* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Pranom Leephan-Williams is an alumna of a Thomson Reuters Foundation Writing and Producing Television News course she took in England and Germany in the fall of 1997. After taking some time off to raise her child, the Thai television correspondent now hopes to break back into the news business. We caught up with her recently and she remembers her experiences with the Foundation.
Q: How did you become a journalist?
Leephan-Williams: I have always had an interest in politics and news, but I never thought about being a journalist until I was bored to tears at a corporate desk job as an international coordinator and purchaser. I took at job with TV5, but I didn’t intend to work in television for very long. After some time passed, though, I fell in love with the station and took every chance to improve my skills that will help me become a better journalist.
Q: Which course did you take with the Foundation and when? What was the best part of the course?
Leephan-Williams: I took the Writing and Producing Television News course in October and November 1997 in Germany and England. Being exposed to a world-class course for the first time, I embraced every challenge I faced, from getting to know the other journalists to studying the given materials before class.
However, the training was intense. I wasn’t comfortable because I’m originally from Thailand and had a language barrier. When we had to get into groups for the course, I was nervous and afraid of letting my group down, but I wound up being able to really add to the work we did.
On one assignment, we had to work individually to produce a documentary, simulating a live broadcast on television. I misunderstood the instructions calling for a video piece and instead wrote a news story. Having realized my mistake, I tried to work through lunch to rewrite it, but I didn’t have enough time in the end. One of my colleagues, a Chinese TV producer, suggested I hand in my original paper and explain the misunderstanding to my instructors.
I was worried about my mistake, but my instructor said my work ‘wowed’ him. From that point on, I felt comfortable and fully welcome. I loved every minute, inside the training room and out. Being around respected and devout journalists was a priceless experience.
Q: How did the course impact your work or approach to journalism?
Leephan-Williams: After taking the Thomson Reuters course, I promised myself I would do my best for the viewers. Adequate information and accuracy would be my priority for any materials on the tv screen. However, my new training wasn’t taken seriously by my division, so I quit my job at the TV station and finished my Master’s in 2000.
Q: What is your favourite news event you’ve covered thus far in your career?
Leephan-Williams: As a Thai television international news correspondent, I was often asked to cover international forums along with local journalists. This included conducting interviews dealing with topics ranging from the economy to sport. I don’t have a favourite news event, but I did realize that I was working with ‘raw’ materials from conflicts around the world. My editor would often choose not to show any graphic images. One day, it hit me that I could do something more: expose some ‘hidden truths’ of society to the public without getting myself into any hot water. So, I decided to follow my husband’s plan to help my country while living abroad in the U.S. That dream has been on hold for a while now, but I’m still passionate about accomplishing it.
Q: Which news story would you like to write about in the near future and why?
Leephan-Williams: People in Thailand can’t talk about politics without dramatic division and disputes; it’s become a sensitive subject to discuss. But, the country is changing. Forbidding discussion on some issues creates anxiety among the public. Because of political instabilities, overlooked corruption and unenforceable laws, I’d like to focus on education and children in my next project. These areas are powerful forces that will pull society together. Education through learning institutions and skills training started among the youth would help people stand on their feet. When people are financially stable, they tend to create a more peaceful society, and, because of education, they are less likely to be led blindly by a destructive leader.
Q: What are the major challenges faced by journalists in your country?
Leephan-Williams: Thai television stations are not fully free. Some channels are loosely controlled by the army while others are owned by businessmen who have connections to the government. Their work can often be shaped by advertisements from companies who hold ties to politicians. TV advertisers will sometimes pull ads if they’re not satisfied with the news content being broadcast. Under the current political climate, TV journalists have to be more careful to make sure their message to viewers does not call out a particular party because the station could lose credibility. Maintaining objectivity in the business is tough, but it would be dangerous for the organization to show any aggression in news our content.
Journalists themselves must be careful as well because, once in a while, a local journalist will be killed. A couple of years ago, a journalist from my hometown who had just graduated college was killed, but no one was arrested. People said, “Well, he was dabbling in hot button issues. What did he expect?” This type of attitude, I feel is unacceptable. Luckily, things have gotten a little better since then, but there is still no guarantee that reporters won’t get threatened.
Q: Can you name 5 words to describe your country and its people?
Leephan-Williams: “SMILE.” Strong, mobile, injustice, loyal, ego. I would like to reason why I came up with that...Most Thais have very ‘strong’ characters, if not aggressive. They could be wearing a smile, but secretly fuming on the inside and you wouldn’t be able to tell. 'Mobile' refers to either fast or unstable! They could change their mind at any time depending on the crowd they’re with or any new information they attain. I picked 'injustice' because Thais tend to judge people almost instantly depending first impressions without caring about the truth. The Thai people are 'loyal' because laws do not matter when you have connections and justice is hard to maintain! Although Thais seem easy-going and smile a lot, they can have a big 'ego'. They sometimes get defensive when they’re told they’re wrong or they don’t know an answer to a question. This makes it difficult to offer criticism, even if it’s constructive.
