<p>Amidst the political polarization that has created deep-rooted divisions in Thai society, the mass media is one factor that has difficulty in denying any responsibility and has been asked serious questions about its role and how it has performed its duty by people who have chosen political sides. At the same time, new media has appeared and individuals&rsquo; preferences in following the news change according to their political stance and access to technology. &nbsp;Pravit Rojanaphruk, senior journalist at The Nation, is one mainstream journalist who has long asked questions about his own professional conduct and criticized the media culture. &nbsp;Prachatai talked to him on the day when every single branch of the media gave space to expressing the importance of the profession, especially the duty of the media in the run-up to an eye-catching day in Thai politics, the day of the red shirt rally on 12 March.</p>

<p>Of late, a lot of number-crunching has been going on, especially before and after the court decided to confiscate Bt46 billion of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's Bt76-billion frozen assets. A lot of people, be they trained in economics, law or even fields that are not remotely related to this subject, came up with different figures. In fact, some even said that Thaksin's greed and corruption had cost the country more than Bt100 billion in damages.</p>

<p>The disconnect between the mainstream media and the red shirts has become even starker after the February 26 court ruling on former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's so-called ill-gotten wealth, leading to the seizure of Bt46 billion of his assets.</p>

<p>The Bt800-million GT200 hoax is forcing scientists to encourage Thais to become more rational. It is a fair and modest request, because Thai society is bound to benefit from rational thought.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Interior Ministry's latest decision to introduce its own cable-television channel - dubbed 'blue-shirt television' by the media for its close association with Bhum Jai Thai Party kingmaker Newin Chidchob - will further exacerbate the already tense political situation and is a reminder of how the government still thinks crude propaganda works.</p>

<p>Leaders of both the red- and yellow-shirt movements appear to have succumbed, in their self-absorbed way, to thinking of themselves as out-of-this-world characters - often to comic effect. Some time ago, the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy supremo Sondhi Limthongkul dressed all in white like some holy man, splashed his PAD followers with what appeared to be holy water, like that dispensed by Buddhist monks. That was at the height of the PAD's seizure of Government House.</p>

<p>Reading the latest and possibly last letter from jail from convicted lese majeste and computer crime law offender Suwicha Thakor dated January first 2010 was a sobering experience. The letter reflects Suwicha's lack of faith on Thai mainstream media which do not care to put his side of the story to the public. So instead, Suwicha only mentioned in his Thai-language letter, the left-leaning not-for-profit prachatai.com online newspaper which duly published his letter on Wednesday.</p>

<p>The cloud of a political showdown between the red shirts and the government and its backers, looms over us. It is understandable then that the layman feels helpless and fears bloodshed, anarchy, coup, civil war, economic ruin - or all of the above at this stage.</p>

<p>Deploying ultra-royalist and xenophobic discourses as political tools&nbsp;to discredit and crush political opponents is not a new tactic in&nbsp;Thailand. But it has recently become more widespread. Now, even some&nbsp;red-shirt media groups, long accused by the yellow-shirt People's&nbsp;Alliance for Democracy (PAD) of being anti-royalist, are playing the&nbsp;ultra-royalist card too.</p>

<p>Marwaan Macan-Markar, president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of&nbsp;Thailand, has denied being forced by the government to withdraw&nbsp;permission for the red shirts to hold a symposium at the clubhouse.</p>

<p>German freelance photographer Nick Nostitz is no stranger to either the red-shirt or the yellow-shirt political rallies. In fact, he stands out as having the most detailed photographic records of Thai political turmoil over the past few years and his 160-page photo book &quot;Red VS Yellow, Volume 1: Thailand's Crisis of Identity&quot;, published earlier this year by White Lotus, is testimony to that.</p>

<p>What is certain about the upcoming major political protest by the red-shirt Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) members is the political uncertainty it will engender. Their announced goal is to finally dislodge from power the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, which they deem as not legitimate, after their failed major attempt in April 2009. Asking top DAAD leaders about the likelihood of achieving their objective this time is not likely to gain accurate answers as whatever they say will be premeditated and calculated.</p>