Stakeholder Analysis of Communication Policy Reform in Thailand

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to analyze the stakeholders involved in communication reform in Thailand. The study focuses on the establishment of the new broadcasting regulator (National Broadcasting Commission or NBC) during 2000-2007 because its establishment became a huge battleground, gaining broad attention from the Thai public. The researcher utilized stakeholder analysis to examine stakeholders’ power, interest, importance and influence, and designated four categories of stakeholders: subjects, players, context setters and crowd. The friction in the establishment of the Commission occurred between the subjects (civic sector, journalists, NGOs) and the players (bureaucrats, military, state broadcast operators, business concessionaires) who have high interests but different degrees of power and influence in policy reform. The crowd seemed to be a passive audience with both less interest and power. However, the most influential and powerful group was the context setters, especially the court, which eventually overturned the selection of the Commission because of conflict of interest and unaccountability in the process. To date, the reform is still stagnant. The longer it took to establish the Commission, the greater the damage to the broadcasting industry. Without a new independent regulator, no new broadcast licenses have been issued. Policy development is usually seen as a bargain among the powerful elites. The analysis finds that Thai civil sector has increased its participation in the regulation process. The regulatory debate of Thai media reform, thus, is moving toward democratizing communication. The experience of establishing an independent regulator in Thailand could be a lesson for other developing countries where the process of communication reform is ongoing.