A Day executives form The Standard
A new Thai-language multimedia news agency, The Standard Co, was launched yesterday, run by media veteran Wongthanong Chainarongsingha and Nitipat Suksuay, former executives of A Day Magazine.
Mr Wongthanong, the chief executive, predicted The Standard would shake up the industry with its quality content.
The move comes several months after he resigned from DayPoets Co over a controversy with Polaris Capital, which unsuccessfully tried to acquire DayPoets, the publisher of A Day Magazine, A Day Bulletin and the free magazine Hamburger.
He wants The Standard to be an alternative choice for media audiences across the country, transparently reporting news and other content.
Mr Wongthanong said he was confident The Standard would be popular with Thais, with content including hard news, lifestyle, commentary, sports, international trends and psychology.
A team of experienced reporters will contribute daily news and feature writers in three categories: news, culture and lifestyle.
Among the more notable contributors are former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and former Thammasat University rector and historian Charnvit Kasetsiri.
The Standard will have only one media brand as he believes the convergence will improve management and sustainability, Mr Wongthanong said.
“New and traditional media are both moving towards a one-channel model to serve the changing viewing habits of audiences, which crave constant new content,” he said. “Convergence will help some players survive the intense competition.”
The Standard has around 80 staff including executives, mostly arriving from the popular online news site The Momentum, which is run by DayPoets.
The company will offer a website, free magazine, and radio podcast mobile app.
The Standard already provides news on its website, and will launch its free magazine next month and then its radio podcast mobile app in August.