** THAILAND. Observations from a listening project on Radio Thailand
In addition to shortwave, Radio Thailand's overseas service is also broadcast online:
http://www.hsk9.org
is not very extensive. Essentially, it provides access to three internet streams: the foreign service (*/worldservice.html) and two domestic feeds from 88.0 MHz (English */fm88.html) and 92.5 MHz (Thai */fm925.html). A sound archive got stuck in the beginning.
Broadcasting schedules for the shortwave and the Internet are not provided on the web site. This is especially noticeable because years ago there was a short wave schedule under the defunct URL
http://www.hsk9.com/Schedule.html
The time announcements within the programmes and the announcements of the continuity do not help either. This is particularly obvious in the context of the English-language programmes. Some broadcasts are "live"; others are not, although this is stated in the programme. Frequency announcements for the short wave are missing anyway. How to gain or retain a listener base without receiving base information remains the secret of Radio Thailand and other foreign services where you can observe the same.
The online broadcasts largely follow the already known shortwave schedule. The exception to the rule is at 05.00 h UTC. The internet signal has a noticeable delay compared to the direct broadcast. On the internet stream, the gaps between the short wave broadcasts are filled with the well known interval signal of gong chimes and the station announcement in English. Occasionally, the medium wave 918 kHz and / or 88 MHz and other FM frequencies are announced in the English-language broadcasts. Radio Thailand should consider more relays from these programme sources to close the gaps. Even a music stream with hourly news would be more welcome than hours of a non stop interval signal.
Radio Thailand has the following online and short wave schedule:
00.00: also on 15590 kHz (250 kW, 6 °) for North America: English ("morning news hour" in parallel to http://www.hsk9.org/fm88.html). 00:30 (38 °) English. 01:00 Thai. 02:00 (6 °) English (Material from the "morning news hour"). 02:30 Thai
03:30: Interval signal
05:00 (only online!): English ("midday news hour" in parallel to http://www.hsk9.org/fm88.html)
05:30 (!): also on 17640 kHz (250 kW, 324 °) for Europe / Africa: English
06:00: Interval signal
10:00: also on 17805 kHz (250 kW, 305 °) for Asia: Thai
11:00: also on 5875 kHz (250 kW, 144 °) for Southeast Asia: Bahasa Malaysia. 11:15 Mandarin Chinese. 11:30 (30 °) Japanese. 11:45 (284 °) German
12:00: also on 9390 kHz (250 kW, 154 °) for Asia: Bahasa Malaysia. 12:15 -. 12:30 (132 °) English. 13:00 (54 °) Japanese. 13:15 (30 °) Mandarin Chinese. 13:30 (54 °) Thai. 14:00 (132 °) English (material from the "morning news hour")
14:30: Interval signal
18:00: also on 9390 kHz (250 kW, 313 °) for Europe: Thai. 19:00 (321 °) English (material from the "morning news hour"). 20:00 German. 20:15 - 20:30 English. 20:45 (313 °) Thai
21:15-24:00: Interval signal
"Broadcasting from the Public Relations Department in Bangkok", "HSK 9 Radio Thailand's World Service" makes no secret that it is a government voice. In line with the slogan "trust in a government that cares - trust in Thailand", the English programmes carry a lot of public service announcements and praise for government’s successes.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Thailand on place 142 out of 180 countries and territories studied: "Thailand is ruled by a military junta called the National Council for Peace and Order. Ubiquitous, all-powerful, and led by press freedom predator Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the Council keeps journalists and citizen-journalists under permanent surveillance, often summons them for questioning, and detains them arbitrarily. Any criticism of the junta is liable to lead to violent reprisals made possible by draconian legislation and a justice system that follows orders. The already feared Computer-Related Crime Act was reinforced in 2016, giving the authorities even more surveillance and censorship powers. King Rama IX’s death has not curtailed use of lèse-majesté charges under article 112 of the criminal code as a weapon of mass deterrence for journalists, bloggers, and online activists."
https://rsf.org/en/thailand
Besides Thai, the English-language programmes play a special role because of their size. Obviously, they are not produced for a foreign audience in Asia, America or Europe. This is shown by the interspersed frequency information (FM, medium wave, but not short wave) and of course the advertising (disco, restaurant, airlines).
The local FM 88 station has three major English language news programs totaling 60 minutes (07:00, 12:00, 19:00 hours local time). However, the international broadcast schedule of 15 to 60 minutes broadcasts does not really match the "news hour" format. For example, the "midday news hour" is broadcast in full online, but only the insignificant second half with which nearly 25 minutes of public service announcements or self-praise from the government is broadcast on short wave. The main source for the other English slots is the "morning news hour".
The world and regional news leave you with the impression that you are well informed about the most important international events. One the other hand, it is difficult to judge how comprehensive or close to the real problems of Thailand the domestic coverage is. In light of this, the public service announcements, will also be seen as reflecting domestic affairs: [according to the government] successful peace talks in the south of the country, successes in the fight against rabies, calls for the registration of migrant workers, environmental protection spots. It is interesting that the registration of South East Asian migrant workers is also a result of EU pressure. On 28 March, there was a report on the visit of an EU delegation concerning this matter. It was not reported why the Europeans should have a say here. So, an "alternative" local view might be, that the West is once more interfering with foreign internal affairs.
Radio Thailand rightly relies on domestic productions for the entertaining moments. Most of the music elements are pop music, partly produced in a very western style (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, 1 April 2018, DX LISTENING DIGEST)