WAGES FOR THAI JOURNALISTS

One question I am commonly asked is about the salary expectations for media professionals and journalists in Thailand. The answer I give always include a comparison of how much Thai journalists are paid.

I keep a regular watch on the advertised salaries for journalists, editors, designers and sales executives. It comes as a shock to some when I say that it's pretty common to see journalist positions for Thai nationals - with the requirement of one or two years experience along with a Bachelor's degree - offering just 9,000 baht - or roughly US$300 per month. Often these positions also include the requirement to have good English writing skills.

A friend of mine works as a news anchor and reporter for a Thailand-based English television channel and is paid 15,000 baht (US$500) per month - and works damn hard for that. It's fair to say that Thai journalists with good English skills are generally paid more, but even the editor of a leading Thai language magazine may only be commanding 30,000 baht per month (US$1,000). A similar position in the U.K with like-for-like duties and responsibility would be paying five times that amount.

Of course there are exceptions. A few years back I learned of one Thai editor who was paid 180,000 baht per month (US$8,000) to edit a free magazine, and I also interviewed a journalist who was, at the time, working for one of the two English dailies and commanding a salary of 60,000 baht (US$2,000) per month.

I think it's fair to say that like pretty much everywhere in the world, journalism is not an especially lucrative career unless you make it to the very top.