The Bangkok Bugle | News, views and information from Thailand and the media

A few weeks ago I met a representative from Stockholm-based magazine publisher Bonnier. The company has more than 150 magazines and, looking at the work they've been doing for the past six months, they're at the forefront of developments for providing a print-style reading experience for the iPad. Whether something...

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I'm home after spending a couple of hours walking up and down Rajadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok where most the red-shirt anti-government protesters are gathering. It's hard to estimate just how many people, but for certain the numbers are growing by the hour. Policing is light and the mood of the...

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Regionally the Macau Daily Times (pictured) and the Asia edition of the International Herald Tribune that chose to feature Friday's protests in Bangkok on their front pages. There was sizable coverage inside many regional heavyweight including The Straits Times, South China Morning Post and Sydney Morning Herald. Locally The Bangkok...

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Saturday afternoon's in central Bangkok are never like this. I captured the almost deserted roads outside Central Chitlom at 2pm this afternoon. The shops here, and also at Siam Paragon, were equally quiet. I think many shoppers opted to stay closer to home, rather than venture into the centre of...

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The eyes of the world will once again be on Bangkok this weekend as up to one million anti-government protesters descend on the capital. Several countries, notably the Philippines and Taiwan, have already issued advisories to their citizens to postpone planned trips to Bangkok, while others, such as the United...

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EXCLUSIVE: By The Bangkok Bugle A service offering copies of international magazines on a rental basis has launched in Thailand. The MagPalThailand venture, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, allows customers in Thailand to rent copies of overseas magazines from the United States...

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'Gossip' magazines are popular no matter what language is used.There are a huge number of home-grown Thai language titles as well as licensed editions of both Hello! and OK!, but I was surprised to learn that imported English language gossip and celebrity titles are also one of the best-selling categories...

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With the lack of independent circulation auditing for magazines in Thailand it's a fact that every magazine massages its sales figures. This isn't a problem that's unique to Thailand, but in other parts of the world publishers have been slowly forced into telling the truth about their sales. That's fine...

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The Nation Group was quick off the blocks, printing and distributing a chunky 'Thaksin Verdict' special publication within just 48-hours of the judge's verdict. The Thai language title includes the entire text of the verdict alongside some background and photographs of red-shirts and Thaksin. A fair proportion would have...

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The Nation had a front page comment piece on Friday headlined 'Is a new dawn possible for print journalism?' It's worth a read. It asks many questions but leaves more unanswered."The only pending question is the financial viability of such a business model," the article says, discussing how mainstream media...

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The "difficult political situation" has forced organisers of The Asia Pacific Advertising Festival 2010 (ADFEST) to postpone the event for a couple of months.The event, which was set to be held in Pattaya from March 18-20, was set to bring many of the regions top advertising executives to Thailand. Organisers...

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Another personal HR experience from the '.. it can only happen in Thailand' file.My company is currently recruiting for advertising sales staff for our English language publications. The ad says applications should be in English and that the position involves selling ads for English language titles.Step forward Ms. B. She...

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Print is far from dead if statistics from the Magazine Publishers Association of America are anything to go by. Yes, I know it's an industry association and you might accuse them of talking up the industry but the findings are interesting nonetheless - even though they relate to magazines in...

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Golf Digest is the second global magazine to appear this year with a licensed Thai language edition. The 60-year-old marketing leader has been licensed in Thailand by Media Transasia, publishers of other licensed magazines including Men's Health, OK! and Seventeen. The launch March issue of Golf Digest Thailand sells for...

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If it wasn't so frustrating it would be funny.I've lost count of the number of times I have taken a magazine to the sales counter to pay, only for the details not to have been previously recorded in the point-of-sale system - hence the need for at least three (and...

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A number of Saturday's newspapers from around the world featured Friday night's decision by the Supreme Court to seize US$1.96 billion of assets belonging to the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Regional and global print publishers opted to report the news on page one, including newspapers in Dubai, Singapore,...

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Thailand has seen the launch of its first local language licensed magazine this year following the appearance of at least 20 new, locally published titles during the first two months of 2010.The new bi-monthly magazine, published in Thai by Post Elements Co. Ltd, is a combination of content from Future...

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Post Publishing Public Company Limited has reported a net loss for the year ending December 31, 2009, of 97.93 million baht. This compares to a net profit during 2008 of 12,19 million baht.In a statement released to The Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday the company cited sharp declines in sales...

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Nation Multimedia Group Public Company Limited has recorded a net loss of 53.04 million baht for the year ending December 2009. This compares to a net loss of 54.98 million baht for the previous year.In a statement released to The Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday the company highlighted a 15...

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If you need further evidence that magazine publishing in south east Asia is alive and well, you only need to look at the latest batch of licensing agreements that have been announced.Hearst has announced it has signed a deal with Vietnam publisher Sun Flower Media to produce a Vietnamese language...

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Ensign Media, one of Thailand's most dynamic English language publishers, is seeking an energetic multi-tasker to work on a variety of projects as Associate Editor in its Phuket office. Are you ready for the challenge of working in one of Asia's most exciting media environments? Can you write...

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A single sentence in one story in The Bangkok Post probably sent shivers down the spines of many publishers. In the piece which highlighted forthcoming revisions in advertising strategy and spending at Thai Airways, the writer stated: "Thai Airways will purchase advertising media directly from agencies and will use more...

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The Nation has introduced "The Nation Exclusive", a paywall-protected section of its free-to-access website that promises, according to publisher, to deliver "exclusive news, in-depth analysis, tips for investors, premium lifestyle articles, exclusive video, exclusive business tips, best offer for your lifestyle, privilege for high-class travelers and audio analyses". (sic)The premium...

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The British Embassy in Bangkok has emailed registered British citizens to warn them that violence is "quite possible" on the back of next week's court decision.Ambassador Quinton Quayle, referring to official advice travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth office, said: "The political situation in Thailand is tense and uncertain....

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Last month I wrote about the year-old magazine that was still on sale at one bookshop in Bangkok.Just two days after my story appeared copies of this magazine had been removed from sale at the shop, and at another branch of the same chain where I'd also noticed copies on...

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