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Post Tips
Monday, September 13, 1999

INTRODUCTION

Busy term

We’ve certainly accomplished a lot since we began the current term on June 7th. We’ve covered all the main types of writing – news, opinion and features – found in the Bangkok Post. We’ve even spent some time with news photographs and the "personnel wanted" section of the classified section.

Next week we’ve scheduled a test covering most of the subjects introduced this term, so we thought it would be good idea to take this week to do a little review.

From the beginning

Throughout this term, we’ve been fortunate to have the help of many of the Bangkok Post’s key people. We began with Bangkok Post editor, Pichai Chuensuksawasdi. He explained that one of the functions of our newspaper is to serve an audience with many different interests. That is why there is so much variety in our newspaper.

Pichai Chuensuksawasdi

Mr Pichai also returned two weeks later to explain how our editors select the stories which run on our news pages. He said the Bangkok Post naturally focuses first on local news, particularly politics and the environment, but it also has strong coverage of regional and international news. "Not all of our stories cover important news events, however," he added. "Some are included because they are unusual or amusing or perhaps they just seem interesting."



Sombat Raksakul

Photo editor Sombat Raksakul was our guide for a very informative lesson on news photography. He explained the five basic elements behind a good news photo: content, action, expression, composition, and lighting and how they influence the choice of the photos that appear in the newspaper.

We then spent several weeks with the Bangkok Post’s news section in the company of assistant assignment editor Sonchai Nokeplub, chief sub-editor John Hayes, and Deputy News Editor for Environment and Urban Affairs, Wasant Techawongtham. With the help of International School Bangkok (ISB) student intern Dana Brown, we were able to see in detail how local news is gathered, written and edited into its final form.

Sonchai Nokeplub Wasant Techawongtham John Hayes

Interestingly most local reporters still write in Thai, so their reports must be translated and rewritten before they go to the sub-editors. The news reports are often cut drastically to fit into the limited space available on the news pages. The stories are also structured so that the main facts appear at the beginning so that they are easy to find. And since these facts are usually repeated several times, news stories often contain synonyms, making it easy for you to guess the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Alan Dawson


We also spent a week with Alan Dawson, the editor responsible for summaries section which appears on the back page of the front section. He said an important part of his job is providing busy readers the information they need to start their day — the most important news about business, international events, local top stories, sports and weather.


Opinion writing

Sanitsuda Ekachai
Kanjana Spindler
In the middle of the term we spent three weeks focusing on the opinion and analysis pages of the Bangkok Post. I’m sure some of you were surprised at how lively and outspoken this section can be.

We talked first with Sanitsuda Ekachai, one of our top writers who writes a weekly commentary on social issues. She has a strong interest in topics affecting woman and she often points out – in very strong terms – how women are unfairly treated in Thai society. We read one her columns on this theme.

For the next two weeks, we focused on the popular Postbag column which gives our readers a chance to express their opinions. We were assisted by Kanjana Spindler, the Bangkok Post’s assistant editorial pages editor, who, incidentally, writes a hard-hitting commentary of her own each Wednesday.

Ms Spindler explained that she tries to select letters that will generate a response. The most common topics are politics, current events, the environment and matters of social concern. Interestingly, nowadays, almost all "letters" actually arrive by e-mail.

Outside the news pages

Chitsopee Thongtao


Last month, we spent a week with the classified section, interviewing manager Chitsopee Thongtao and two of her most important clients, Ms Varaphorn Sayupatham, Director of Executive Recruitment for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Mr Surachai Suwitheechon, Senior Manager of Human Resources for Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC).

Our subject was how to respond to the many "personnel wanted" advertisements found in the classifieds. We found out that resumes should be relatively short – no more than two pages – and should point up qualities that set you apart from other candidates. Prepare thoroughly for interview, said our experts, and be sure to stress what you can do to help the company you are applying to.

We ended the term with a two-week stint with our Friday real.time magazine staff for an in-depth look at feature writing. We were assisted the first week by two more ISB interns, Camilla Russell and Jung-Bum (JB) Hur. They followed the writing of a real.time feature from start to finish. They were impressed at how much time and effort is spent on finding just the right approach or "angle" on the subject as well as on the editing and revision process. It is a real team effort between the writer and sub-editors, they noted.

Kong Rithdee Kong Rithdee

Last week we interviewed young feature writer Kong Rithee and found out how he became so fluent in English without having to study abroad. He credits his success to his passion for reading. We also talked to him at length about the column he enjoys writing the most – movie reviews.

In his reviews, he says, he gives his personal impression of the movies he sees and he is not at all afraid to criticise films he doesn’t like. He makes sure to explain the reasons behind his opinions, however. "If a movie is supposed to be funny and it’s not funny, I try to explain why it fails to do what it is supposed to do," he said.

Clearly we have had a lot of expert help this term and we would like to give our sincerely thanks to all those who gave us their time so that you could become more familiar with the Bangkok Post. And thank you, too, for joining in.

Exercise

This week’s exercise is designed to illustrate some of the variety found in your Bangkok Post. There are three different types of writing. The questions are relatively easy and you should be able to answer them quickly. Next week, we’ll give you some more difficult questions. The answers for this exercise will appear this Thursday together with the What’s News column.

Judges lose patience over ‘loose cannons’

Foul-tongued public figures ‘facing jail’

Suebpong Unarat
Judges are losing patience with foul-tongued politicians and have vowed to send them to jail for defamation if they persist in making damaging statements.

