After 48 years The Nation, one of the two English-language newspapers in Thailand, will end its print edition with its last issue scheduled for June 28th.
Nation Multimedia Group CEO Somchai Meesen, however, assured that there would be no layoff of editorial staff, who will continue to work and focus full-time on the company’s online platform.
Appearing on Krungthep Dhurakij’s ‘Hong Khao’ programme today, Somchai said that the migration by readers to social media as their main source of news, compounded by shrinking advertising revenues, have made it difficult for traditional printed newspapers to survive.
He also said that most of The Nation’s readers are of the new-generation, have lived abroad and mostly read online services, adding that retail sales of the printed newspapers nowadays are limited to corporate clients, hospitals and airlines, and cost a great deal of money to produce.
For these reasons, Somchai said that the company decided to discontinue the print edition of The Nation.
As well as the online English edition, he disclosed that the company will be adding a Chinese-language online service, tentatively scheduled for October.
As for the digital TV business, Somchai said the company decided to return the license of Channel 26 to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission because its staff are not familiar with variety programming and their operational costs are high.
In 2015, co-founder of Nation Multimedia Group, Sutthichai Yoon, resigned as chairman and chief editor. In 2018, the group was taken over by a new owner.
