The Portrayal of Muslim Militants "Southern Bandits" in Thai Newspapers
This paper examines the depiction of Muslim militants in Thai newspapers in 2004. Stuart Hall-s “representation" and “public idioms" are used as theoretical frameworks. Critical Discourse Analysis is employed as a methodology to examine 240 news articles from two leading Thai language newspapers. The results show that the militants are usually labeled as “southern bandits." This suggests that they are just a culprit of the violence in the deep south of Thailand. They are usually described as people who cause turbulence. Consequently, the military have to get rid of them. However, other aspects of the groups such as their political agenda or the failures of the Thai state in dealing with the Malay Muslims were not mention in the news stories. In the time of violence, the researcher argues that this kind of newspaper coverage may help perpetuate the discourse of Malay Muslim, instead of providing fuller picture of the ongoing conflicts.
[1] Amnesty International Thailand (Covering events from January -
December 2004. Retrieved on July, 2005from
http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/print/2E89F8712A00D79080256F
E30004DDE2C.
[2] B. Anderson, Imagined communities. London: Verso Books, 1991.
[3] C. J. Baker, & P. Phongpaichit, A history of Thailand. NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
[4] T. Winichakul, Siam Mapped: A history of the geo-body of a nation.
Honolulu: University of Hawai-i Press, 1997.
[5] V. J. H. Houben, Southeast Asia and Islam. The Annals of The
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 558, 149-170.
Thoudsand Oaks, CA: SAGE. 2003.
[6] S. Hall, C. Chritcher, T. Jefferson, J. Clarke & B.Roberts, "The social
production of news: Mugging in the media". In S. Cohen & J. Young
(Eds.), The manufacture of news: social problems, deviance and the
mass media. Beverly Hills, California: SAGE, 1978, pp. 335-367.
[7] R. Fowler, Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press.
NY: Routledge, 1994.
[8] T .A. Van Dijk, Communicating Racism: Ethnic prejudice in thought
and talk. Newbury Park: SAGE, 1987.
[9] A. Jakubowicz, H. Goodall, J. Martin, T. Mitchell, L. Randall, & K.
Seneviratne, Racism, Ethnicity and the Media. NSW: Allen & Unwin
Pyt Ltd, 1994.
[10] J. P. Henningham, Ethnic minorities in Australia media.In Yogesh A.
(Ed.), Mass media and the minorities.Bangkok, Thailand: UNESCO,
1986, pp. 39-81.
[11] C. C. Wilson, & F. Gutierrez, Minorities and media: Diversity and the
end of mass communication. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE, 1985.
[12] B. Ainley, Black journalist, White media. Wiltshire, Great Britain:
Cromwell Press, 1998.
[13] E. Avraham, Behind Media Marginality: Coverage of social groups and
places in the Israeli press. Oxford: Lexington Books, 2003.
[14] D. McCargo, Politics and the press in Thailand: Media machinations.
London: Routledge, 2000.
[15] C. Satha-Anand, Fostering "Authoritarian Democracywith violence: The
effect of violent solutions to southern violence in Thailand." A paper
prepared for the Empire Conference, National University of Singapore,
September 23-24, 2004.
[16] W. Wodak, Critical discourse analysis. In S. Clive, G.Giampietro, F. G.
Jaber & S. David (Eds), Qualitative Research Practice. Thousand Oaks:
SAGE, 2004, pp. 197-213.
[17] T. A. Van Dijk, News Analysis: Case Studies of International News in
the Press. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribuam, 1988.
[18] J. W. Creswell, Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing
among five traditions. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1998.
[19] One more police officer was shot on the back in the south. Thai Rath,
2004, May 18, pp. 1, 16.
[20] Southern bandits slashed the neck of an old lady to death. Thai Rath,
2004, March 7, pp. 1, 15.
[21] Southern bandits indiscriminately killed 6 people including a monk and
a high rank police officer. Thai Rath, 2004, November 5, pp. 1, 16.
[22] Invaded Pattani. Bombed 2 places. Matichon, 2004, January 6, pp. 1, 9.
[23] Southern bandits target innocent civilians. Thaksin is stressed out and
canceled foreign countries trips immediately. Matichon, 2004, March
29, pp. 1, 12.
[24] Southern bandits relentlessly killed and stole weapons. Thai Rath, 2004,
November 4, pp. 1, 16.
[25] Foreign press says the army commander will negotiate with Bursatu in
June, Thai Rath, 2004, May 31, pp. 1, 16.
[26] Tighter control over a gas pipeline to prevent terrorism. Arrested
Mojahedin members. Matichon, 2004, January 6, pp. 1, 12.
[27] A cause to kill a student is because he is an official agent, Thai Rath,
2004, October, 12, pp. 1, 16.
[28] Killed community security guards. It is a daily brutal killing. Thai Rath,
2004, November 1, pp. 1, 11
[29] A government agent in the south says be careful with a suicide bombing
at the parliament building, Matichon, 2004, May 4, pp. 1, 12.
[30] S. Hall, Representation: Cultural representations and signifying
practices. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1997.
[1] Amnesty International Thailand (Covering events from January -
December 2004. Retrieved on July, 2005from
http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/print/2E89F8712A00D79080256F
E30004DDE2C.
