By The Nation
supalak@nationgroup.com
Published on June 26, 2008
As far as the media were concerned, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama were "defeated" in first day of the censure debate in the House of Representatives.
Headlines in almost all local newspapers backed the opposition Democrat Party saying Samak and Noppadon had lost the battle. The Democrat Party, like butchers, had chopped up the nominee government in Parliament, they said.
Evidence showed the government had lost national sovereignty to Cambodia in favour of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's business interests. Many columnists pointed out the controversial issue of the Preah Vihear temple was the killer point.
Many newspapers devoted the majority of their space in yesterday's editions to the speeches and information provided by the speakers from the opposition.
It is widely know that Samak's government has no ability to communicate with the public, nor any ability to shape public opinion. Both Samak and his foreign minister Noppadon were seen in a negative light because of their connection to former Prime Minister Thaksin.
The public realised long ago they were doing everything to favour Thaksin. Foreign Minister Noppadon, who handled the Preah Vihear case, is a former legal advisor to Thaksin. His reputation as Thaksin's defender was locked into by the media.
Prime Minister Samak himself is a media unfriendly figure. He never offers sweet words. He was painted as a big-mouth politician. As usual, his behaviour in Parliament during the debate was aggressive and he never answered any questions.
He simply said: "I'm old, I know everything and nothing is wrong under my command."
Unlike Samak, Noppadon is media friendly and has made several attempts to get more coverage, but the media is unfriendly to him since he is too close to Thaksin.
The foreign minister set up a war room at the ministry to help assemble data and information for his debate. Intellectually, the Oxford graduate has the background to cover the Preah Vihear issue in legal and diplomatic terms. Unfortunately, the minister failed to capture the headlines.
Tactically, the war room at the ministry is not aware of time management. Noppadon got a time slot for his clarification in Parliament that was too late to make the papers. He began his session at about 11pm on Tuesday.
Very few newspapers were able to wait for his side of the story.
Of course, television viewers who saw the live show heard every word. But in this country, newspapers remain the opinion leaders. Television anchors pick up the headlines for their show every morning and lead public opinion along the lines of the newspapers.
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supalak@nationgroup.com
Published on June 26, 2008
As far as the media were concerned, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama were "defeated" in first day of the censure debate in the House of Representatives.
Headlines in almost all local newspapers backed the opposition Democrat Party saying Samak and Noppadon had lost the battle. The Democrat Party, like butchers, had chopped up the nominee government in Parliament, they said.
Evidence showed the government had lost national sovereignty to Cambodia in favour of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's business interests. Many columnists pointed out the controversial issue of the Preah Vihear temple was the killer point.
Many newspapers devoted the majority of their space in yesterday's editions to the speeches and information provided by the speakers from the opposition.
It is widely know that Samak's government has no ability to communicate with the public, nor any ability to shape public opinion. Both Samak and his foreign minister Noppadon were seen in a negative light because of their connection to former Prime Minister Thaksin.
The public realised long ago they were doing everything to favour Thaksin. Foreign Minister Noppadon, who handled the Preah Vihear case, is a former legal advisor to Thaksin. His reputation as Thaksin's defender was locked into by the media.
Prime Minister Samak himself is a media unfriendly figure. He never offers sweet words. He was painted as a big-mouth politician. As usual, his behaviour in Parliament during the debate was aggressive and he never answered any questions.
He simply said: "I'm old, I know everything and nothing is wrong under my command."
Unlike Samak, Noppadon is media friendly and has made several attempts to get more coverage, but the media is unfriendly to him since he is too close to Thaksin.
The foreign minister set up a war room at the ministry to help assemble data and information for his debate. Intellectually, the Oxford graduate has the background to cover the Preah Vihear issue in legal and diplomatic terms. Unfortunately, the minister failed to capture the headlines.
Tactically, the war room at the ministry is not aware of time management. Noppadon got a time slot for his clarification in Parliament that was too late to make the papers. He began his session at about 11pm on Tuesday.
Very few newspapers were able to wait for his side of the story.
Of course, television viewers who saw the live show heard every word. But in this country, newspapers remain the opinion leaders. Television anchors pick up the headlines for their show every morning and lead public opinion along the lines of the newspapers.
Discuss
Add this link to...
Tell a friend
Bury
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