Thai-style Citizen Journalism

It has not been reported very well outside Southeast Asia, but Thailand is in political upheaval with protests over Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra‘s sale of Shin Corporation to Singapore’s government investment arm, Temasek Holdings, under dubious terms. People have taken to the streets in protests over the past few weeks calling for his resignation, with some notable citizen journalism efforts applying the pressure.

The Nation, an English language newspaper, had citizen reporters send pictures and text reports by cell phones using text/multimedia messages at the first rallies back in January.

The photo blog The Media Slut also helped to highlight some of the questionable stories by ITV, a Shin Corporation asset, which reported only around 6,000 to 7,000 protesters (Reuters reported 30,000 and Thai Day and Business Day up to 100,000).

It will be interesting to follow how this crisis plays out, as the protesters have vowed to keep rallying until Thaksin resigns.