Thai Rath

Thai[1] Rath (Thai: ไทยรัฐ, lit. Thai State) is a daily newspaper in Thai published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide. The paper is a broadsheet published with two sections. The first section is devoted to news. Although the news section is best known for its sensationalist coverage of crime and accidents, it also includes stories on Thai politics, economy and society. The second section features coverage of sport and entertainment. Thai Rath is the oldest newspaper in their native language (only Bangkok Post, the English-language daily being the oldest published newspaper in the country with a history of more than 60 years) and best-selling newspaper in Thailand, claiming a circulation in excess of 1 million copies daily.[1]

ไทยรัฐ
Thai Rath
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founder(s)Kampol Wacharapol
FoundedThai Rath 25 December 1962 (1962-12-25);as The Weekly Pictorial 5 January 1950
LanguageThai
HeadquartersBangkok,  Thailand
Circulation1,000,000
WebsiteThai Rath
Thai Rath front page, 1 March 2012, on which include the following reports:
• The King and Queen of Thailand received the Duke of York;
• Worachet Phakhirat, associate professor of the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, was attacked inside the Faculty by two men disagreeing with Phakhirat's proposal to amend the Criminal Code, section 112, or the lese majeste law;
• The For Thais Party is to amend the Constitution by dissolving the Administrative Courts and other independent agencies, including the Election Commission;
• Lana O'Connell, Australian swimsuit model, was crashed to death and found to have failed to wear a helmet.

History

Thai Rath was founded on 25 December 1962 by Kampol Wacharapol. Kampol had started two other newspapers, Khaopap Raiwan (Thai: ข่าวภาพรายวัน, lit. The Weekly Pictorial), which was published between 1950 and 1958, when the newspaper was shut down by the government. Following the shutdown of the newspaper, and the government did not allow any new newspapers, he "rent" the Siang Ang Thong (Thai: เสียงอ่างทอง, lit. Ang Thong Voice) newspaper name[2] from Mr. Laor Ketkaew, and the newspaper was published between 1 May 1959 to 25 December 1962.

Thai Rath has been the largest-selling Thai newspaper for decades.

Controversies

Thai Rath is the only one Thai newspaper[3] that published a photo of the body of David Carradine.[4] You can see a copy of the newspaper front page with the photo here:[5]

On 9 August 2020, Thai Rath published a headline that called the Philippines, the country from which 165 Filipino teachers who arrived in Thailand on 8 August came from, as the "land of COVID-19". The headline caused disappointment from some Filipinos, who found the headline discriminatory and xenophobic. Thai journalist Erich Parpart apologized on Facebook for "the idiocracy of [Thailand's] main tabloid".[6][7] In response, the Philippine Embassy in Thailand sent a letter to Thai Rath regarding the said headline. In the letter, it said that "the characterization is inappropriate, insensitive, and unhelpful", and that the Filipino teachers in question and other Filipinos who will return to Thailand are following Thai government protocols regarding COVID-19.[8]

References
  1. Company website, About Thai Rath
  2. "ประวัติความเป็นมาหนังสือพิมพ์ไทยรัฐ". Thairathwittaya 75 School. Retrieved 30 September 2014. (in Thai)
  3. "บทเรียนไทยรัฐ! สื่อนอก-ครอบครัว ฉุนเผยแพร่ภาพศพ "คาร์ราดีน"". Manager Online. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2014. (in Thai)
  4. Agencies (7 June 2009). "Carradine family takes action on probe, photos". China Daily. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  5. http://i.cdn.turner.com/ireport/sm/prod/2009/06/06/WE00266168/519652/Anon1244267631-BangkokNewspaperPublishesDavidCarrad877087_lg.jpg
  6. "'Pinas binansagang 'COVID land' sa Thailand tabloid". Abante (in Tagalog). 9 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  7. @RichardBarrow (9 August 2020). "The not so good news is the Thai Rath headline" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. @cnnphilippines (10 August 2020). "LOOK: The Philippine Embassy in Thailand writes to Thai Rath newspaper over its controversial headline published on August 9" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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