- May 4, 2021
- 3,339
Thai Journalists Association
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA), which was formed in the aftermath of the 1998 Revolution, is a key institution in the lively media culture of the Socialist Republic. The TJA is committed to upholding the healthy and active press freedom embodied in the 2003 Constitution and is a federation of cooperatives of media workers and freelancers. Its main goals are to protect journalistic freedom, uphold moral values in line with socialist principles, and make the media a critical part of participatory democracy. The TJA promotes openness, responsibility, and free flow of information needed for an informed citizenry actively involved in collective rule.
TJA is structured exactly like Thailand's decentralized state structure, with each province having provincial chapters affiliated under a national council coordinating democratically elected by their members. There are members, including journalists of autonomous worker-cooperatives operating print, broadcast, and online media, as well as state-sponsored co-operative media like Thai PBS and TNN. The TJA, managed internally by members' elected representatives, places strong pressure on the workers' self-management values and guarantees that journalists themselves have a direct impact on the priorities and policies of the association.
The cooperative form gives added strength to the position of media workers within the overall socialist economic system by provoking solidarity and cooperative behavior among the media workers of the country. The primary functions of the TJA are to further the professional interests and journalistic ethics of journalists as well as nurture and set up high moral standards compatible with democratic reporting and socialist traditions of social responsibility and justice. It also has training sessions focused on emphasizing reporting techniques, media literacy, and subtleties of reportage in a participatory society.
In addition to acting as an advisory committee to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and National Assembly committees on media policy and legislation, the TJA settles disputes between journalists or media organizations. The TJA continues to exercise independent oversight while working together with state agencies to improve the quality and freedom of the media.
It actively takes part in policy discussions to ensure that media law promotes the constitutional prohibition against censorship and promotes pluralism, and guards against improper influence. The TJA shares good practices and gives Thailand's model of a free press in a socialist context with its international counterparts in socialist countries, notably through the Socialist International platform. It continues to serve as an essential pillar of Thailand's democratic socialist identity, guaranteeing a free, moral, and socially responsible press.
TJA is structured exactly like Thailand's decentralized state structure, with each province having provincial chapters affiliated under a national council coordinating democratically elected by their members. There are members, including journalists of autonomous worker-cooperatives operating print, broadcast, and online media, as well as state-sponsored co-operative media like Thai PBS and TNN. The TJA, managed internally by members' elected representatives, places strong pressure on the workers' self-management values and guarantees that journalists themselves have a direct impact on the priorities and policies of the association.
The cooperative form gives added strength to the position of media workers within the overall socialist economic system by provoking solidarity and cooperative behavior among the media workers of the country. The primary functions of the TJA are to further the professional interests and journalistic ethics of journalists as well as nurture and set up high moral standards compatible with democratic reporting and socialist traditions of social responsibility and justice. It also has training sessions focused on emphasizing reporting techniques, media literacy, and subtleties of reportage in a participatory society.
In addition to acting as an advisory committee to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and National Assembly committees on media policy and legislation, the TJA settles disputes between journalists or media organizations. The TJA continues to exercise independent oversight while working together with state agencies to improve the quality and freedom of the media.
It actively takes part in policy discussions to ensure that media law promotes the constitutional prohibition against censorship and promotes pluralism, and guards against improper influence. The TJA shares good practices and gives Thailand's model of a free press in a socialist context with its international counterparts in socialist countries, notably through the Socialist International platform. It continues to serve as an essential pillar of Thailand's democratic socialist identity, guaranteeing a free, moral, and socially responsible press.
