Dear Editor,
As a Pattaya old-timer and columnist for Pattaya Mail in its infancy, I am moved to suggest a couple of reasons for your longevity and success. Firstly, you were never tempted to believe that sensationalism (crime and sex) required too much space. You mostly kept this stuff down to one page per issue and that has paid dividends in the long run.
Another merit has been your detailed, local sports coverage over the years, thanks I know to Dan Dorothy in large measure. Active expats like to see their names in print – assuming it is positive – and the golf in particular has provided that function.
For these and other reasons – e.g. your sensible editorial policy to ignore nasty court battles involving local expats fighting each other – Pattaya Mail in 2018 has emerged as the dominant print media in the area. Your news stories are increasingly being quoted in the sensible sections of Thai social media too.
Of course, the future won’t be easy as newspapers are closing all over the world. In ever-changing Pattaya, English speaking visitors are being replaced by those with a different tongue (as we all know) with many implications for journalism.
I doubt whether I, or the apparently indestructible Dr Iain Corness, will be around to see your golden anniversary in 25 years time. So I’m concentrating on pearl (30th) and ruby (40th). You will continue to brighten up my Fridays awaiting those gems.
Barry Kenyon