The long tradition of handing down suspended jail terms as a gesture of tolerance will be scrapped, the judges decided at a meeting last week.

Even first-time offenders could be jailed outright if they caused serious damage to the public by their vulgarity and the use of false information to damage other people, said Pramote Chapanont, chief justice of the Criminal Court.

"I am not sure if the judges’ decision will make politicians more careful with their language... Those in politics will agree that false statements can cause serious damage," the chief justice said.

1. The above excerpt was taken from a

  1. news story
  2. feature
  3. commentary
  4. review

2. The ‘loose cannons’ mentioned in the headline refer to

  1. a kind of weapon
  2. a criminal court judge
  3. careless politicians
  4. a kind of punishment

3. "Defamation" refers to

  1. a suspended sentence
  2. false and damaging statements
  3. a gesture of tolerance
  4. first-time offenders

4. From the interview with John Hale earlier this term, we learned that the first paragraph of this type of story is called a

  1. sub-editor
  2. headline
  3. lead
  4. byline

National forests aren't up for sale
 Sanitsuda Ekachai

The Forestry Department project to turn national forests into massive eucalyptus plantations illustrates its hypocrisy on forest conservation policy.

Despite extensive studies of the environmental disasters caused by eucalyptus plantations, the Forestry Department announced this week that it would allow China to use 200,000 rai of national forest to grow wood pulp for its paper factories. It also promises to find wood pulp growers on another 500,000 rai of forest land for the Chinese investment.

The law states that all activities are barred from national forests. The 1992 cabinet decision also prohibits tree plantations in forest reserves due to the impact on natural forests, not to mention the adverse social repercussions.

But the legal stumbling blocks are minor problems, said the forestry authorities. If tree farms in national forests are illegal, then change the law to make them legal. A piece of cake.

Don't ask about the environmental impact of large-scale monoculture plantations. Don't ask what will happen to millions of poor villagers who live in national forests. In the Forestry Department’s scheme of things, the poor-and nature-don’t matter. Only money does.

5. The above excerpt was taken from a

  1. news story
  2. feature
  3. commentary
  4. review

6. What is the writer’s opinion of the plan to use 200,000 rai of national forest to grow wood pulp for Chinese paper factories?

  1. She is against it.
  2. She is in favour of it.
  3. She is in favour of it under certain limited conditions.
  4. She doesn’t give her opinion.

7. In using the word "hypocrisy" in the first paragraph, the writer is

  1. praising the Forestry Department
  2. criticising the Forestry Department
  3. asking a question
  4. trying to be amusing

8. Which one of the statements below clearly means the opposite of what it says?

  1. It also promises to find wood pulp growers on another 500,000 rai of forest land for the Chinese investment.
  2. The law states that all activities are barred from national forests.
  3. Don't ask what will happen to millions of poor villagers who live in national forests.
  4. In the Forestry Department’s scheme of things, the poor-and nature-don’t matter.

This charming man

By Pongpet Mekloy
Some wear them as lucky charms to enhance their luck. Many believe they possess the power to protect against danger and evil spirits. Others keep them as personal reminders of the Lord Buddha and his teachings.

Whatever the reason, the fact is, Buddha amulets – or phra khrueng – have played an integral part in the lives of Thai people for centuries. And yet, until very recently there has never been a museum devoted to this national heritage.

The reason is understandable: Most genuine amulets – which can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of baht each – are kept securely in the safe boxes of private collectors. And who would risk showing off their treasured collections to strangers? Well, Choochart Marksumphan would. And he has been doing so since last August when he turned his home on Buddhamondhon Sai Song Road into a private museum featuring a priceless collection of more than 3,000 Buddha amulets and 200 Buddha images from different periods.

"The museum idea goes back eight years when I realised it didn't make sense to continue to keep these amulets to myself. Nobody lives forever. And when I die, it's likely all that I've spent my whole life collecting will just scatter into different hands," said Mr Choochart, who is well-respected in the phra krueng circle. He added that at first he intended to build the museum in his home province of Samut Sakhon but had to scrap the plan because of the economic crisis.

"Anyway, I turned 60 last year and I thought I shouldn't wait any longer to realise my dream. So I had my house converted for this purpose," he said, adding that in this way the public can benefit from his private collection.

9. The above excerpt was taken from a

  1. news story
  2. feature
  3. commentary
  4. review

10. In which paragraph do you find out the specific topic of the story?

  1. the first paragraph
  2. the third paragraph
  3. the fourth paragraph
  4. the fifth paragraph

11. What is the story’s angle?

  1. Buddha amulets in general
  2. the history of Buddha amulets in Thailand
  3. one man’s museum for Buddha amulets
  4. the life of Choochart Marksumphan

TEACHER'S NOTE

Next week will be a test, so we thought it would only be fair to review the content we have covered so far this term. As you can see from this lesson, we have accomplished a lot.

The main purpose of this lesson is to give your students some perspective on what we have done this term, but the exercise will also give them some practice for next week’s test.

Next week: End of term test.

•This lesson was prepared by Acharn Terry Fredrickson, BA Stanford, MA (TESL) University of Minnesota, Manager of the Educational Services Department at the Bangkok Post and general editor of this programme.
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Comments to Terry F. at terryfrd@ksc15.th.com
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Last modified: March 27, 2000