The year 1946, the year the Bangkok Post was born, was a momentous one, a point at which the world reached a massive transformation because the Second World War had come to an end. In Thailand, this caused profound reverberations economically, socially, and politically. Economically, we experienced a massive bout of inflation. Socially, there were widespread problems with general crime. Politically, numerous issues arose, such as whether Thailand would have to pay war reparations, whether we had lost the war or not, and exactly how much we might owe. And of course, there was another monumental change: the passing of King Rama VIII, leading to the ascension of King Rama IX to the throne on the 9th of June 1946.

Within the government itself, there were destabilising changes and impacts. Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong had to resign, and Luang Thamrong Nawasawat stepped in to become the Prime Minister. Then, a coup d’état occurred, transferring power to Mr Khuang Aphaiwong. This demonstrated the utter confusion, chaos, and uncertainty throughout the country. Foreigners kept a close watch on Thailand, and the sole channel for them to receive information and news was the mass media.

Amidst this volatility and difficulty, the Bangkok Post became a crucial instrument allowing foreigners to understand Thailand and receive news about our country.

At that time, we lacked social media or online news. Even the other Thai newspapers that existed tended to play heavily on one side or the other; if they presented crime news, it was entirely crime, and if it was political news, it was entirely politics. The news occurring in foreign countries could be followed through other foreign media, but understanding what was happening in Thailand required Thai newspapers. Similarly, Thai people themselves wanted to know about international events happening in places like Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, but there was a lack of connection.

The Bangkok Post served to bridge this gap, allowing foreigners in Thailand and abroad to receive news about Thailand across all categories, whilst also giving Thai people the opportunity to access international news through the mass media.

We had English-language newspapers before, but they stopped publishing after a short period. The Bangkok Post, however, has managed to endure for 80 years by adhering to an important slogan printed on our front page: “The newspaper you can trust”.

This means we want our Bangkok Post to be a reliable, accurate, and fair source of news that can be used as a reference. This applies not just to the news we carefully select — without leaning too heavily in any one direction, as you will notice we touch upon crime very little, focusing instead on international politics, domestic politics, social issues, economic news, and world news — but also fundamentally to our opinion and commentary pieces.

We have regular columnists and contributors who send in their critiques and opinions on the economy and society, which are highly popular and trusted because these opinions possess a strict accuracy and fairness.

Publishing a newspaper in the current era is far more difficult than in the past because of the fierce competition with various types of media. The Bangkok Post must compete with all other newspapers, both in terms of advertising revenue and subscribers. No newspaper is getting rich or elevating its status through print media as they did in the past; even the mass media giants are facing problems. However, we still have a decent number of subscribers, and as a specialised English-language newspaper, the news we present might not be attractive to some, because we try to cover multiple areas. Yet our founders, shareholders, and executives stand firm that we must continue to serve as a reliable reference point for the nation.

The DNA of the Bangkok Post, passed down from former editors, is that we present the news that Thai people should know, not merely what Thai people want to know. That is exactly it. We intend to be the newspaper you can trust, offering news that is essential. If people want to know about other things, they can seek entertainment and pleasure from other sources.

In terms of politics, we never take sides. Whether it is a national election or a Bangkok gubernatorial election, we explain what the stances of each party and individual are, but ultimately, the public has the right to choose. However, if it is news — if today a certain party is doing something damaging, for example — we must publish it. If today another party is doing something good and useful, we publish that as well.

Some media may not be particularly neutral; you will see they latch onto a specific issue and create sensationalism using language to provoke emotion. We must not do that.

The sensationalism in English does not provoke as much emotion as it does in Thai anyway. The words used in Thai headlines make you feel like you absolutely must read them, but our sensationalism must come from our ability to drill deeply into the facts. News within the country cannot be sensationalised because we do not present crime news, nor do we present political news that is unresolved, full of bickering, or merely people suing one another. We do not pay much attention to those types of stories. If we were to play with these issues, it would ruin our accuracy and fairness.

I believe we must steadfastly maintain this stance. If we lose this stance and lean towards something else to chase popularity, we will be like a reed swaying in the wind, unable to survive. The media today is already struggling, and if we make ourselves a media outlet that struggles even more by abandoning our core principles, we will not last. We must remain the reliable anchor for society.

Looking ahead to the next twenty years, the media’s role will be indispensable as Thailand navigates complex cultural and political transformations. When I observe our political and social structure, I see a framework of individuals of a conservative nature embedded in various places within our society.

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Prof Dr Wissanu Krea-ngam served as an independent director of Bangkok Post Public Company Limited from 2010 to 2014, prior to his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister.