The Pattaya Mail Media Group won the “Best in the East” mass-media award for the 17th straight year from the Eastern Mass Media Association.
The award was one of 72 prizes handed out in nine categories at the National Press Day celebration in Chonburi organized by the Chonburi Mass Media Association March 5.
Pattaya Mail Media Group – encompassing the Pattaya Mail, German-language Pattaya Blatt and Pattaya Mail Television – again won the only organization-wide award and was the only non-Thai language media honored.
Suwanthep Malhotra, director of Pattaya Mail Media Group, receives the Best Mass Media of the Eastern Region award from Major General Surin Paeto, commander of the 1st Army Support Command, Chonburi.
Other Best Mass Media awards included Noppadon Thongmark, Channel 3’s Chonburi correspondent, for TV best crime reporting; Nattapat Srisuwan, Chonburi reporter for the national Thai Rath Thai-language newspaper, also for crime reporting; and Wisarn Saengcharoen of BBTV Channel 7 for best documentary program. Twelve other Thai-language print and cable-TV journalists also won individual prizes.
Pratheep Malhotra, Managing Director of the Pattaya Mail Media Group said, “This is again a great honour for the Pattaya Mail and all those who have dedicated their lives to advance and maintain the highest professional standards of reporting and presenting the news, not to mention all those involved in every aspect of the production of our newspaper.
“When we first founded the paper 22 years ago, it was mainly because Pattaya needed a voice to not only protect ourselves from adverse publicity in the foreign and local media, but to also tell the world of all the good things that Pattaya had to offer. I decided we needed a proper English language newspaper. The national dailies were not serving the needs of Pattaya. In fact, in many cases it seemed they did not care about Pattaya, or that we were just too small to worry about.”
Since our founding we have and still are committed to serving the community with the best of news and information. Our priority of presenting readable editorial material has helped maintain the quality of the paper.
“Additionally we are at the forefront of community service and assist numerous organisations in their humanitarian projects for the needy.
“I am proud to say that the Pattaya Mail is the most respected regional English language newspaper in Pattaya and in many regions of Thailand.
“I thank everyone in our Pattaya Mail family for the support and hard work throughout the years, without which we could not have been acclaimed as the ‘Best in the East’ for the 17th consecutive year.”
The award ceremony also saw the presentation of prizes to private organizations and public officials supporting the media. Awards included prizes for best media directors and developers, media supporters, supports of National Press Day, educational personnel, public and private organizations, radio producers, and youth supporters.
The four public officials honored as the “Best Mass Media Directors and Developers in the East” were Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai, Maj. Gen. Surin Paeto, commander of the 1st Army Support Command in Chonburi; Chonburi Deputy Gov Phawat Lertmukhda, and Aphisit Theerapuwanart, chief of Panthong District.
Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organization President Wittaya Kunplome was the only individual in a list of 10 people and companies deemed the best mass media supporters.
National Press Day commemorates the founding of the Reporters Association of Thailand on March 5. On March 4, 1999, the association merged with the Thailand Newspaper Association to become the Thai Journalists Association.
