
Thailand's English-language media will undergo a major restructuring next week as the venerable Nation newspaper launches a free daily, the Daily Xpress. The Nation will continue as a business journal, though some doubt the demand for such a service. The Daily Xpress put up a dummy copy dated January 18, 2008, heavy on the entertainment angle, with features such as Fun (actually, "The Fun"), Travel, Personality, and an Expat page which might prove very interesting if they allow local expat bloggers and forum participants at Thai Visa to get some ink. Political coverage will move to the Daily Xpress from The Nation.
Among the expats onboard with Xpress, there's Jim Pollard and Roger Beaumont along with Steve Cleary, who worked previously for The Nation.
There's a launch party on March 4th with "Giveaway lots of prizes" (uh, oh) and the dress code is "party smashing dress" (uh, oh again). 2Bangkok has more information and historical photos of the old Nation.
The launch of Daily Xpress, Thailand's first-ever freesheet newspaper, to be published in English with a compact form, will take place along with the transformation of The Nation into a paper with a firm focus on in-depth business and political coverage.
The changes, which will start on March 5, are meant to better serve our readers, who we regard as smart, daring, knowledge-able, and tech savvy. Thanks to a thorough survey of media in Thailand we know that our readers are exactly that and we have planned the changes accordingly.
"Our strategy is to rethink The Nation to meet our readers' evolution and needs. But while changes have been made, what have been preserved are the credibility, substance and essential insights that are The Nation's trademark," said Pana Janviroj, president of The Nation/Daily Xpress.
About 100,000 copies of the freesheet will be distributed daily including to all current and future Nation subscribers, making it the largest-circulated English daily newspaper in Thailand.
Tulsathit Taptim will be editor of Daily Xpress. The Nation's managing editor, Thanong Khanthong, will replace Tulsathit as editor of The Nation. "The younger generation of sophisticated readers is a largely unfufilled or untapped market as far as English language media is concerned. And we hope Daily Xpress, with a focus on lifestyle, human interest news, talk of the town events, entertainment and fun, will help serve their needs for a new kind of media," said Tulsathit.
He said Daily Xpress also aims to promote the concept of citizen journalism and readers' interaction by publishing reader-generated content.
The Nation readers, starting on March 5, will get a double package of news - in broadsheet and compact forms. With Daily Xpress also delivered to present and future Nation subscribers, it means Nation readers are treated to 72 pages of in-depth news, analyses and trendy lifestyle and entertainment reports on most days.
The Nation broadsheet will have more focus on business and political information and we are moving to easier-to-use design and navigation of news items and features. It will be published from Monday through Saturday. Daily Xpress with expanded content and features will continue to be delivered to Nation subscribers on Sunday.
The Nation