English Language Newspapers and Magazines in Bangkok, Thailand

If you plan on spending any time in Bangkok, Thailand, I would recommend picking up one or two of the English language newspapers and magazines here. For a city whose inhabitants are not particularly good at speaking English, the quality of locally produced English language newspapers and magazines is actually quite good.

The Bangkok Post - this is the leading English language newspaper in Thailand. It's published every day, including Sunday, and gives a pretty decent update of national and international news. It has been published since 1946, and is definitely an urban family-oriented newspaper. The Bangkok Post has always talked about censorship in Thailand being bad but that it doesn't itself censor. This is strictly not true however, as it has been known in the past to self-censor when it comes to certain political issues involving government corruption. However, since our last coup in 2006, the Post has been much more outspoken about government issues. I tend to read the Bangkok Post every day (don't buy it, get it free at work) and I do like the extra magazines that come with it. The Magazine is a lifestyle magazine that comes free with the paper twice a month, Guru is a hip, cool, trendy insert magazine published every Friday, and Real Time is the thick insert with all the upcoming events, movies, concerts etc. in it. This also comes with the newspaper on Fridays.

The Nation - is the other English language newspaper and is known to be affiliated with the Democrat Party (the opposition in Thailand at the moment). It's also the most anti-government newspaper of the two, although it still has to stick to the strict Thai censorship laws. Overall, I think the Nation has the better writers, but it's not the most popular newspaper. The Nation lost a lot of advertising revenue after Thaksin Shinawatra became Prime Minister in 2001 and his cohorts and business associates refused to advertize with the newspaper. I occasionally buy The Nation, simply on principal, as I like to support a newspaper that does try to be more outspoken.