KOWIT SANANDANG
Editor, February 2004 to April 2006
Ijoined the Bangkok Post on Aug 1, 1977, as a business reporter and was appointed editor on Aug 1, 2004, after which I became digital director to establish a new department called Post Digital on Aug 1, 2005.
During my time, aside from maintaining high ethical and reporting standards of our team, we also successfully launched a free weekly magazine called Guru, which still lives on until this day.
Another change was to create, with full support from almost everyone in the department, a new rule on gifts coming to us, mainly to reporters and editors.
Before my time as editor, gifts given by public relations companies, advertising agencies, news sources and others on auspicious occasions, especially New Year, were mostly taken for granted as personal presents. The new rule, put in place in the editorial department for everyone to follow, required gifts to be forwarded to the editorial administration’s pool. These gifts would then be auctioned during the editorial department’s Christmas Eve party. Proceeds from the auction would then be kept as a central fund for charity. This became the new normal and continues to this day. In my opinion, it has helped improve and uphold ethical principles and standards as a whole.
Biggest challenges I faced? Thaksin Shinawatra was a prime minister whose influence and pressure on the media had risen to their peak. The biggest challenge was to try my best at all costs to uphold the integrity of the newspaper, and that’s why my time as editor was quite short.
Just a week after taking charge of Post Digital, Thaksin was reportedly furious at the Post for publishing the Suvarnabhumi airport runway crack story on the front page. The Post and I, as the publication’s licence holder, were then sued by the Airports Authority of Thailand at the criminal court. Around three years later, when the political environment had changed, the case was dropped thanks to my defence lawyer Suwat Abhaiphakdi, who somehow helped convince some of the authority’s board members to let it go. That was months after I left the organisation, giving me peace of mind ever after.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my first boss Sunissa Hancock and my senior Paisal Sricharatchanya for grooming me to be a good journalist. I also met lots of capable and esteemed sources during my three-decade career who contributed substantially in developing our country, which has gone through a few deep crises. Just a few of those whom I will never forget are the late Pradeep Sondysuwan, the late Bancha Lamsam, Nukul Prachaubmoh, MR Chatumongol Sonakul, Chumpol NaLamlieng, Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda, Ekamol Kiriwat and Dr Maruay Phadungsith.