PR Dept to act as link with provinces

Govt media

Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation October 6, 2011 1:05 am

The government will use the media outlets under the Public Relations Department to communicate with grass-roots audiences while MCOT will present Thailand to Asean countries, says Kritsana Seehalak, a PM's Office minister.

A change of government usually brings a new face to state-owned media. After one month of responsibility for state media, Kritsana told The Nation that this month National Broadcasting Television (NBT) or Channel 11 would revamp its programming to respond better to government policies.

"The government would like to see the Public Relations Department as a communications link between the government and people upcountry," she said.

For the first phase of the revamp from this week to the end of this year, the PRD has re-jigged the programme line-up that follows NBT's daily evening news show.

The new programmes will be produced by the station and production houses.

For example, the "Vetee Pradesh Thai" talk show will feature current affairs, economic and political analysis and information from the government. It airs on weekdays from 8.40-9.30pm, moderated by both existing in-house presenters and new ones such as Jom Petchpradab, the presenter for Voice TV's "Hot Topic" programme.

The next programme is "Wan Khayai" (Magnifying Glass) by Chakrapan Yomjinda from 10.05pm-11.00pm.

NBT has introduced the "Suranand Tonight" show hosted by Suranand Vejjajiva, who was a PM's Office minister in the Thaksin Shinawatra administration. The programme will be screened every Monday from 11.05pm to midnight.

"We need to make sure that information from the government is delivered to the general public accurately and fairly, so National Broadcasting Television or Channel 11 should revamp some TV programmes regarding the government's policy," Kritsana said.

However, she insisted that freedom of the press and accuracy in news reporting were crucial and that the administration would respect those principles amid fear of media interference by the government.

MCOT, as a state enterprise, is to act as the country's information agency to communicate with Asean countries. The government expects to revise and revamp programmes on Modernine TV and its network by next year after a review of each TV production contract.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/new/business/PR-Dept-to-act-as-link-with-provinces-30166936.html

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