[2] B. Anderson, Imagined communities. London: Verso Books, 1991.
[3] C. J. Baker, & P. Phongpaichit, A history of Thailand. NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
[4] T. Winichakul, Siam Mapped: A history of the geo-body of a nation.
Honolulu: University of Hawai-i Press, 1997.
[5] V. J. H. Houben, Southeast Asia and Islam. The Annals of The
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 558, 149-170.
Thoudsand Oaks, CA: SAGE. 2003.
[6] S. Hall, C. Chritcher, T. Jefferson, J. Clarke & B.Roberts, "The social
production of news: Mugging in the media". In S. Cohen & J. Young
(Eds.), The manufacture of news: social problems, deviance and the
mass media. Beverly Hills, California: SAGE, 1978, pp. 335-367.
[7] R. Fowler, Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press.
NY: Routledge, 1994.
[8] T .A. Van Dijk, Communicating Racism: Ethnic prejudice in thought
and talk. Newbury Park: SAGE, 1987.
[9] A. Jakubowicz, H. Goodall, J. Martin, T. Mitchell, L. Randall, & K.
Seneviratne, Racism, Ethnicity and the Media. NSW: Allen & Unwin
Pyt Ltd, 1994.
[10] J. P. Henningham, Ethnic minorities in Australia media.In Yogesh A.
(Ed.), Mass media and the minorities.Bangkok, Thailand: UNESCO,
1986, pp. 39-81.
[11] C. C. Wilson, & F. Gutierrez, Minorities and media: Diversity and the
end of mass communication. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE, 1985.
[12] B. Ainley, Black journalist, White media. Wiltshire, Great Britain:
Cromwell Press, 1998.
[13] E. Avraham, Behind Media Marginality: Coverage of social groups and
places in the Israeli press. Oxford: Lexington Books, 2003.
[14] D. McCargo, Politics and the press in Thailand: Media machinations.
London: Routledge, 2000.
[15] C. Satha-Anand, Fostering "Authoritarian Democracywith violence: The
effect of violent solutions to southern violence in Thailand." A paper
prepared for the Empire Conference, National University of Singapore,
September 23-24, 2004.
[16] W. Wodak, Critical discourse analysis. In S. Clive, G.Giampietro, F. G.
Jaber & S. David (Eds), Qualitative Research Practice. Thousand Oaks:
SAGE, 2004, pp. 197-213.
[17] T. A. Van Dijk, News Analysis: Case Studies of International News in
the Press. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribuam, 1988.
[18] J. W. Creswell, Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing
among five traditions. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1998.
[19] One more police officer was shot on the back in the south. Thai Rath,
2004, May 18, pp. 1, 16.
[20] Southern bandits slashed the neck of an old lady to death. Thai Rath,
2004, March 7, pp. 1, 15.
[21] Southern bandits indiscriminately killed 6 people including a monk and
a high rank police officer. Thai Rath, 2004, November 5, pp. 1, 16.
[22] Invaded Pattani. Bombed 2 places. Matichon, 2004, January 6, pp. 1, 9.
[23] Southern bandits target innocent civilians. Thaksin is stressed out and
canceled foreign countries trips immediately. Matichon, 2004, March
29, pp. 1, 12.
[24] Southern bandits relentlessly killed and stole weapons. Thai Rath, 2004,
November 4, pp. 1, 16.
[25] Foreign press says the army commander will negotiate with Bursatu in
June, Thai Rath, 2004, May 31, pp. 1, 16.
[26] Tighter control over a gas pipeline to prevent terrorism. Arrested
Mojahedin members. Matichon, 2004, January 6, pp. 1, 12.
[27] A cause to kill a student is because he is an official agent, Thai Rath,
2004, October, 12, pp. 1, 16.
[28] Killed community security guards. It is a daily brutal killing. Thai Rath,
2004, November 1, pp. 1, 11
[29] A government agent in the south says be careful with a suicide bombing
at the parliament building, Matichon, 2004, May 4, pp. 1, 12.
[30] S. Hall, Representation: Cultural representations and signifying
practices. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1997.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:52872", author = "Treepon Kirdnark", title = "The Portrayal of Muslim Militants "Southern Bandits" in Thai Newspapers", abstract = "This paper examines the depiction of Muslim militants in Thai newspapers in 2004. Stuart Hall-s “representation" and “public idioms" are used as theoretical frameworks. Critical Discourse Analysis is employed as a methodology to examine 240 news articles from two leading Thai language newspapers. The results show that the militants are usually labeled as “southern bandits." This suggests that they are just a culprit of the violence in the deep south of Thailand. They are usually described as people who cause turbulence. Consequently, the military have to get rid of them. However, other aspects of the groups such as their political agenda or the failures of the Thai state in dealing with the Malay Muslims were not mention in the news stories. In the time of violence, the researcher argues that this kind of newspaper coverage may help perpetuate the discourse of Malay Muslim, instead of providing fuller picture of the ongoing conflicts.
", keywords = "News Discourse, Newspapers, Thailand, Thai
Muslims.", volume = "6", number = "11", pages = "2875-5", }
