M.R.Kukrit Pramoj’s Royalist Ideology and Political Concept

Abstract

          The objectives of this study are 1) to study the origin of his political concept, 2) to investigate the impact of the political concept of M.R.Kukrit Pramoj on the survival of the Siam Rath newspaper and 3) to study his ethical concept in his role as a journalist. The data are collected from articles published in the Siam Rath newspaper, books, interviews from those involved with M.R.Kukrit Pramoj, and related documents. The data are analyzed based on theories of political economy of mass communication and theories of discourse analysis.

          The result shows that M.R. Kukrit Pramoj’s royalist ideology, understanding of politics and journalism, and journalistic prowess contributed to the continuity of the newspaper’s operation, preventing it from being shut down by military orders during the period of military dictatorship. His political loyalty stemmed from his birth as a member of the royal family while his democratic perspectives originated from his study in foreign countries. He understood that, for Thailand, conversion to international democracy took a lot of time. To preserve journalist ethics and morality, newspapers should take society, law, and culture into consideration. What M.R. Kukrit Pramoj was mostly concerned with was how the newspaper refused money from the government or politicians. What contributed to freedom in its professional and ethical practice was that the newspaper needed to become popular and to be publicly accepted.