The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is an English-language daily online newspaper founded in 1971, published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of two English-language dailies in Bangkok, the other being the Bangkok Post. On 28 June 2019, it published its final broadsheet edition leaving only its online edition.[5]
Type
Daily newspaper (1971–2019)
Broadsheet (1971–2019)
Online newspaper (Since 2019)
Suthichai Yoon
Thepchai Yong (until 2018)
1 July 1971
28 June 2019 (as broadsheet)
Kom Chad Luek (online-only)
Krungthep Turakij
Post Today (online-only; since 2022)[3]
Thansettakij (Since 2022)[4]
The Nation is Thailand's only Thai-owned English-language newspaper,[5] It is owned by the Nation Group and is a member of the Asia News Network. It was considered a newspaper of record in Thailand.[6]
History[edit]
The Nation was founded by Suthichai Yoon on 1 July 1971[5] as The Voice of the Nation. The name was eventually shortened to The Nation.
The paper changed considerably in 1991, when several Thai journalists from the Bangkok Post defected to The Nation.
In 2008, The Nation laid off substantial numbers of staff and under the new editorship of former business editor Thanong Khanthong recast itself as a business newspaper, moving international wire copy to a free tabloid insert, the Daily Xpress.[7]
As of January 2018 the Nation Multimedia Group consisted of two digital TV stations, the English-language Nation newspaper, two Thai papers, and a publishing house. Its acquisition in 2018 by T News is the result of a three-year effort to acquire controlling stock interests in Nation Multimedia properties. The Nation conglomerate had financial difficulties for years.[8]
The two brothers who head The Nation, Suthichai Yoon and Thepchai Yong, will no longer be at the paper's helm. Suthichai retired on 12 January 2018, Thepchai to follow in April 2018.[8]
In 2019, print issues of The Nation were discontinued, replaced by an online edition solely.[9] The last paper copy will be the 28 June edition.[10] The Nation over the five preceding years has lost 30 million baht per year. The move was taken to halt the newspaper's losses and to expand its market. According to the NMG, only 36% of The Nation's readers are in Thailand. The balance live overseas, 25% in the US. The typical reader is between 25–40 years of age and prefers to read newspapers via smartphone. The newspaper will go fully online on 1 July 2019, the 48th anniversary of its founding. Management plans to issue an audible version of the newspaper as well as an edition in Mandarin Chinese.[9]