THE READERS COME FIRST
Angry protesters, power cuts, military curfews — no obstacle was too big as Bangkok Post staff united during the height of the 2010 turmoil to get the paper out, writes Pichai Chuensuksawadi
In its 70-year history, the Bangkok Post has failed to publish on only two occasions, following the military coups of Nov 8, 1947, and Oct 6, 1976.
But over the past 40 years, despite various floods and political turmoil, the newspaper has published every day without fail.
That unbroken record almost came apart during the Abhisit government’s crackdown on red-shirt protesters in 2010, but the newspaper’s resourceful staff saved the day.
For days, ominous tension hung over the capital as the Abhisit government tried in vain to enforce a blockade around the protracted red-shirt rally in Ratchaprasong. At night, intermittent gunfire and bomb attacks shook the city, especially around Silom Road and the Dusit Thani Hotel opposite Lumpini Park.
We had a business continuity plan in place if the worst-case scenario emerged. But honestly, I never thought the nightmare would occur. As journalists, our thoughts and preoccupations each day, especially in times of crisis, focus on what is the top story for tomorrow’s newspaper.
But then, before dawn on May 19, 2010, the military moved in to break down the red-shirt barricades. As fighting erupted and troops headed towards the red-shirt stronghold in Ratchaprasong, our plan kicked in.
Department heads told their staff not to come to work. Those already at work were told to return home. Floor by floor, the building was cleared. Only the editorial teams of the Bangkok Post and our Thai-language sister paper Post Today, as well as key support teams from the information technology and pre-press sections, remained.
At 2 pm, after there d-shirt leaders were arrested, all hell broke loose. Rioters set fires in many places such as the stock exchange, banks, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, CentralWorld shopping mall and a cinema complex in the Siam Square area.
Protesters also turned their rage on the local media, which they had accused of biased coverage in favour of the government. Groups of rioters attacked the offices of BEC World Plc, the operator of Channel 3, where they set fire to cars, punctured water pipes leading to flooding, and forced their way into the building.
In the lobby of the Bangkok Post building, as editorial teams worked inside, there was an eerie silence. I was in a lobby with two members of management at the time — Anil Pinrenu of operations and Pornchai Saengaroon of human resources. Every now and then, a young police officer in contact with his colleagues via walkie-talkie informed us of the situation in the city.
By late afternoon, red-shirt protesters had started placing burning tyres across Rama IV Road near Bon Kai. They were armed and heading our way, the young policeman said. We ordered the office gates closed and told security to remain out of sight. Within minutes, the protesters were heading down the Na Ranong intersection, wrecking telephone booths along the way. They reached the Loxley building, attacked it with three M79 grenades and tried to torch it.
At that point, I announced the immediate evacuation of the Post building over the office public address system. Our remaining editorial teams left the building through the back gate leading to Shell’s premises. Red-shirt protesters on motorcycles whizzed past our offices. Thankfully, the protesters did not attack our building. Residents living around our building were red-shirt supporters and they persuaded the protesters not to attack.
Once the threat had subsided, our editorial teams returned. But then the government announced a curfew, effective 8pm. A quick decision was made to reduce the pagination of both newspapers. We had about three hours to get the job done. But then electricity to the building was cut because of an earlier attack on a power station.
No problem, because we had power from our back-up generator. Then Murphy’s Law kicked in — the generator went out because of problems with the control panels, leaving us with just UPS power support to our computers.
Now we were really worried. Power from UPS does not last long and the possibility of not being able to produce a newspaper — even a light version — was on us.
Now the teams were working not only against time but also in virtual darkness with light only coming from the computer screens. Editors and designers were using flashlights and lighters so that they could see their keyboards.
Post Today had finished its pages and was ready to transmit to our printing plant on Bang Na-Trat Road, about 30 kilometres away. The Post had already transmitted six pages and had two more pages to complete. Then the nightmare grew worse — the UPS packed in. There was complete darkness. It was already 7.30pm, half an hour before curfew.
Thankfully, some of the pages were saved on thumb drives. Others were not. Rather than give up, Bangkok Post and Post Today designers jumped on motorcycles and headed for our Bang Na printing plant where standby computers had been installed. The pages would be completed there. And they were.
At Bang Na, printing was not a problem. The problem was how could our delivery boys distribute the newspaper under a curfew that was in place until 5am? We signed hundreds of letters addressed “To Whom It May Concern” that the delivery boys would present if police or soldiers stopped them. These letters really had no legal standing. But, thankfully, light versions of both newspapers were delivered without incident. But our story does not end here. The Bangkok
Post building was without power. No generator. No UPS. Our computer system was down. We had no idea when power would return. And even when it did, it would take a full day to get the computer system back up. Although our websites were operational and staff could work off-site, how would we produce newspapers the next day? We had a business continuity site located in The
Nation’s Bang Na Tower that was set up two days before the military crackdown on the red shirts. But it was closed down because it was a likely target for protesters. Our Bang Na plant could not be used for news operations because its internet connection would not be sufficient for us to do our job.
In the early hours of May 20, we managed to secure several meeting rooms at the Bangkok Rama Hotel on Phatthanakan Road so that we could produce two newspapers. At 2pm, a makeshift newsroom was set up.
That night, it was a chaotic and hectic scene as two editorial teams — comprising editors, copy and layout editors, reporters, photographers — worked in one room for the first time to produce light versions of the Bangkok Post and Post Today for May 21.
In nearly 34 years at the Post, I have witnessed many instances where we have pulled together during times of crisis to ensure the newspaper is published and reaches our readers.
But I will always remember May 19-20, 2010. I will always recall with pride how the editorial teams of both newspapers, our online, production, circulation and support teams, overcame the nightmare scenario and pulled together with one goal in mind — to serve our readers come hell or high water.