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Forced to pull the plug
T Vnews anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda has finally bowed to pressure and called it quits, leaving in his wake many questions about media integrity.
On Monday the Criminal Court found him guilty of cheating the Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand (MCOT) out of more than 138 million baht in advertising revenue. He was sentenced to 13 years and four months in jail for the crime and on Thursday he announced on Instagram that he was stepping down as a TV host.
According to his @sorrayuth9111 account, the decision is to “prevent any impact on Channel 3, and to make all sides happy”. This comes despite a statement by Channel 3 operator Bangkok Entertainment Co (BEC) that it was standing by Sorrayuth.
The main driver behind his resignation is widely believed to be the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, which urged its members, including influential companies, to refrain from placing advertisements with Channel 3 or production companies owned by Sorrayuth.
Saha Group, the country’s largest consumer product conglomerate, was among the first to withdraw its advertising. Other private companies in its network were ready to follow suit. It can only be guessed as to how much money was at stake.
However, in terms of integrity, some critics feel Sorrayuth’s decision might almost be too late.
Calls for him to be suspended began as far back as late 2012 when the National AntiCorruption Commission (NACC) decided to take criminal action against him over the ad revenue scandal which took place during his news talk programme on Channel 9 in 2005 and 2006.
At the time, media specialists urged him to quit the media or temporarily stand aside as a TV host while trying to prove his innocence.
But instead of quitting, Sorrayuth simply resigned from the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), much to the disbelief of critics who saw it to as an attempt to dodge scrutiny by his peers.
In a short letter to the TJA, Sorrayuth said: “I, television programme host Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda, an associate member of the Thai Journalists Association, would like to resign from the association, with immediate effect.”
It was a slap in the face for the TJA and journalism academics who preach about professional ethics and the role of the media as a watchdog.
When the court ruling came out on Monday, pressure for him to resign was immense. He could not dig in his heels like he did a few years ago.
Sorrayuth’s entire career in broadcasting has been marked by controversy. At the peak of the People’s Democratic for Reform Committee anti-government demonstrations, protest leaders gathered at Channel 3 and demanded the station link to a signal from Bluesky, the satellite TV mouthpiece of the protest movement, to broadcast PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban’s speeches.
Sorrayuth went to meet them and blew a whistle as a friendly gesture.
His critics disapprove of the way he hosts his television shows with the reading of reports from other newspapers. Some accuse him of biased news reporting and of being used by those in power to feed the public only what benefits them.
At one time, Sorrayuth was quoted as complaining about being a victim of political conflicts.
But this claim was dismissed by Time Chuastapanasiri, a researcher at the Academic Institute of Public Media, who argued it was Sorrayuth’s viewers who were victims.
Describing Sorrayuth as a “story teller”, the researcher said the audience was hooked on his story-telling techniques and paid little attention to the content which was unbalanced and opinionated.
Many of Sorrayuth’s fans will wait for his return. Judicial procedures are not yet final and Sorrayuth has appealed the court ruling.