-language, youth-targeted publication.
- Nation Weekend - A weekly ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
-language news magazine. According to FIPP, circulation in 2003-2004 was 150,000. - Kom Chad LuekKom Chad LuekKom Chad Luek is a mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper launched in 2001 and published in Bangkok, Thailand by the Nation Multimedia Group...
(Sharp, Clear, In-Depth) - A mass-circulation, Thai-language daily, with circulation in the 500,000-600,000 range. It was launched in 2001. - Krungthep Turakij (Bangkok Business News) - A daily Thai-language business newspaper with circulation in the 80,000-100,000 range. This paper is also popular with Thai intellectuals. Political stance is progressive.
Controversy
Nation Multimedia became the target of mass protests after its mass-circulation Thai-language daily, Kom Chad LuekKom Chad Luek
Kom Chad Luek is a mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper launched in 2001 and published in Bangkok, Thailand by the Nation Multimedia Group...
printed an article on March 24, 2006 that misquoted anti-government protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul
Sondhi Limthongkul
Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy . He was elected for leader of the New Politics Party ....
, with the misquote suggesting Sondhi wanted Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...
to abdicate, which was viewed as an insult to the king, or lese majesty, which is a crime in Thailand.
The report was about a speech Sondhi made at a protest rally on March 23, in which he implied the king was responsible for the Supreme Administrative Court quashing the two royal decrees on the public listing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand , , is a state enterprise that owns and manages the majority of Thailand's electricity generation capacity, as well as the nation's transmission network.EGAT is managed by the Ministry of Energy....
.
Sondhi defended his remarks, saying he was just using a figure of speech, asking whether Thaksin expected the king to "resign" to take responsibility for the failed royal decrees if Thaksin himself refused to show responsibility by resigning.
The Kom Chad Luek report dropped part of the sentence.
On March 28, a group of about 1,000 protestors from the "Caravan of the Poor" supporting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
gathered in front of the Nation Group headquarters on Bang Na-Trat Highway, demanding that the paper clarify its report. Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong acknowledged the paper made an error and said Kom Chad Luek was "punishing itself for the mistake" by shutting down for three days.
The paper published a front-page apology on March 30, begging forgiveness from the king.
However, protests in front of the company complex continued and on March 30 a group of 2,000 protestors blocked the highway and prevented Nation employees from entering or leaving the complex for seven hours. They demanded to meet with the reporter who filed the story. "Tell us what Sondhi said," read signs at the protest.
The paper's editor Korkhet Chantalertlak resigned in a show of responsibility, the chief news editor was reassigned and the paper said it would suspend publication for a total of five days, from March 31 to April 2 and on April 8 and 9.
The newspaper additionally faces charges of lese majesty, filed by a private citizen in response to the March 24 report, but an appeal for royal pardon has already been submitted by the paper.
While most protestors, regardless of whether they support or are opposed to Thaksin, support the monarch, opponents say supporters of Thaksin have politicised the issue for a couple of reasons - first as a means to criticise Sondhi, and second, because Kom Chad Luek and its sister English-language daily The Nation have printed many articles critical of Thaksin.
The Thai Journalists Association and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association denounced the protest as a serious act of intimidation as the paper had already taken full responsibility for the error. More than 100 journalists signed a letter, condemning the siege and the protesters for invoking the monarchy.