Newly-installed Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva not only has
to institute reforms in the Thai media: He also has to accomplish
this task without widening further the cracks within the country's
political landscape.

Among his priority is amendment of the 1994 Official Information
Law to make official information accessible to the public. Another
is to find a workable solution to turn state-owned media National
Broadcasting Television (NBT), formerly Channel 11, into a  public
television similar to the current Thai Public Broadcasting
Television (TPBS). Yet another task is to hasten the setting up of
a national broadcasting and telecommunication commission to
regulate fair distribution and efficient use of broadcast
frequencies.

Abhisit outlined his government's media reform agenda in his first
meeting with the local media comprising some 100 local editors,
journalists and media advocates.  The forum was organized by the
Thai Journalists Association (TJA), a founding member of SEAPA, on
January 13.

Journalists said the current government must finish the task begun
earlier. Several laws regulating the broadcast media were passed
during the interim government of Gen. Surayudh Chulanont. These
included the Public Broadcasting Service Act, creating the
country's first public broadcasting television; the 2008
Broadcasting Business Act, allowing private companies and
communities to own frequencies previously controlled by the
government agencies and the army; and the 2007 Press Registration
and Notification Act.

Abhisit's coalition government, however, hinges on the backing of
the army and the Democrat Party's attempts to maintain its
coalition partners, not to mention fending off the pro-Thaksin
opposition.

In retrospect, the current political problems are partially
attributed to a lapse in the media's professional ethics. The media
was accused of taking sides and fuelling the conflicts. Moreover,
during the decade after the ratification of the pro-media reform
1997 Constitution, the legal and structural reform process were not
taken seriously by the then incumbent regimes.

Abhisit, who as an opposition figure has been a supporter of public
access to information and privatization of state media, could end
up finding these issues "too hot to handle". The media reform
agenda would definitely touch a sensitive nerve of major
stakeholders in the broadcast and telecom sector, particularly the
Army, which always invoked national security to retain its
ownership of broadcasting facilities. The army owns Channels 5 and
7 and has a network of more than 100 radio stations nationwide,
while the Public Relation Department owns Channel 11 and some 200
radio stations.

Abhisit admits it's a tough balancing act. "If we are to be extreme
to say current frequencies could not be taken back to the public,
then the reform would not take place or all frequencies must be
taken back from current owners, we are not going to solve any
problem," he said.

A potential hot spot is the restructuring of NBT to make it a
public and impartial television channel that is free from the
government and politicians' influence.

The prime minister also would have to ensure fair and transparent
rules that will inevitably upset the 4,000 community radios that
are operating illegally under the new broadcasting business law.
Without a well-thought strategy, this could be a potential blow to
the national reconciliation the country urgently needs, as a huge
number of community radio stations in the North and Northeast are
used as propaganda tools of the pro-Thaksin movement.

Another big question is how to deal with the controversial
operation of satellite-transmitted ASTV of media mogul-turned
leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Sondhi
Limthongkul.

More importantly, is how Abhisit's government could handle
anti-lese majeste drive without upsetting free expression on
Internet. Internet freedom has been severely trampled over the past
few years. The new Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
minister recently announced that 2300 websites have been closed and
400 of them found to have contents insulting on the monarchy. On
January 19, the justice minister was quoted in the Bangkok Post as
saying that some 10,000 websites allegedly contain lese majeste
messages.

Abhisit said he would tolerate criticism as he believes in freedom
of expression and public accountability but in return he said he
would expect the media to perform its watchdog role in a
professional manner. "I would only defend myself if I am not
treated fairly," he said.

The Democratic Party to which Abhisit belongs to, is known for its
tough stance about the media. Its former leaders, including Chuan
Leekpai and Sanan Kajonprasart, who is now deputy prime minister,
have brought several defamation lawsuits against newspapers.

But will Abhisit's encouraging remarks about freedom of expression
on January 13 banish this perception and, more important, push
through with the long overdue reforms in Thai media?