MEDIA IN THAILAND: A SHOCK DISCOVERY

I had to admit at being a bit shocked when my boss told me late last week that I need to budget for something extra when I am planning the press conference relating to the new magazine. Apparently, it is common practise for journalists attending a press conference to be paid somewhere in the region of 3,000 baht (45 pounds) as a 'thank you' for coming, and also as a 'guarantee' of coverage.
Call me old-fashioned if you want, but isn't the news supposed to be reported on its individual merits? Does it mean that what appears in the media here is more about who can afford to pay for coverage, and who can't?
Obviously this payment is in addition to the normal salary paid by their respective companies, and is certainly not declared for tax purposes. I guess, thinking about it, it's a mild form of the corruption that is rife throughout Thailand.
Also, it would explain some of the 'weird' stories that have been appearing within our own publications in the last few months. Why would the average readers of our 'long stay' magazine be interested in the latest cartoon characters from Japan making an appearence in Thailand? They wouldn't - but perhaps the journalist received some kind of incentive to attend the press conference.
Just imagine this kind of thing happening in the UK or elsewhere? Journalists would be rich, and I can say hand-on-heart that since I started my career in the media in 1992 I have never been paid anything by anyone for covering a story, over and above my normal salary.
In addition, paying journalists to attend the press conference for the new magazine will breaking the Code of Ethics that we have to abide to. The news will be big anyway, and I am very tempted not to pay anyone for reporting on the event. It will get quite a lot of coverage around the world anyway, and if the local media choose not to pick up on it then it shows just how corrupt and petty they are.