BBC’s Thai language service has launched a news site called BBC Thai. The new BBC World Service site started on Facebook in July 2014 in response to a military coup in Thailand.
During the past two years, BBC Thai’s Facebook page has garnered over 1.3 million interactions a month and has 1.65 million fans as of this month. The site focuses on attracting “digitally-savvy and young audiences” while focusing on being impartial and independent in a country where news media faces restrictions.
“I am excited and proud to be part of the digital transformation of BBC Thai as it has moved from being a social-only service to its own new platform, bbcthai.com. Via this new, mobile-first website we will serve Thai-speakers looking for independent, accurate and balanced news, information and analysis, for which the BBC is known. BBC Thai’s presence on the social-media scene will continue to expand,” said the site’s newly appointed editor, Nopporn Wong-Anan, whose also a veteran Thai journalist and broadcaster.
In addition to covering national, regional and international politics, BBC Thai will also focus on covering business, culture, health, technology, science, entertainment, women’s issues and other social issues.
Teams in both London and Bangkok will be contributing to the site.
